The Living Writers Series at SUNY Oswego has announced its heavyweight lineup for a fall semester author series titled “Waves.”

The university has brought hundreds of writers into the Oswego community over the years, ranging from Pulitzer Prize winner Toni Morrison to "Game of Thrones" showrunner David Benioff and American Book Award winner Tommy Orange.

The series is known for presenting writers who work in differing genres, and this year is no exception. National Book Award winner and #1 New York Times bestselling author Ta-Nehisi Coates, also known for his authoring of Marvel’s "Black Panther" and "Captain America" series, famously said: “I didn’t start off as a journalist; I started off as a poet. My ambition was to practice poetry. Then I found journalism, but that other voice never fled from me.”

As one of this fall’s featured authors, Coates –- appearing Nov. 3 -- will be joined by fellow poets, as well as playwrights, memoirists and more.

Political scientist Brian Klaas, who wrote "Corruptible: Who Gets the Power and How It Changes Us," this year's Oswego Reading Initiative selection for campuswide reading, will speak on Sept. 25. Klaas is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and regular commentator for MSNBC, CNN, BBC News and more.

The 2023 lineup includes U.S. Poet Laureate Emeritus Juan Felipe Herrera on Sept. 27; Lambda Award winner and spoken word legend Danez Smith on Sept. 13; nonfiction writer Josie Méndez-Negrete and her biographical subject, master ceramicist Verónica Castillo, both on Oct. 2; comedian and TV writer Kimberly Clark, whose appearances include Netflix’s "Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready," NBC’s "Last Comic Standing," TBS’s "Lopez Tonight" and CBS's "The Late Late Show with James Corden," on Oct. 18; and writer, director and playwright Josh Aaseng on Nov. 29.

“We believe words matter,” Living Writers Series coordinator and English and creative writing professor Soma Mei Sheng Frazier noted. “Waves of change can start small, with a word. Every author in this year’s series is evidence of it.”

Frazier made special mention of a special featured guest on Nov. 15: beloved SUNY Oswego creative writing professor Robert O’Connor, who earned his undergraduate degree at SUNY Oswego before going on to author "Buffalo Soldiers," a novel later adapted into a film starring Joaquin Phoenix, Anna Paquin, Ed Harris and Scott Glenn. Novelist James Carroll has praised O'Connor’s writing, and The Independent has called his work "powerful."

Frazier said SUNY Oswego's creative writing program was not alone in developing this year’s series. It is supported by ARTSwego and made possible by the Student Arts Fee, as well as the Oswego Reading Initiative and the History Department.

Throughout the fall, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brian Klaas, Josie Méndez-Negrete and Verónica Castillo will visit the campus in person while all other events will be held virtually.

Visit calendar.oswego.edu and search for “Living Writers Series” for event information. You can also visit www.oswego.edu/artswego for more arts programming.

-- Submitted by the Living Writers Series