Islanders Write returns

This has certainly been a winter to write about, and The MV Times hopes to inspire you to do just that. Our second midwinter Islanders Write will be a weekend of writing workshops, conversations about publishing, and a celebration of Vineyard authors. These events will take place on Saturday, March 14, and Sunday, March 15, at Featherstone Center for the Arts. They’re all free to attend; however, preregistration is requested for Saturday’s writing workshops. 

Registration is still open for Saturday, but many of the workshops are now full and are waitlist only. What does that mean? Since we have limited space for these workshops, we asked people to register in advance. One of the lessons we learned by doing that last year was that not everyone who registers shows up. People get sick; people get busy; people get lazy; things happen. 

Because we often DON’T find out in advance if someone is not going to make it to a workshop they have preregistered for, those of you on a workshop waitlist will not find out in advance if you are going to get into the workshop you are waitlisted for. 

The only way to know if you’re off the waitlist is to come to Featherstone and find out. We recommend getting there at least 15 minutes before the workshop begins and check in with me, so I know you’re there. 

So what happens if you arrive at Featherstone and you don’t get into a workshop? What does one do? We will be providing writing prompts and space for you to sit and write. We encourage you to pitch ideas to The MV Times editors, who will be milling about, and to find out about other upcoming Islanders Write events. There is also a beautiful group show titled “Featherstone Blue” in the Francine Kelly Gallery that we encourage everyone to see. 

The workshops that are now WAITLIST ONLY are clearly marked on the workshop registration form. If you do register for one of the waitlisted workshops, we will not be able to let you know in advance if you’re off the waitlist. But not all the workshops have waitlists. As of this writing, there are still a few spaces available in Nicole Galland’s playwriting workshop, from 10:15 to 11:45 am, Duncan Caldwell’s research and writing with research workshop, from 12:30 to 2 pm, and James Jennings’ journaling workshop, from 1:30 to 3 pm. 

Please note: This year we will NOT have food for sale during either day of the event. We will have coffee and water, but you should bring your literary lunchbox for your nourishment and snack needs. 

After the final workshop, The MV Times will be partnering with Edgartown Books, and we invite everyone from the Vineyard community to join us for the Vineyard Authors Book Fair. This will take place on Saturday, March 14, from 5 to 7 pm at Featherstone Center for the Arts, and is an opportunity to come meet and talk to Vineyard authors and purchase their books. We are also delighted to announce that there will be live music at the event with singer and songwriter Sarah Shaw Dawson, who is also the first recipient of The MV Times’ Island Writer program. 

There is no advance registration for Sunday, March 15. Feel free to come for the day, or for an hour or two, to hear about the path to publication from authors, a literary agent, and an author/publisher, and to ask your questions. 

Sunday’s schedule is: 

10 am: Tom Dresser
10:45 am: Jennifer Smith Turner
11:30 am: Nancy Slonim Aronie
12:15 pm: John Abrams
12:45 pm: Carole Hopson
1:30 pm: Rosemary Stimola
2:15 pm: Marc Favreau
3 pm: Charles Sennott 

We are extremely grateful to the M.V. Community Foundation, the M.V. Cultural Council, and the Farm Neck Foundation for grants we received so we can continue to keep Islanders Write events free to attend. We are also incredibly grateful for the generous donations that we have received. To help support Islanders Write, please make a tax-deductible donation through the M.V. Community Foundation.

For more information, visit islanderswrite.com, or email Kate Feiffer at kate@mvtimes.com.