Saratoga Book Festival Announces 2025 Lineup
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The lineup for the fifth annual Saratoga Book Festival (SBF) have been revealed. The citywide event will take place from Thursday, Oct. 2 until Sunday, Oct. 5, and will feature more than 50 presenters, 30 author sessions, the Literary Night Market, Sunday KidZone, a film screening, and live music. Events are free, except when noted.
Headline Events
• Béla Fleck, the nineteen-time Grammy-winning banjoist; Edmar Castañeda, the jazz harp trailblazer; and Antonio Sánchez, the visionary drummer open this year’s SBF with a blend of jazz, classical, Latin, and world rhythms that defies categorization. Co-presented with Universal Preservation Hall.
• Kate DiCamillo, two-time Newbery Medalist, and two-time Caldecott Medalist Sophie Blackall discuss their new novel “Lost Evangeline,” an original fairy tale set in the world of The Puppets of Spelhorst and The Hotel Balzaar. Co-presented with Northshire Bookstore.
• Tom Piazza, a celebrated author, Grammy-winning music writer, and TV scriptwriter delivers an evening of songs and stories inspired by his new memoir, “Living in the Present with John Prine.”
• Ruth Reichl, award-winning chef, food journalist, and bestselling author, speaks about her culinary life and her newest book “The Paris Novel” with Tiina Loite, fashion editor for Saratoga Living.
• Amity Gaige, acclaimed author of “Heartwood,” an instant national bestseller with Halimah Marcus, interlocutor, author, and executive editor of Electric Literature.
• Chris Bohjalian, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-five books, will talk about his newest historical fiction novel “The Jackal’s Mistress,” a Civil War “Romeo and Juliet” with WMAC Radio’s Joe Donahue.
AI Focus Sessions
• “AI Impact on Education & the Arts,” moderated by Robert Lippman
• “AI: Living in a Post-Human World” with speaker and futurist Sam Rad, author of “Radical Next”
• “AI Keynote–What Comes Next” with Gary Rivlin and Matthew Lucas: Rivlin, a Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative reporter and author of “AI Valley” and Matthew Lucas, professor of business and the vice chair of AI strategy at Skidmore College, discuss the latest breakthroughs of generative AI and developments that are changing the way we live and work.
Festival Beyond the Book Events
• Literary Night Market: more than 60 local authors of fiction and nonfiction for teens and adults, literary-themed live music, light bites, and a cash bar.
• KidZone Arts and crafts: performances and other hands-on fun presented by local children’s authors, illustrators, publishers, and performers.
• Not An Ordinary House–Making a Home with Love and Purpose: Elizabeth and Ethan Finkelstein, founders of the HGTV show and viral Instagram feed “Cheap Old Houses,” and authors of “Cheap Old Houses: An Unconventional Guide to Loving and Restoring a Forgotten Home” join Chloe Barcelou and Brandon Batchelder, authors of “Tales of a Not So Tiny House” about creating a home you love when money is tight.
• Lit Night Presents “Teatime at Pemberley: A Celebration of Jane Austen in Words and Music”: Enjoy an immersive exploration of Austen’s life and works, curated by host and Lit Night Founder Kristina Kulin in Caffè Lena’s storied listening room. October 4, 2:30 pm at Caffè Lena.
• Screening of TV Pilot “BOOKS”: Discussion with filmmakers Tim Cahill, Kristina Libby, Nicole Ihasz (co-owner of Northshire Bookstore), and Matt Witten about adapting books to screen, writing for TV, their newest projects, and why they love independent bookstores.
More Festival Sessions
• Friends with Secrets: Historical Fiction Panel with Juliette Fay, Marjan Kamali, and Kim van Alkemade
• Ties That Bind: Crime Fiction Panel with Saratoga Shaefer, Jennifer Fawcett, Cleyvis Natera, and Emily Layden
• YA Fantasy Session with Allyson Dahlin and Katherine Harbour
• Rogues and Witches: Fantasy Panel with Shannon Chakraborty, Mai Corland, and Sydney Shields
• Family Saga Fiction with Serena Burdick, Jessica Shattuck, and Jack Rightmyer
• True Crime Panel with Jerry C. Drake and Ron Hughes
• Thrills and Chills: Horror Panel with Victoria Dalpe, Eric LaRocca, Michael J. Seidlinger, and Paul Tremblay
• Rom Com Happy Hour with Nicolas DiDomizio and London Sperry
Friday Matinee Sessions
• Margaret Pearson (I-Ching)
• Dr. Catherine J. Golden (Jane Austen, Incorporated)
• Steve Stern (A Fool’s Kabbalah) with Melora Wolff (Bequeath: Essays)
• Mason Stokes (All the Truth That I Can Stand) with Marcus Kwame Anderson (Big Jim and the White Boy)
• Lauren Cobello, founder and CEO of Leverage with Media PR, renowned national media personality and 3x author (Marketing and PR for Authors)
• Author Open House hosted by Vicki Addesso Dodd, founder of Saratoga Springs Publishing
Check saratogabookfestival.org for the complete schedule of events after Labor Day.