Amelia Island Book Festival engages adults and young people in the joy of reading and writing
through a series of public events featuring New York Times best-selling authors,
independent publishers and authors, awards programs and workshops.
2021 Amelia Island Book Festival Adjusts to COVID -19
A letter from Board President, Larry Williams
For 19 years the Amelia Island Book Festival has connected students, authors and books for lifelong learning. We continue to commit to our guiding principle of promoting literacy for all of Nassau County, Florida. Through the support of our members, sponsors and donors, this year’s festival provided for the purchase and distribution of over 13,000 books—one book to each student in the Nassau County School District and several private schools in the county. It also allowed famed authors from throughout the country to meet directly with our students to discuss the various books chosen by each school.
Unfortunately, these unprecedented times, overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, have impacted all of us. Because of the obstacles presented by the pandemic, including the inability to successfully recruit celebrity authors, the Board of the Book Festival has made the decision to cancel our annual 3-day 2021 Book Festival including our spectacular 20th anniversary celebration, scheduled for February 2021. This decision was made above all, to insure the health and safety of our students, teachers, authors and attendees.
However, we are hoping to be able to provide several programs to replace the usual festival activities. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING...
Celebrating 20 Years: Enriching Lives with Literacy
Like many festivals and events that have had to cancel or scale down normal activities in the face of the COVID-19, Amelia Island Book Festival made the decision to cancel the 2021 public events. This was especially difficult, because the year represents our festival’s 20th anniversary.
With a grand celebration not possible, AIBF has sought alternatives to continue its strong connections to the community while maintaining safety. One very special and appropriate way we can recognize this milestone is by sharing our stories and remembrances of past events, and our hopes for the future.
We begin a series of writings, starting with a story of how AIBF began, penned by one of the original founders, Don Parker, from his book 88 is Great.
We hope you’ll enjoy these stories, and watch for others under this heading over the next few months.
