天美传媒

Alice Hoffman 鈥�73, 鈥�02 (Hon.), has found critical acclaim and an intensely loyal fan base as the , notably the . But she鈥檚 never forgotten her Adelphi roots. She founded the Alice Hoffman Young Writers Retreat, donated her literary collection to Adelphi University Archives and Special Collections, and is a longtime supporter of the .

Now she鈥檚 started a new chapter: On April 5 and 6, she opened the book on Adelphi鈥檚 first Writers & Readers Festival.

Hoffman envisioned the festival as an event that would bring literature fans from the University and wider communities together to celebrate storytelling and the imagination. More than 300 attendees came to participate in workshops pertaining to writing and publishing and meet both established and aspiring authors.

鈥淚 am thrilled to help lead this inaugural event, which embodies our shared passion for the written word and for Adelphi鈥檚 mission to transform lives,鈥� said Hoffman.

Part of Our Heritage

The author opened the festival with Steven Isenberg, JD, 鈥�00 (Hon.), board of trustees chair emeritus, who said that Adelphi 鈥渋s a natural spot for this endeavor because our foundation rests on inquiry, scholarship, curiosity, exploration of ideas and arguments, and the inner life of the world around us.鈥�

Rob Linn茅, PhD, professor in the Ruth S. Ammon College of Education and Health Sciences and co-founder and director of the Alice Hoffman Young Writers Retreat, noted, 鈥淚 see the thread of our history running through the festival. Even when Adelphi was starting as an academy in Brooklyn, the arts were essential to our reason for being. I don鈥檛 think we will ever lose that part of the mission, because it runs deep.鈥�

Hoffman presented the Elaine Markson 鈥�51 Award for Excellence in Publishing to Lisa Lucas, at the time a senior vice president and publisher at Penguin Random House. The award is in honor of another alum: , who was among the first women to own a literary agency and served as Hoffman鈥檚 agent.

Ren茅 Steinke, professor of English and director of Adelphi鈥檚 Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program, presented the Donald Everett Axinn Awards in Creative Writing to emerging authors and poets.

Words of Praise

鈥淎s a new professor at Adelphi, I was very proud to be a part of this festival,鈥� Steinke said. 鈥淚 loved that the festival was named for both writers and readers, and for Alice Hoffman, who originally had the vision for it, and who was such an inspiring and brilliant presence.鈥�

Dr. Linn茅 said, 鈥淗aving the opportunity to chat with some favorite authors in a small setting was different from any other book festival I鈥檝e experienced. I loved reconnecting with the former students and alums who turned out. Some of my students who attended felt like a whole new world was opened to them.鈥�

Join us on April 4鈥�5, 2025, for next year鈥檚 festival.

This story was featured in the 2024 Issue of the 天美传媒 Magazine.