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. These will include the following:
1. The celebrated on-line Short Story Writing Contest for Nassau County middle school and high school students. Details of this program will be announced in the near future.
2. The Book Festival Scholarship program which will provide a $5,000 scholarship to the Nassau County high school senior who wins the competition.
In addition to the above, we hope to announce additional activities as circumstances permit.
During the next year we will focus on preparing for our 2022 Book Festival scheduled for February 2022 during which we will celebrate our 20th Anniversary. We will also focus on improving our systems and infrastructure to ensure the sustainability of the Book Festival for many years to come.
We hope that our members, sponsors and donors will continue their support for our programs as we adjust to the current reality, especially during the upcoming annual membership drive. We will keep you connected through regular updates and if you want to learn more about our programs or become a member, please go to our website www.ameliaislandbookfestival.org.
On behalf of our Board of Directors, a sincere thank you to our community for your past support of the Amelia Island Book Festival’s programs and goals. We look forward to your continued support!
Larry Williams
President, Amelia Island Book Festival