Martha's Vineyard Book Festival 2019

On August 3, authors speak together in panel discussions on an array of timely and vital issues. On August 4, individual author events will be in tents set up on the grounds of the Chilmark Community Center in the heart of rural up-island Chilmark. The festival attracts a diverse group of residents and visitors, drawn by the array of literary artists, public figures and subject matter.

Speakers include thriller master John Grisham, 2018 National Book Award winner Sigrid Nunez (The Friend), Gourmet magazine editor Ruth Reichl (Save Me the Plums) and 2019 PEN Book of the Year Award winner Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenjah. Also confirmed is Pulitzer Prize–winner Richard Russo (Chances Are… ). Admiral William McRaven (Sea Stories) will share stories of his distinguished career in Special Operations, while CNN’s Jim Acosta (The Enemy of the People) will address the challenges of journalism in the current political climate.

Lovers of history will hear from David Blight (winner of the Lincoln award for Frederick Douglass); Tina Cassidy (Mr. President, How Long Must We Wait?); Richard Gergel (Unexampled Courage) and more. Memoirist Dani Shapiro (Inheritance) joins Victoria Riskin (Fay Wray and Robert Riskin) and Emily Bernard (Black is the Body).