Living Writers Series explores ‘A/I’
English and creative writing faculty member Soma Mei Sheng Frazier, author of “Off the Books,” this year’s Oswego Reading Initiative selection for campus-wide reading, is among the speakers for this semester's Living Writers Series.
The Living Writers Series at SUNY Oswego will return this fall with a provocative new theme: “A/I — Artistic Intelligence/Artificial Intelligence.”
The series will bring nine acclaimed writers to campus to discuss creativity, authorship, career building and what it means to be human in an age of artificial intelligence. Talks (unless otherwise noted) will take place in the Marano Campus Center auditorium.
Sari Fordham, an associate professor of creative writing, organized this year's lineup and is teaching the class for the second time. She came up with the theme A/I because she was interested in the tension between Art and Artifice, especially in the era of AI. She wanted to know how other writers were engaging with AI and she suspected her students would, too.
"When I was a student, I couldn't have imagined typing in a prompt and having a computer fill in the gaps through predictive text," she said. "Students today are building their skills in such a different environment and I wanted them to talk with writers who were active in the field. How do they feel about AI? What role do they see AI as having in creativity and writing? Should emerging writers lean into AI or avoid it?
"I hope students come away from the class optimistic about the arts, informed about where the field is right now, and more confident about their own A/I philosophy. Plus, I hope we'll have a lot of fun."
The course provides professional development to teaching assistants (TAs). This year’s TAs – Molly Johnson, Elliot Carrick and Jasmine de la Vega – will assist with the author visits and learn about both course design and hosting a visiting author series.
Each event includes an author talk or reading, followed by a question-and-answer session. Most events also include book signings with the visiting authors. While Living Writers Series is an academic course, the author events are open to the general public.
The fall 2026 lineup includes:
Sept. 14: Juliet and Keith Giglio, film credits include “Reba McEntire’s Christmas in Tune,” “Dear Christmas,” “A Very Nutty Christmas” and “Christmas Reservations”; Juliet Giglio also is a SUNY Oswego English and creative writing faculty member
Sept. 23: Soma Mei Sheng Frazier, author of “Off the Books,” this year’s Oswego Reading Initiative selection for campus-wide reading; she also is a SUNY Oswego English and creative writing faculty member
Sept. 30: Sejal Shah, author of “How to Make Your Mother Cry” and “This Is One Way to Dance”
Oct. 12: Éireann Lorsung, author of “Music for Landing Planes By,” “The Book of the Century” and “Pattern Book”
Oct. 26: Amy Shearn, author of “Animal Instinct,” “Dear Edna Sloane,” “Unseen City,” “The Mermaid of Brooklyn” and “How Far Is the Ocean From Here”
Nov. 2: Arree Chung (via Zoom) author of the “Ninja” series, “Don’t Cause Trouble,” “Mixed” and “Remixed”
Nov. 9: Theresa Okokon, author of “Who I Always Was”
Nov. 16 — Debbie Urbanski, author of “After World” and “Portalmania”
During Living Writers Series events, the community may park for free in lots E-10 and E-17 beyond Marano Campus Center (no pass required). Visit oswego.edu/parking for parking and campus maps.
For those needing assistance or accommodations in attending an event, contact Accessibility Resources at 315.312.3358 or [email protected].
The Living Writers Series is supported by ARTSwego and made possible by the Student Arts Fee. It is also supported by the Department of English and Creative Writing, the Oswego Reading Initiative, the office of Sustainability, the Office of Accessibility Resources, The River's End Bookstore and the student-run literary magazine Subnivean.
-- Submitted by the Department of English and Creative Writing