Amelia Island Book Festival Announces Steve Berry as 2016 Honorary Chairman

This year's Festival takes on an exciting new format. Residents and visitors alike will have plenty of new attractions and new venues to revel in.

Amelia Island, FL – With a new format and new venues, there are exciting changes in store for attendees at the upcoming 15th Annual Amelia Island Book Festival, biggest of which is Steve Berry as honorary festival chairman. With more than 15 international best sellers, Berry’s books have been translated into 40 languages with 19 million copies in 51 countries. They consistently appear in the top echelon of The New York Times, USA Today, and Indie bestseller lists.

“I’ve been coming to Amelia Island and its many book festivals for a long time. This year I’m honored to serve in an advisory role and work with the board to make this the best event in the history of the festival,” said Berry.

Berry is no stranger to Nassau County. In 2005, he was awarded the Stellar Award for his outstanding contributions to literacy by the Amelia Island Book Festival.

History lies at the heart of every Steve Berry novel. It’s his passion, one he shares with his wife, Elizabeth, which led them to create History Matters, a foundation dedicated to historic preservation. Berry will appear in Nassau County at several events throughout the three-day Festival slated for Thursday, February 18 through Saturday, February 20, 2016, along with several other New York Times best-selling headliners.

“His guidance in crafting our offerings and helping to entice other well-known authors to appear at our Festival has been invaluable,” said 2015-2016 Festival Chairperson Raffaela Marie Fenn. “He and Elizabeth have graciously offered to run their Master Writers Workshop to help us raise money for our literacy program, Authors in Schools. Replacing our usual Writers’ Workshop this year, the intense four-hour offering has been a huge boon to other communities. We are so very grateful for their generosity.”

With this year’s captivating theme, An Amelia Island Encounter—Action, Thrills and Mystery, the Festival takes on an exciting new format. Residents and visitors alike will have plenty of new attractions and new venues to revel in.

All proceeds from ticketed events go to support the Authors in Schools program, which for more than 11 years has been bringing an author to each school in the county, and buying those authors’ books for the students to create a memorable, engaging, full-circle experience highlighting the importance of the written word.

“We invite everyone to be a part of this endeavor, to support the Authors in Schools Program, as well as all the opportunities for the entire community and our visitors to celebrate life-long learning through books,” says 2015-2016 Festival Vice Chair Shiela Fountain.

Mark your calendars, check out the website www.ameliaislandbookfestival.org, and stay tuned for more exciting news and improvements.

The Amelia Island Book Festival is a not for profit 501(c)3 Corporation seeking to open up the world for people of all ages by promoting and celebrating literacy through books. With a mission to promote life-long learning though fostering an appreciation for books, we provide quality events featuring authors in engaging venues.