Calling all bookworms! We’ve put together a list of can’t-miss events for this year’s Nantucket Book Festival. Read on to learn more about these noteworthy happenings.
1. Opening Night Celebration: Difference is What Unites Us, featuring Andrew Solomon, Imbolo Mbue, and Min Jin Lee
Friday, June 15
7:00 pm @ Unitarian Universalist Meeting House
The Nantucket Book Festival invites everyone to the Sanctuary of the Unitarian Meeting House for their Opening Celebration, which extols the bond of literature and community to which the Festival is dedicated. The NBF asks their featured authors to speak from their different perspectives, which each conveys so movingly in their written words, as they embrace the notion that we all share, in our individually diverse and imperfect ways, a common humanity. This event will also recognize the island’s youth who show great promise as writers, and highlight the Young Writer Award, a perennial cornerstone of the Festival. This event is free. For more information, click here.
2. A Conversation with The Heart’s Invisible Furies author John Boyne, hosted by Tim Ehrenberg
Friday, June 15
10:00 am @ Nantucket Atheneum
Join N Magazine‘s resident bookworm Tim Ehrenberg as he interviews John Boyne about his heartfelt story of love and identity in post-war Ireland. As the author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, a novel that later became a film and stage play, Boyne has received multiple accolades and achieved international success. The Heart’s Invisible Furies was selected as one of New York Times Readers’ Favorite Books of 2017, and was also reviewed as Ehrenberg’s “favorite book of the past five years.” This event is free. Click here to read Ehrenberg’s list of additional recommendations for this year’s Book Festival.
3. “Chewing on Life’s Mysteries”: A Criminally Good Luncheon with Linda Fairstein and Louise Penny
Saturday, June 16
11:30 am @ Nantucket Hotel
Louise Penny’s 13 mysteries are set in the village of Three Pines, Quebec. Her protagonist, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, has inspired readers throughout the entire series, winning accolades with each publication. Linda Fairstein has written multiple award-winning mysteries, including the Alexandra Cooper series that totals 19 books alone. Her novels are informed by her experiences as the Manhattan District Attorney for the Special Victims Unit of the New York City Police Department. The two writers are good friends, and we look forward to an exciting conversation at their luncheon. Tickets are $125. For more information, click here.
4. Brunch with Nathaniel Philbrick: On Wind and Wave at Harborside
Sunday, June 17
9:00 am @ White Elephant Brant Point Grill
Beloved Nantucket author Nat Philbrick will discuss how in 1993 he came to find himself vying for a sailing championship in the Sunfish class, something he hadn’t done for 15 years. His book Second Wind details the journey of a man living with his family on Nantucket, working on a book of island history, and being drawn again to tussle with wind and wave. Tickets are $125 (price includes the Brant Point Grill brunch buffet). For more information, click here.
5. Malcolm Mitchell with Robert Cocuzzo: Reading to Win
Sunday, June 17
6:00 pm @ NHA Whaling Museum
Award-winning wide receiver for the New England Patriots and founder of a youth literacy foundation aimed at helping young students in direst need, Malcolm Mitchell is not your average author or football player. He will talk to author and N Magazine editor Robert Cocuzzo about his life and work, which has gone in two dramatically successful directions. Following the presentation, enjoy the sun setting on the harbor and a champagne toast from the Observation Deck of the museum, celebrating the closing event of the 2018 Nantucket Book Festival. Tickets are $100. For more information, click here.
