Our model was to focus on the most topical issues, the finest authors, make it as accessible as possible (free with an easy to use platform), and offer an abridged series so no one would get sick of us.

The series was different, but it was pretty great. With Sarah Broom and Erik Larson, it was hard to go wrong. And with discussions on the Supreme Court with Ruth Marcus, Richard Lazarus and Adam Cohen, and The Black Lives Matter Movement with Kiese Laymon, Barbara Phillips and David Blight, it was informative, timely and smart. A virtual series gave us access to just the right moderators including Thelma Golden of the Studio Museum in Harlem with Sarah Broom; author Amor Towles (A Gentleman of Moscow) with Erik Larson; journalist, lawyer and legal correspondent Dahlia Lithwick for the Supreme Court discussion; and Harvard Law School Professor Kenneth Mack for the racial justice panel. The authors and moderators were stunning. They were well prepared and generous with their time. We learned that there is an intimacy and immediacy to doing virtual events live and up close, and indeed it is another form of community dialogue. We were pleased that the series provided a connection to the Vineyard for those who could not get here this summer, and our audience grew to unimagined levels.

Our advisory board was exceptionally helpful in shaping the format, content and participants of the series with particular thanks to Dawn Davis, Steve Fischer, Jessica Harris, Patricia Sullivan and George Gibson. We learned new ways to share the information about our events, and we are grateful to our media partner, The Vineyard Gazette as well as for their excellent coverage of our events. Kate Brown was our clever and quick social media master, and Jeanna Shepard took the best photographs. Chilmark Town Affairs Council provided a strong foundation thanks to the work of Jeff Herman, Betty Frank Bailey, and Alexandra London-Thompson. Bunch of Grapes Bookstore helpfully delivered a seamless connection for book sales. Melissa Paterson of About Signs MV made us look interesting. The series was free but hundreds of you stepped up to support it with donations large and small, and this made it all possible. We are grateful to this extraordinary community for recognizing the importance of books and dialogue.

We missed seeing your faces this summer, but most importantly we knew you were there. In a difficult time, we learned that there are other ways to connect. Thank you for making what seemed like an impossible season a surprisingly successful one. We can't wait to see you next year for the Martha's Vineyard Book Festival on August 7-8, 2021!

Suellen, Valerie and Annie