An Evening with Essie Chambers, Award-winning Author of the novel, "Swift River"

The Vineyard Haven Library is pleased to welcome Essie Chambers for a conversation about her award-winning debut novel, Swift River, recently selected as a Today Show “Read with Jenna” Book Club pick. This event will be held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, July 29th at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above the Tisbury Town Hall). Books will be available for on-site purchase through Bunch of Grapes. Free and open to the public. No registration required.

It’s the summer of 1987 in Swift River, and Diamond Newberry is learning how to drive. Ever since her Pop disappeared seven years ago, she and her mother hitchhike everywhere they go. But that’s not the only reason Diamond stands out: she’s teased relentlessly about her weight, and since Pop’s been gone, she is the only Black person in all of Swift River. This summer, Ma is determined to declare Pop legally dead so they can collect his life insurance money, get their house back from the bank, and finally move on.

But when Diamond receives a letter from a relative she’s never met, key elements of Pop’s life are uncovered. She is introduced to two generations of African American Newberry women, whose lives span the 20th century and reveal a much larger picture of prejudice and abandonment, of love and devotion. As pieces of their shared past become clearer, Diamond gains a sense of her place in the world and in her family. How will what she’s learned of the past change her future?

Essie Chambers is an award-winning author and producer. Her bestselling debut novel, Swift River—a Today Show “Read with Jenna” Book Club pick—won the 2024 Barnes & Noble Discover Prize and was named a best book of the year by The Washington Post, NPR, The Boston Globe, Elle, and others. It was also longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award, The Libby Awards, the New England Book Awards and the Barnes & Noble Book of the Year. She received an Honor Fiction award from The Black Caucus of the American Library Association.

Essie started her career as a television executive at Nickelodeon and BET before becoming an independent producer and filmmaker. She went on to produce the critically acclaimed PBS documentary, The New Public, and the Sundance Award–winning, Oscar-shortlisted documentary Descendant, which was released by the Obamas’ Higher Ground production company and Netflix in 2022. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Columbia University and has received fellowships from MacDowell, the Vermont Studio Center, and Baldwin for the Arts. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, where she’s about to get started on book number two!

For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or (508) 696-4211.

Summer Reading is Here!

Visit the satellite library at 15 Church Street to participate in our Summer Reading Challenge!

Step 1: Come to the library at 15 Church St and choose a “spark” to try. For example, read a book in your favorite genre, or find all the clocks in the library.

Step 2: When you complete your spark, come to the children’s room and tell us.  

Step 3: Get a small prize and put a firefly in a jar to vote for what you would like to see in the new library! Should we get a giant teddy bear, new puppets and props, or something else, or something else?

We also have Break-in Bags for teens, and a Summer Reading Challenge Bingo Card for Adults!

NEW! Library Storytimes are now offered twice a week, Mondays & Tuesdays at 10 am!
Grace Church, 34 Woodlawn Avenue. Due to the library renovation project, our storytime programs will be held at Grace Church on the corner of Woodlawn Avenue and William Street. May be held outside in the amphitheater in nice weather.

THIS WEEK! Creating Cartoon Characters with Ira Marcks, Wednesday, June 25th at 3:30, Tisbury EMS Facility, 215 Spring Street
Award-winning graphic novelist Ira Marcks leads a hands-on workshop in designing expressive cartoon characters. Through a fun and engaging workshop, participants will learn an easy to follow process for designing a cartoon face and how to adapt the features to create emotional expressions for storytelling. Best suited for tweens and teens.

NEXT WEEK! Tisbury Family Shellfish Day, 9am - noon, Saturday, June 28th at Lagoon Pond 
Join local shell fishermen and learn how to quahog! This is a FREE community event — all ages welcome. Bring your family, friends, and curiosity for the Island’s shellfish heritage. Please text Tisbury Shellfish Constable Danielle to RSVP with how many in your party: 774-563-1279 or email: dewart@tisburyma.gov Sponsored by Town of Tisbury Shellfish Department.

STAY TUNED! Weekly crafts and other special programs will be returning in July, on Wednesday afternoons. Summer programs will include lantern painting, Pokeball hunt, water rockets, and more!

Programs are subject to change, please check our online calendar and Facebook page for updates. 

History on Plaster: The Stan Murphy Murals with Bow Van Riper

The Vineyard Haven Library is pleased to welcome local historian Bow Van Riper for a presentation about the history and content of the celebrated murals painted on the walls of the Katharine Cornell Theatre by Stan Murphy. This event will be held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, July 22nd at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above the Tisbury Town Hall). Free and open to the public. No registration required.

The Stan Murphy murals in the Katharine Cornell Theater are among the Island's most impressive pieces of public art. They represent Murphy's attempt to capture the history and ambience of life on the Island in just four panels. This talk takes a deep dive into their content and significance.

“History on Plaster: The Stan Murphy Murals” is the second in a three-part series of talks relating to the Katharine Cornell Theatre to be presented by Bow Van Riper in 2025. On May 27th, Bow delivered a presentation entitled, “Association Hall and the History of Vineyard Haven,” and on September 23rd, he will present on “Katharine Cornell and the Vineyard.”  

A historian for 40 years, A. Bowdoin "Bow" Van Riper received his BA from Brown University and his MA and PhD from the University of Wisconsin—Madison. He taught at the college level for more than 20 years and is the author, editor, or co-editor of 22 books and over 100 articles. He has been Research Librarian at the Martha's Vineyard Museum since 2014.

A third-generation washashore, Bow first came to the Island in 1963, at the age of 3 months, and moved here permanently in December 2011. He lives on the shores of Vineyard Haven Harbor in a 19th century house where, as far as he can tell, nothing of historical significance ever happened.

For more information, please contact the library at (508) 696-4211 or vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org, or consult the library website: https://www.vhlibrary.org.

Protecting Martha’s Vineyard’s Turtles with Richard Johnson

The Vineyard Haven Library is pleased to welcome longtime island naturalist Richard Johnson for a presentation on the history, ecology and conservation status of Martha’s Vineyard’s Turtles. This event will be held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, July 15th, 2025 at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above the Tisbury Town Hall). Free and open to the public. No registration required.

There are five species of land and pond turtles on Martha's Vineyard. Richard Johnson will introduce the four native and one invasive species, focusing on their history, ecology, and  identification. Johnson will also discuss the threats facing each species, and what can be done to protect them--including how individuals and families can help. 

Richard Johnson has been an island naturalist for over 30 years. He served as the head of the Martha’s Vineyard Tick Borne Illness Reduction Initiative from 2011-2022 and Executive Director of Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation from 1990-2008. 

Concerned about the status of the Vineyard’s native pond and land turtles, particularly painted turtles, Johnson is launching a project to assess the population status of painted turtles and the other 3 species of native turtles. He also hopes to determine the extent to which red-eared sliders, an invasive turtle recently discovered on Martha’s Vineyard, are reproducing on the island.

For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or (508) 696-4211.

A Conversation with NYT Bestselling Author Martha Hall Kelly

At 6:00 PM on Wednesday, July 9th, the Vineyard Haven Library welcomes New York Times bestselling author Martha Hall Kelly for an intimate conversation about her new novel, The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club, inspired by her mother’s family--the Smiths--who settled on Martha’s Vineyard in 1891. Martha will be in conversation with her sister, Polly Simpkins, as they explore the intricacies of their mother's story and the role it plays in the novel. This event will be held at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, July 9th, 2025 at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, with books available for on-site purchase through Bunch of Grapes Bookstore.

In The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club, two sisters living on Martha’s Vineyard during World War II find hope in the power of storytelling when they start a wartime book club for women in this spectacular novel inspired by true events, from the New York Times bestselling author of Lilac Girls.

“A dreamy beach book that also sizzles with tension . . . another winner by one of the best historical fiction writers around.”—Fiona Davis, author of The Stolen Queen

2016: Thirty-four-year-old Mari Starwood is still grieving after her mother’s death as she travels to the storied island of Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts. She’s come all the way from California with nothing but a name on a piece of paper: Elizabeth Devereaux, the famous but reclusive Vineyard painter. When Mari makes it to Mrs. Devereaux’s stunning waterfront farm under the guise of taking a painting class with her, Mrs. Devereaux begins to tell her the story of the Smith sisters, who once lived there. As the tale unfolds, Mari is shocked to learn that her relationship to this island runs deeper than she ever thought possible.

1942: The Smith girls—nineteen-year-old aspiring writer Cadence and sixteen-year-old war-obsessed Briar—are faced with the impossible task of holding their failing family farm together during World War II as the U.S. Army arrives on Martha’s Vineyard. When Briar spots German U-boats lurking off the island’s shores, and Cadence falls into an unlikely romance with a sworn enemy, their quiet lives are officially upended. In an attempt at normalcy, Cadence and her best friend, Bess, start a book club, which grows both in members and influence as they connect with a fabulous New York publisher who could make all of Cadence’s dreams come true. But all that is put at risk by a mysterious man who washes ashore—and whispers of a spy in their midst. Who in their tight-knit island community can they trust? Could this little book club change the course of the war . . . before it’s too late?

Martha Hall Kelly is the New York Times bestselling author of Lilac Girls, Lost Roses, Sunflower Sisters, and The Golden Doves. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Martha was inspired to write this novel by her mother’s family, the Smiths, who settled on Martha’s Vineyard in 1891. She received journalism degrees from both Syracuse and Northwestern Universities and worked as an advertising copywriter for many years before becoming a novelist. With more than two million copies of her books sold and translated in fifty countries, Martha lives in Litchfield, Connecticut, and Hobe Sound, Florida. 

Photo: © Frank Cordoba

Polly Simpkins is an inter-spiritual minister, ceremonialist, and founder of Petal Sky, which provides spiritual care for all stages of life, including death. She is a fourth-generation Islander, a story-gatherer, and a DJ at MVY Radio. Polly lives in Vineyard Haven.

This event will be held at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven, above the Tisbury Town Hall. Registration not required. For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or (508) 696-4211.