Ann Patchett is my literary fairy godmother. My tagline has always been this: I would read Ann Patchett’s grocery list, her doodle pad or the pages she throws out. But when you read something like Whistler, her newest novel on shelves June 2, you realize how her books are like works of art, much more than a grocery list. I read fiction to find the truth in our human existence, and there are myriad truths in a novel like Whistler. I adored the characters and their backstories. Patchett has an entire list of books to fall in love with and cherish. My other favorites are Bel Canto, the 2001 PEN/Faulkner Award winner about a fictional hostage situation in South America, and Tom Lake, a story about a mother who tells her daughters of a youthful romance with a famous actor at a summer theater camp. All of Patchett’s books give you the old-fashioned feeling that someone is sitting you down to tell you a story, and I am all ears for Ann Patchett.

I will be in conversation with Ann Patchett on Saturday, June 13, at 11 a.m. at the Methodist Church for the Nantucket Book Festival.

Ever since Jenna Bush Hager launched “Read With Jenna” on The Today Show in 2019, I have considered her one of my personal book whisperers. Her enthusiasm for literature and her inclusive and diverse selection of books are unmatched. Her newest venture, Thousand Voices Books, is providing some of the freshest books I’ve read in a while because “one story can spark a hundred conversations that inspire a thousand voices.” Love is at the center of them all. We have romantic love in Into the Blue by Emma Brodie, a book unlike any I’ve read before; sisterly love in Juliet Faithfull’s Liar’s Dice; and our love of summer traditions in Shannon Garvey’s June Baby, an elevated beach read perfect for the upcoming Nantucket summer season.

I will be in conversation with Jenna Bush Hager and the Thousand Voices authors on Friday, June 12, at 4 p.m. at the Methodist Church.

I must have been living under a rock because I had never read a Richard Russo book before Oprah Winfrey picked Bridge of Sighs for her book club last fall. Russo was always in my “to read” pile, but I never got around to it. I have corrected that literary injustice and have since devoured six of his incredible novels, and I’m thrilled to welcome him to the Nantucket Book Festival this year. Bridge

of Sighs is probably my favorite. Russo manages to make even a character’s trip to the supermarket a moment to remember. His characters feel like people you know: friends, family, neighbors and members of your own community. Empire Falls is equally outstanding. The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and I wish I could read it again for the first time. Look for his newest book, Under the Falls, this August—it’s another story that perfectly captures the nuances of working-class, small-town American life with humor, empathy and deep realism.

You can see Richard Russo on Friday, June 12, at 2 p.m. with Chrissy Brown at the Methodist Church.

You would be hard-pressed to find a buzzier memoir this year than Belle Burden’s Strangers: A Memoir

of Marriage. Featured on almost every broadcast this spring and now optioned for a film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Burden’s story is not an uncommon one. Imagine if your spouse of 20 years, with no warning or explanation, walked in the room one day and said they were leaving you. What follows is a raw, honest, deeply moving story of heartbreak and resilience that makes every reader feel vulnerable, reflecting on love, loss and self-identity after trauma.

Belle Burden will be in conversation with my podcast co host and bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand on Friday, June 12, at 1 p.m.

Over the last decade, I have enjoyed connecting with an author on stage just as much as I have enjoyed reading their book. Hearing the voice that created a story you

love or a character you resonated with is pure joy. That’s what the Nantucket Book Festival is all about. You won’t find better, more entertaining personalities on stage than Isaac Fitzgerald and Adriana Trigiani. The way they talk about writing and reading—their passion for storytelling and their art of the written word—is truly something to witness. Both authors focus heavily on family in their new books, diving into their personal histories. Isaac Fitzgerald’s American Rambler retraces the path of Johnny Appleseed all while blending Fitzgerald’s own reflections on grief and sobriety into the story. Adriana Trigiani’s The View from Lake Como is a heartfelt and

humorous story about an Italian American woman discovering her heritage and family secrets.

Don’t miss Isaac Fitzgerald with Wendy Hudson on Thursday, June 11, and Adriana Trigiani with Sara DiVello on Saturday, June 13.

I have revered Ruta Sepetys’ books for years. She is always my top example of an author whose books are placed in the young adult section of bookstores, but whose stories are meant to be read by people of all ages. I recommend Salt to the Sea, about the little-known tragedy of a German ship sinking in the Baltic Sea in 1945, and Between Shades of Grey, the story of a 15-year-old Lithuanian refugee in 1941. Sepetys’ newest book, on shelves just in time for the festival, is her adult debut, A Fortune of Sand,set in 1920s Detroit during the Prohibition era with a Great Gatsby vibe and secret Nantucket connection. It’s wonderful to welcome Sepetys, one of the 2025 Nantucket Book Foundation’s Visiting Authors in Schools, back to the island for the festival.

Ruta Sepetys will be talking with Mary Haft on Saturday, June 13, at 2 p.m. at the Methodist Church.

I recommended Kin in the Spring 2026 issue of N Magazine as one of my favorite books of the year so far. It’s an unforgettable novel about two motherless girls growing up in the American South in the 1950s. Buckeye was my favorite book of 2025, and I featured this moving novel last year in the September issue. It’s an all-consuming epic that you won’t be able to put down. The Wilderness was another favorite book of mine from last year, as well as one of Barack Obama’s top books of 2025. It follows five friends over two decades.

I will be in conversation with Tayari Jones on Saturday, June 13, at 5 p.m. at the Methodist Church, while Patrick Ryan will be in conversation with Ann Patchett on Saturday, June 13, at 4 p.m., and Angela Flournoy will talk with Shantaw Bloise- Murphy on Friday, June 12, at 10 a.m.