Islanders Write starts Sunday night

It’s been a year of headline hangovers, with little time to recover from one breaking news shocker before the next one hits. (As I write this, on a Thursday afternoon, the lead story in the New York Times is “Netanyahu Says Israel Wants to Take Military Control of All of Gaza.” Tomorrow morning I’ll check again, and will add that headline to the end of this piece.) While we’re now accustomed to a rambunctious news cycle, I don’t think we’ve gotten used to the whiplash, which is why Islanders Write often begins with a panel discussion about the press and politics.

This summer’s Islanders Write will kick off on Sunday, August 17, at 7:30 pm, with Mara Liasson (NPR), E.J. Dionne Jr. (Washington Post), law professor Patricia J. Williams, and political columnist Richard North Patterson –– yes, he’s also the best-selling novelist –– talking about politics and the press, censorship and coverage. MV Times publisher and veteran journalist Charles Sennott will be moderating. 

For readers unfamiliar with Islanders Write: In 2014, The MV Times wanted to create an event with a unique Vineyard feel to it. We brought together writers working in a variety of genres and publishing professionals for discussions and workshops focused on the art, craft, and business of writing. Islanders Write has always been, and continues to be, free to attend. There is no advance registration necessary, and it takes place at Featherstone Center for the Arts. But what gives Islanders Write its unique Vineyard flavor is that everyone who speaks on a panel and teaches a workshop has a Martha’s Vineyard connection. Yes, you may know their names from the best-seller list, but their faces are familiar from the checkout line at Larsen’s or Cronig’s.

On Monday, August 18, at 7:30 am, Judith Hannan starts the day with her beloved “Wake Up and Write!” workshop. If the weather cooperates this year, this workshop will take place outside, on the back deck of Featherstone. 

The other writing workshops on Monday will be in the Featherstone painting studio, and will be limited to the first 20 people who show up for them. These workshops include a bilingual Portuguese-American workshop, “Memórias e Música / Memories and Music,” with Marcia De Castro Borges (9 am); writing a proposal for a nonfiction book with Christopher Willard (10:30 am); memoir writing with Sherry Sidoti (12:15 pm); dialogue writing with Elizabeth Benedict (2 pm); and using poetry to tell your truth with Sharisse Scott-Rollins (3:45 pm). There is no advance registration for these. We’ve discovered that when you’re offering workshops for free, people sign up, but then don’t show up. So this year, we’re trying it this way –– the first 20 folks in line for a workshop will be the 20 who get to take the workshop. 

But if you don’t get into the workshop you wanted, the consolation prize is pretty fabulous. There are panel discussions throughout the day in the Francine Kelly Gallery, starting at 8:45 am with Charles Sennott’s introductory remarks. At 9 am, we’ll jump in with “Truth and Lies: The Unreliable Narrator,” with novelists E. Lockhart and James W. Jennings, which I will be moderating. 

At 10 am, we pivot to “Turning History into Narrative,” with four writers who work in different genres — Meryl Gordon, Richard Michelson, Misan Sagay, and Dawn Tripp, followed by “What Is a Cookbook?” at 11 am, with cookbook authors Dr. Jessica B. Harris and Julia Blanter, and literary agent Adriana Stimola. At 12:15, author and New Yorker cartoonist Paul Karasik will be talking about “From Novel to Graphic Novel: The Art of Adaptation.” At 3 pm, three best-selling historical fiction authors, Geraldine Brooks, Nicole Galland, and Martha Hall Kelly, will be talking shop. And we’re thrilled to be bringing the day to a close this year with a discussion about songwriting with John Forté, Willy Mason, Jemima James, and Kate Taylor. 

The Pitch Panel, a popular Islanders Write mainstay, will be back from 1:15 to 2:45 pm. Five book projects will be pitched live at the event to publisher and editor Gretchen Young, literary agent Rosemary Stimola, author Nancy Star, and publishing industry executive Torrey Oberfest, all of whom will critique the pitches and the projects.

Edgartown Books will be at the event selling books and hosting the author signings. (Please support our fabulous indie bookstores and our Vineyard-connected authors!) 

For your food needs, the Scottish Bakehouse will be on site with delicious pastries, salads, and sandwiches. And this year, we are delighted to welcome the Martha’s Vineyard Coffee Co., whose owner and roaster grew up on the Vineyard. 

We are incredibly grateful to Featherstone Center for the Arts and its amazing team for hosting us and giving us a home. Anthony Esposito and Esposito Productions takes care of all our sound needs –– including some needs we didn’t know we needed. 

Islanders Write is free to attend, but unfortunately it isn’t free to produce. We have therefore partnered with the M.V. Community Foundation to be able to accept tax-deductible donations which help us put on this event. We are extremely appreciative for your support and for our volunteers. 

And as for that Friday morning headline: “Trump Directs Military to Target Foreign Drug Cartels.”

Major supporters of Islanders Write include the Martha’s Vineyard Cultural Council, the Martha’s Vineyard Community Foundation, Doug Liman, Cronig’s Market, Stimola Literary Studio, the Mimi and Peter Haas Fund, anonymous, Jay and Terri Chattaway, and Susan Scheuer and Joanthan Lipnick. Thank you to everyone who has helped Islanders Write continue to grow. We appreciate your support and appreciation for what we do. 

For more information about Islanders Write, go to islanderswrite.com, or email Kate Feiffer at kate@mvtimes.com.