Elin Hilderbrand will be in Hyannis Nov. 7. Here’s where, why
Fans of Elin Hilderbrand have another reason to be happy. Not only does the popular Nantucket author have a new book out, she’s also scheduled to appear at the Hyannis Arts Hall for a Q&A event in support of the recent release.
The special event will take place on Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. as the New York Times best-selling novelist talks about “The Academy,” a book that she wrote with her daughter, Shelby Cunningham. They based the story on Shelby’s time at Saint George’s School in Rhode Island.
“Shelby was telling me all the stories about her boarding school experience and I said to her we have to write a novel,” says Hilderbrand. “I just took a different setting and Shelby and I dug in. It explores a very eventful and drama filled year at a New England boarding school.”
The Academy is the first book in a two-part series, with the sequel set to follow the characters as they go from being juniors to seniors. The collaboration also marks Hilderbrand’s departure from writing a Nantucket-themed story, a change of pace from her other books that Hilderbrand calls “refreshing.”
“I was thrilled,” she says. “Now we are creating a whole universe and it’s not set at the beach. It opens up new possibilities for different storytelling.”
Hilderbrand has lived on Nantucket for 30 years and has become synonymous with the island following the success of her books and the 2024 Netflix film adaptation of her novel “The Perfect Couple.” An adaptation of her 2023 novel “The Five-Star Weekend,” a story that followed a recently widowed food blogger and her reunion on Nantucket with longtime friends, was recently filmed on Nantucket with Jennifer Garner, and is scheduled to debut on Peacock next year.
But Hilderbrand has a connection to Cape Cod, too.
Growing up outside of Philadelphia, she and her family vacationed on the Cape during the summers at a rented house in Brewster.
“We had extremely idyllic childhood summers, the happiest times in my childhood ever spent in the house in Brewster,” she recalls. “And so when I moved to Nantucket, I think it was in some sense like an attempt to sort of recapture those times.”
Hilderbrand says that she thinks people who live on Nantucket have a “certain connection” to Hyannis. Citing the steamship ferry that goes back and forth between the two, she calls Hyannis “our portal to and from the island.”
This time of the year Hilderbrand is usually in Boston revising her next novel and will be returning to Nantucket for the Elin Hilderbrand Bucket List Weekend. Although her tour this fall did not include a stop on the Cape, she decided to make time on her way to Nantucket to honor the request of her friend Bill Ferrall, who is the managing director of the Hyannis Arts Hall.
“I’m extremely grateful to Elin for appearing here,” said Ferrall. “It’s a big deal and it really is in keeping with what we’re trying to do at the Hyannis Arts Hall, which is to present a spectrum of events.”
The Hyannis Arts Hall has hosted a film festival, theatrical performances, and other events since its recent opening. Holiday markets are also on the venue’s upcoming schedule.
Proceeds from Hilderbrand’s appearance will support the nonprofit Hyannis Arts Hall in bringing year-round arts and cultural events to the Historic East End of Hyannis, for audiences from Hyannis, Cape Cod, and beyond, according to a release.
Co-presenters of Hilderbrand’s Hyannis appearance include the nonprofit Cape Cod Writers Center, which holds an annual conference and monthly workshops, and Titcomb’s Bookshop in East Sandwich, which will sell copies of Hilderbrand’s The Academy during her appearance, the release adds.
Beer, wine and nonalcoholic beverages will be available before the 7 p.m. Q&A with Hilderbrand, and the author will sign a limited number of copies of her new book. Tickets can be purchased at eventbrite.com. General admission is $35 and there’s a $100 option to be seated in the first two to three rows of the Hyannis Arts Hall auditorium, with one complimentary drink included. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
For Hilderbrand, despite the roll she’s been on, she still operates from a place of gratitude because she knows it didn’t come easy.
“I was certainly not an overnight success,” she says.“I wrote five books that nobody read and then my sixth book was a success. It did not happen right away and the great thing about that is that it makes me appreciate it more.”
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