This summer’s Islanders Write will kick off on Sunday, August 18, at 7:30 pm, with a discussion about “Finding Truth in a Post-Truth Era.” With conspiracy theories, scams, deceptions, lies, collective amnesia, false narratives being amplified on social media, and now AI, is getting to the truth, an ever-complicated task, even possible? How can we approach finding, formulating, and figuring out the truth? And can truth-tellers stop the erosion of truth?
MV Times Publisher Charles Sennott will moderate this not-to-be-missed conversation with Grammy-nominated recording artist John Forté, awardwinning documentary filmmaker Dawn Porter, founder of the Black Doctors Consortium and memoirist Dr. Ala Stanford, and tech media entrepreneur and author John Battelle. This event, like all Islanders Write events, is free to attend (first come, first seated).
On Monday morning, August 19, the first of the day’s panel discussions will begin at 8:30 am — fear not, Scottish Bakehouse will be onsite at Featherstone Center for the Arts with coffee and pastries; however, please be aware they are cash only.
Below is the schedule of the panel discussions that will be taking place in the Francine Kelly Gallery at Featherstone Center for the Arts. As always, we are bringing together writers and publishing professionals with ties to the Vineyard to talk about different genres and aspects of writing and publishing. (Writing workshops will also be taking place throughout the day under the tent, and in studio spaces.)
8:30 – 9:25: Not Your Usual Narrator
Using letters, texts, morning pages, and other unconventional literary devices in your novel.
Kate Feiffer
Nicole Galland
James W. Jennings
Fred Waitzkin
9:30 – 10:25: The ABCs Have Gotten Complicated — Writing for Kids
Two awardwinning children’s book authors and an esteemed children’s literary agent discuss the craft and business of writing children’s books.
Elise Broach
Richard Michelson
Rosemary Stimola (Stimola Literary Studio)
10:30 – 12: The Pitch Panel
Five writers with book projects will be selected to pitch their project live at the event to an editor, agent, publishing executive, and novelist. (There’s still time to apply to pitch.)
John Hough, Jr.
Torrey Oberfest
Rosemary Stimola (Stimola Literary Studio)
Gretchen Young (Regalo Press)
12:30 – 1:25: Publishing from the Inside Out
A novelist asks publishers and editors about the current state of publishing.
Dawn Davis (37 INK, Simon & Schuster)
Marc Favreau (The New Press)
Mathea Morais
Gretchen Young (Regalo Press)
1:30 – 2:25: The Changing Role of the Literary Agent
The days of the three-martini lunch are long gone. What has replaced it?
Victoria Bijur (Vicky Bijur Literary Agency)
Susan Golumb (Writers House)
Adriana Stimola (Stimola Literary Studio)
Torrey Oberfest, Moderator
2:30 – 3:25: More Than a Memoir
Writing a personal narrative with purpose.
Nancy Slonim Aronie
Perry Garfinkel
Sherry Sidoti
3:30 – 4:30: And Your Point Is?
Constructing essays with voice and vision.
Geraldine Brooks
Bill Eville
Patricia J. Williams
Islanders Write is put on by The MV Times, and takes place at Featherstone Center for the Arts on Sunday, August 18, at 7:30 pm, and all day Monday, August 19. For more information, go to islanderswrite.com.
