Star Island to Hold First Literary Festival

Share the experience of literature with authors Anita Shreve, Katherine Towler, Corwin Ericson, other presenters and guests at the first Star Island Literary Festival from Sunday, August 26 to Friday, August 31.

The Star Island Literary Festival will serve as New England’s summer retreat for creativity, imagination and the art of writing. Participants will gather for this island experience that welcomes authors, educators and those simply interested in good writing to celebrate local and regional works.

Focusing on the theme of islands, the Star Island Literary Festival looks forward to creating its own traditions while fostering a connection with the mainland writing world in its first year. The festival seeks to highlight contemporary writing while harkening back to the days of Celia Thaxter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and J.G. Whittier who were all inspired by the Isles of Shoals.

Star Island CEO Vicky Hardy said, “Star Island is so fortunate to serve as an inspiration to artists of all kinds. The Star Island Literary Festival acts as another commitment to a community seeking to create quality work and to celebrate that work. We look forward to hosting this festival for many years.”

The festival welcomes Anita Shreve, author of sixteen novels, to discuss a sense of place in her writing. The Weight of Water, Shreve’s novel about the Smuttynose Island murders, will play a central role in Shreve’s talk. Guests are also invited to row across the harbor to visit Smuttynose and its landmarks during the festival.

Anita Shreve said, "I'm so looking forward to being at the Isles of Shoals and their terrific literary festival this year  Star Island strikes me as the perfect place for such an event -- rich in literary history, remote, and even a little gothic in its history."

Portsmouth, NH author Katherine Towler will provide a keynote address on the theme of islands in literature. Her acclaimed novels in the Snow Island Trilogy focus on an island community through several generations.

“Star Island is such an inspiring and renewing place,” Towler said. “From the moment you step off the ferry, you are transported to a world where the rhythms of the day are governed by the tides and the light, the wind and the calls of the gulls. It’s a writer’s paradise.”

Novelist Corwin Ericson, author of Swell, will interact with guests throughout the festival week. Ericson will talk about his novel, which critics have compared to Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, that takes place on a fictional New England island.

Festival Co-Chair Jill Brody said, “Star is the perfect venue for a literary festival – a concentrated paradise of sea and sky with enough space for people to meet comfortably or to spend time in reflection.  From best selling authors to creative thinkers who are just getting going, this literary festival will inspire and center anyone interested in the writing life.”

Festival Co-Chair Karina Pretto said, “I encourage anyone who has never been to Star Island to see it for themselves. It's the sort of place that is difficult to do justice to in explanation. I also encourage those who have been coming for many years to return and see it anew: A literary festival is a new direction for Star Island and a tradition we hope to keep going for many years to come."

Registration for the Star Island Literary Festival has already started. For more information, please visit StarIsland.org/LitFest.

The Star Island Corporation was established as a nonprofit corporation in 1916 to hold and administer Star Island and its historic properties for religious, educational, and kindred purposes. The Laighton family owned and operated hotels on the Isles of Shoals that attracted some of the most prominent artists and writers of their day. Some of the cottages on Star Island date back to the 1700s. For more information visit StarIsland.org.

Submitted by Kyle Belmont on behalf of Star Island Corporation, Portsmouth