Yaddo Artist Amitava Kumar discusses his new novel My Beloved Life, a family saga that captures the life of an ordinary man of humble beginnings who lives in a time of extraordinary change.  Moderated by Aatish Taseer.

What’s it like to write for adult audiences after penning books for teens? Cecily von Ziegesar, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Gossip Girl series shares some of the unique challenges she faced writing Cobble Hill: A Novel in a session with Jennifer Dugan, author of several graphic novels, novels, and comics for teens, including Hot Dog Girl, Coven, The Last Girls Standing, and Playing for Keeps, and a new rom com for adults, The Ride of Her Life.  Mai Corland, who wrote for teens and tweens before publishing her adult fantasy novel Five Broken Blades this year, will join them.

Novelist Ryan Chapman (The Audacity) joins cartoonist John McPherson (The Close to Home Anniversary Treasury) to discuss their new books and the time-tested weapon of using satire and dark humor to cut the powerful down to size.

Lyn Slater, Instagram sensation and author of How to Be Old: Living Boldly from the Accidental Icon, shares how to reinvent yourself and live a modern, culturally relevant life at any age. In her 60s, she became the “Accidental Icon,” known for her unique fashion sense that attracted close to a million followers on Instagram. Now in her 70s, Lyn is fashioning a new life for herself in the Hudson Valley. This session is for anyone who wants to live more intentionally and authentically–rules and other people’s expectations be damned. Moderated by Abby Tegnelia.

For Scholar Jaye Austin Williams, reading Black Science Fiction has long been a portal into the intergenerational impact of racial slavery, violence, and injustice. She shares her thoughts about the future imagined by Octavia Butler and several other Black Science Fiction writers with Shawntelle Madison, whose new historical fiction debut novel The Fallen Fruit is a sweeping multi-generational epic about a woman who travels through time to end a family curse that has plagued her ancestors for generations.

The “Black to the Future: Science Fiction & Fantasy by Black Authors ” session is a presentation of the Our Lodge Foundation, Inc, a non-profit organization that supports minority populations in the Saratoga Springs community through cultural, educational, civic, and creative programs. The organization also works to support the activities and efforts of the Frederick Allen Elks Lodge #609 (I.B.P.O.E.W.) and its historical building.

A multi-layered project, Black to the Future: Science Fiction & Fantasy by Black Authors, was organized by the Our Lodge Foundation and received funding from a Saratoga Arts community re-grant.

Saratoga Arts made this speaker and program possible through the Community Arts Regrant Program, funded by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.