In 2014, The MV Times invited writers and publishing professionals with ties to the Vineyard to take part in a day of discussions about the art, craft, and business of writing. We decided to call the event Islanders Write, and make it free to attend. We said, “Come for an hour, or stay for the day.” People did both.
Eleven years and a pandemic later, we are still bringing writers and publishing professionals with ties to the Vineyard together for Islanders Write. We’ve relocated from the Grange Hall in West Tisbury to Featherstone Center for the Arts in Oak Bluffs. We’ve expanded our mission. We started offering writing workshops. In March 2025, we hosted the first off-season Islanders Write. We’ve launched a newsletter. And this spring, we established a mentorship program at The MV Times to train the next generation of Island journalists. (Sarah Shaw Dawson is our first “Island Writer” in the program, and is already in the trenches, working on stories about housing and education. The work she’s done since she started at The MV Times includes an in-depth piece on the new accessory dwelling unit bylaw: bit.ly/MVT_IslandADUs).
As for the August event, we still say, “Come for an hour, or stay for the day.” We also have kept it free to attend (as was the March event).
Why?
From the start, we discovered that there was something unique about this event; that it felt like more than just a writer’s festival. I think there are primarily three reasons for this:
- Everyone who speaks on a panel or gives a workshop at Islanders Write either lives on the Island year-round or seasonally or is a frequent visitor to the Vineyard. The Vineyard-connection piece brings camaraderie, informality, and Vineyard smarts and spirit that quickly lead to deep and fascinating discussions.
- It’s extraordinary how many talented writers working in different genres live and vacation on the Vineyard. There are print, radio, and TV journalists, novelists and graphic novelists, biographers and historians. There are writers of children’s books and cookbooks, plays and screenplays. The list goes on, and it’s been humbling and happy-making to see so many of them join us every summer at this event, whether they’re part of a panel discussion, facilitating a workshop, or sitting in the audience.
- It’s free to attend. It is accessible to everyone and anyone who is interested in writing, the writing life, reading, and communicating through the written and spoken word.
The truth is we’ve discussed charging admission, but we feel strongly that it’s important to keep it free. That said, there are expenses that come along with putting together an event like this. Advertising across all local newspapers, including at The MV Times, is far less than it was in 2014. To make up for losses in traditional revenue, The Times created a nonprofit arm to support Islanders Write and Islanders Write initiatives.
So here is where I ask you for your support with a tax-deductible donation or a sponsorship to help us continue to put on this program. Islanders Write has partnered with the M.V. Community Foundation, our nonprofit fiscal sponsor — which means donations in support of Islanders Write made through the M.V. Community Foundation (at bit.ly/MVCF_SupportIW) are tax-deductible. And if you choose to donate, we will be literally and literarily grateful for your support.
This summer’s Islanders Write will kick off on the evening of Sunday, August 17, with a discussion about politics and the press, censorship, and coverage, that will be moderated by MV Times publisher Charles Sennott, with Mara Liasson, E.J. Dionne, Patricia J. Williams, and Richard North Patterson.
On Monday, August 18, there will be a full day of panel discussions and writing workshops, that will end with a session on songwriting with Kate Taylor, Willy Mason, Jemima James, moderated by Polly Simkins.
This summer’s list of amazing speakers will also include: Elizabeth Benedict, Julia Blanter, Emma Brodie, Geraldine Brooks, Márcia De Castro Borges, Nicole Galland, Meryl Gordon, Judith Hannan, Jessica B. Harris, Jemima James, James W. Jennings, Paul Karasik, Martha Hall Kelly, Richard Michelson, Torrey Oberfest, Misan Sagay, Sherry Sidoti, Nancy Star, Rosemary Stimola, Dawn Tripp, Christopher Willard, Gretchen Young, and others.
The final schedule will be announced on our website, where you can also find more information about ways to support Islanders Write (islanderswrite.com).
Kate Feiffer is the director of Islanders Write, and the author of 11 books for children and “Morning Pages,” a novel for adults.
