Suellen Lazarus founded the festival and continues to direct it.
— Ray Ewing
The biennial Martha’s Vineyard Book Festival takes place August 5 and 6 on the Chilmark Community Center grounds, with an opening event on August 4 hosted by comedian Seth Meyers and journalist Kara Swisher.
This year’s festival features readings, panel discussions and conversations with 27 authors, covering a vast spectrum of genres and topical subjects.
Founder and director Suellen Lazarus said her goal is to promote discourse among authors, moderators and attendees about a range of issues.
“Literature is a mechanism for understanding issues in great depth,” Ms. Lazarus said.
“Each of the authors is brilliant,” she continued. “But the synergies between their work make for more vital discussions.”
Fiction, nonfiction and memoir will be widely represented. Jeannette Walls, whose debut memoir The Glass Castle has sold more than seven million copies, arrives with a new novel of historical fiction called Hang the Moon. Christian Cooper, who made national news when confronted in Central Park in New York City by a woman walking her dog off leash, will discuss his new memoir Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World. And Pulitzer Prize finalist Rebecca Makkai will talk about her New York Times bestselling novel, I Have Some Questions for You.
In addition to readings by authors, the festival includes panel discussions and more intimate one on one interviews with authors. This year, moderators include journalist Don Baer, who will lead a conversation about the upcoming presidential election, and journalists Kara Swisher and Ben Smith — who is also a featured author at the event — to discuss artificial intelligence and digital media.
“There are relevant themes under the books that tie them all together,” said Valerie Rosenberg, an advisory board member. “We select fantastic moderators who really can see the throughline that goes through all the books.”
Twenty-seven authors are featured in this year’s festival.
— Ray Ewing
All the events on Saturday and Sunday are free. Mr. Cooper will also host a birdwalk on Saturday morning at Long Point.
Ms. Lazarus said that the festival lifts up the artistic energy on the Vineyard, as well as forging lasting relationships between the Island community and the visiting authors.
“The event shines a spotlight on Island creativity,” Ms. Lazarus said. “The Island has always been a haven and place of great creativity for authors. Writing and reading are fundamental to the experience in the summer here.”
The weekend will also showcase local authors, many of whose stories are directly connected to the Vineyard. Rose Styron’s memoir Beyond This Harbor takes readers through her life as an activist, poet and longtime Vineyarder.
Tamara Weiss and Amanda Benchley, and photographer Elizabeth Cecil, showcase artists and artisans in their book Vineyard Folk, and Bill Eville’s memoir Washed Ashore tells the story of moving to the Island and raising a family.
Ms. Lazarus said she expects more than 2,000 attendees over the weekend, rain or shine, and that the festival could not be accomplished without the large group of volunteers who help with book sales through Bunch of Grapes, usher at events and shuttle authors around the Island.
For more information, visit mvbookfestival.com.
