The NYS Writers Institute's ninth annual Albany Book Festival returns to the University at Albany on Saturday, Sept. 26. Featured guests include:

• Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning environmental writer
• Carol Gilligan, pioneering feminist scholar
• Gish Jen, acclaimed novelist
• Keith McNally, restaurateur and memoirist
• Namwali Serpell, award-winning novelist and critic (On Morrison)
• Arash Azizi, political analyst (What Iranians Want)
• Porochista Khakpour, acclaimed novelist (Tehrangeles: A Novel)
• John Katzenbach, bestselling thriller writer (The Architect)
• Megan Nolan, Irish novelist (Ordinary Human Failings)

Festival discussions will explore topics including climate, memoir, fiction, food, history and contemporary social issues, with additional guests and events to be announced.

Albany Book Festival
10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26
University at Albany Uptown Campus, 1400 Washington Ave.
Free and open to the public. No registration required.