Press Release
Amelia Island Book Festival
Raffaela Marie Rizzo Fenn
July 19, 2017 3:00 p.m.
NEW BOARD GEARS UP FOR 17TH ANNUAL FESTIVAL, FEB. 15-17, 2018
During the Amelia Island Book Festival annual meeting, the 2017-2018 board of directors recapped the highly successful 2017 event for members, volunteers and local area citizens. With special emphasis on the board’s award-winning Authors in Schools Program and its associated Tween/Teens Outreach, the February festival provided close to 8,700 books for Nassau County students.
New officers and directors were also elected at the meeting. The following officers will lead the 2018 festival work which is already well underway: Dr. John Ruis – President; Maurie Dugger – Vice President; Terry Ramsay – Treasurer; Fran Shea – Secretary; and Raffaela Marie Fenn – Author Coordinator and Immediate Past President. Directors at Large are: Barbara Heggenstaller, Bill Amos, Kate DeCou, Joelle Crahay, Liz Dunn, Bob Langert, Lynn Newcomer and Susanna Theo.
A lineup of world renowned authors will be announced in a few weeks. No. 1 International and New York Times best-selling author Steve Berry is returning as honorary chairman for the 17th Annual Amelia Island Book Festival, set for Feb. 15-17, 2018.
“We are excited about providing opportunities to enhance the development of students’ literary skills through our festival events. In addition, our goal for 2018 is to provide a book for every student in the Nassau District Schools, which would be approximately 11,300 books. We are counting on the continued support of our sponsors and donors to offer these opportunities for students in our schools,” said John Ruis, 2017-2018 AIBF President.
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2017 highlights include:
• From February 16 – 18, 2017, Amelia Island turned into a literary oasis for major New York Times best-selling and celebrated authors. Headliners included Steve Berry (honorary chairman), David Baldacci, Mary Kay Andrews, Lara Adrian, Joseph Finder and R.L. Stine and Jacques Pépin. Local celebrity Henny Stewart from “The Chat,” as well as more than 100 noted authors of every genre, created an amazing tapestry of authors and books throughout the three-day event. R.L. Stine visited with all fourth grades across the county. Ticketed events were sold out and the Saturday free community day was jam-packed. Over the three days, more than 13,000 participated in celebrating the written word.
• “The students of Nassau County were the winners,” said Marie Fenn, Festival volunteer president (2015-2017), “due to the tremendous support of the community with ticket purchases for the pre-festival events and the sellout of events such as the Kick-off Luncheon, Author Face-off Gala and the Steve Berry Writer’s Workshop. Through the generosity of our sponsors and supporters, the festival brought 21 authors to our Nassau County’s 15 public schools, and most noteworthy, the board purchased 8,649 books for the students of Nassau County schools, fulfilling every request from the schools and media specialists (a significant increase from 6,000 books in 2015).
• Nassau County School District Superintendent Kathy Burns said, “We are grateful to the Amelia Island Book Festival for bringing 21 authors in to our schools. What an excellent opportunity you provide; you’re making our students’ reading come to life! If you can read, you can do anything!”
• Attendees gave each event exceptionally high marks, including pre-festival events such as the Murder Mystery Dinner, “Hit the Pin” for Literacy Golf Tournament and the student county-wide short story contest; Kick-off Luncheon with keynote speaker David Baldacci (introduced by Steve Berry); Lessons from a Bestseller Writers Workshop; Teen Scenes with Charles Benoit, Mark Wayne Adams, Nathan Brooken and David-Mathew Barnes; Author Face-off Gala with Steve Berry, R.L. Stine, David Baldacci, Joseph Finder, Mary Kay Andrews and Lara Adrian, emceed by Florida Senator Aaron Bean; Authors in Schools with 21 different authors; Author Expo/Readers Extravaganza with more than 100 authors of every genre and breakout sessions featuring Jacques Pépin, Henny Stewart, Joseph Finder and Lara Adrian. And, more than 400 attended “Giving Kids the Creeps”, presented by R.L. Stine.
• One author expressed the sentiments of many, “I thought it was the BEST Amelia Island Book Festival ever, and I have attended and participated for more than 15 years. Kudos to you and your team. It was very well-organized and author-friendly. The list of speakers you brought in certainly helped create excitement and generate crowds. And the fact that you’re putting so many books into schools is to be commended. I don’t know of another book festival that does that. Great job!” Award-winning children’s author Jane Wood