The biennial Martha's Vineyard Book Festival brought authors and literature fans together this weekend for panel discussions, interviews and book readings from Edgartown to Chilmark. The event kicked off Friday with a sold-out discussion between Ta-Nehasi Coates and Michele Norris about race in America. At the Harbor View Hotel Saturday, panel discussions tackled topics ranging from the inner thoughts of animals and the local food movement to writing about one's self.

On the grounds of the Chilmark Community Center Sunday, crowds gathered in three tents on a hot day for a wealth of author talks and discussions. Boston Globe sports writer Bob Ryan talked sports and about his new memoir, Scribe; author Sarah Wildman talked about searching through archival records and family history for her book Paper Love, a story about love and the Holocaust; and Erik Larson kept a packed crowd entertained as he talked about his newest book, Dead Wake. Attendees purchased books in the Bunch of Grapes tent and waited in lines to have them signed by authors, while others read the Sunday New York Times on benches or took naps under a tree during downtime.