This year’s Islanders Write, generously hosted at the Featherstone Center for the Arts, was an excellent mix of panel discussions and writing workshops. The event began 10 years ago when the former editor of the MV Times felt the newspaper should sponsor a community program bringing together Vineyard-affiliated writers and publishing professionals.
Each panel discussion was wide-ranging and what follows is just a small taste.
For “Not Your Usual Narrator,” authors Kate Feiffer, Nicole Galland, James W. Jennings, and Fred Waitzkin explored the use of letters, texts, poems, court transcripts, and other unconventional literary devices in novels. When asked why he chose the unconventional device of diary entries in “Wings of Red,” Jennings replied, “I’ve been marginalized in so many ways that I don’t even know what ‘traditional’ means anymore.”
In Morning Pages, Feiffer inserted a play into the narrative, which was written as “Morning Pages,” a diary technique invented by writer Julia Cameron to encourage inner creativity. Feiffer used the device of Morning Pages to put her protagonist’s “clever inner dialogue on paper, and it gave me the freedom to engage in digressions while telling the story.” Both Waitzkin and Galland were inspired by the story to find the form of blending narratives from different perspectives in a single novel.
Award-winning children’s authors Elise Broach, Richard Michelson, Gregory Mone and literary agent Rosemary Stimola were the panelists for “The ABCs Just Got More Complicated – Writing for Children.” Complications discussed included identity politics, which creates hypersensitivity to those who might feel offended; consolidation in the industry, which leads to publishers relying on algorithms and data based on what has previously been successful, resulting in fewer publishers; and the banning of books, which makes publishers increasingly unwilling to take risks, posing the danger of self-censorship by authors themselves.
The pitch panel is always a crowd favorite. Here, selected brave souls present an overview of their book, its significance, the target audience, a little about themselves, and comparable published books. Publishers’ consultant Torrey Oberfest, author Nancy Star, Rosemary Stimola of Stimola Literary Studio, and Gretchen Young of Regalo Press provided targeted feedback on the strengths of the pitches and proposals.
This year we heard from six authors. Dr. Frances Gaskin is writing a book about the history of the Martha’s Vineyard polar bears from the perspective of her family’s involvement over five generations. Nat Benjamin’s memoir, “The Wide Sea,” is a sea adventure, a love story and a coming of age for the author. “It’s a 20th century ‘odyssey,'” he said. Allison Roberts introduced “Art Slut,” a humorous book in a variety of styles, from satirical to absurd, told in essays, blurbs and fake news briefs. In Janet Bell’s book, “Sunny the Coast Guard Dog,” for 5- to 10-year-old readers, Sunny experiences her journey from a shelter to a heroic bomb-sniffing dog. Emily Cavanaugh’s “Timber Street” tells the story of two mothers separated by a growing camp in their rapidly changing hometown as both struggle to create a safe home for their children. Michael West’s Scoring the Stake is an entertaining crime thriller with a touch of quirkiness and unexpected twists about an amateur detective working on a murder case in Chilmark involving his old flame.
Author Mathea Morais moderated a panel discussion with publishers Dawn Davis (37 INK, Simon & Schuster), Marc Favreau (The New Press), and Gretchen Young (Regalo Press) about the current state of the industry. Panelists talked about what goes on in the acquisitions process, which begins with reviewing a large number of submissions to decide whether a book should be presented to an editorial meeting and discussed with colleagues. If the feedback is positive, it is presented to the acquisitions committee, which includes people from publishing, public relations, marketing, sales, finance, and ancillary rights, among others. “It’s so important that your editor is passionate and enthusiastic,” Young explains of having an editor guide your book through the process. After the contract is signed, there can be months to years of editing and a year of design and production.
Another interesting finding about the industry is that there has been over 300 percent growth in audiobooks, including non-print copies. Finally, all of the panelists agreed that the most important thing is to get your book out there, whether you’re working with a large or small publisher or self-publishing.
Island authors Nancy Slonim Aronie, Perry Garfinkel and Sherry Sidoti spoke on their panel “More than Memoir” about the importance of writing a personal narrative with a purpose. Purpose is very important to Aronie, emphasizing, “The story marinates. You carry it around in your pancreas and your liver – get it out of you.” Garfinkel reflects, “People say, ‘I’ve had such a fascinating life, I need to make it into a book.’ And I ask, ‘You’ve lived a fascinating life, but what does that have to do with me?’ The ‘connection’ has to do with the universality of your story. The purpose of my books is to bring some enlightenment to other people – whether it’s psychological, emotional or health-related.”
Sidoti felt that for her it was a combination of both: “First of all, it’s about not having stories trapped in our bodies that make us feel uncomfortable. But that doesn’t mean much if we don’t share it. In other people’s stories, we see reflections of ourselves and our own stories.” She added: “And I wanted to give myself the opportunity to make and create art. There has to be a selfish element that makes you commit to the grueling process of going back into your own memories, writing them down and making them worth reading so that others can relate to them.”
Geraldine Brooks moderated the final panel, “And Your Point Is?” with authors Bill Eville and Patricia J. Williams, about writing essays with voice and vision. She began by asking what comes to mind when I think of the essay genre. “I think of its literal meaning, which is trying to achieve something,” said Williams, who has been writing since she was a child, adding, “I find it to be a form that expands your thinking.” Eville said he has always been a fan of essays. “It almost felt like you were snuggling up to the author and learning about their life and their feelings. But I didn’t think I would ever pursue the genre. When I did, it became the genre where I really found my voice and gave meaning to writing.”
At the end of the eight-hour day of presentations and writing workshops, Featherstone was a hive of activity with people sharing ideas about what they had heard, and the inspiration to go home and write—or read—was palpable.
