Congratulations to Nathaniel Philbrick on receiving the inaugural Nantucket Atheneum Luminary Award.
In the summer of 2026, the Nantucket Atheneum introduces the Luminary Award Dinner, a new summer fundraiser that blends timeless elegance with the vibrant charm of Nantucket Island.
Please preview the following instructions for submitting a stock or wire transfer.
Contact us at moreilly@nantucketatheneum.org to let us know your gift is on the way or ensure your broker/banker includes your name and gift designation with the transfer.
Since 1834, the Nantucket Atheneum has served as the island’s cultural center, fostering civic dialogue and welcoming generations of thinkers — including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Frederick Douglass — while continuing to enrich island life through dynamic, year-round programming.
Proceeds from the Luminary Award Dinner will directly support the Atheneum’s public programs, collections, and educational initiatives.
On Friday, July 10, we will gather at The Nantucket Hotel & Resort to honor acclaimed American author Nathaniel Philbrick, who will receive the first-ever Luminary Award and deliver an inspiring presentation titled “250 Years Later: American Independence and the Advent of George Washington.”
We are encouraging guests to embrace the fun in “fundraiser” with “Nantucket Red Carpet” inspired attire — red, white, & blue flair, classic island elegance, or your favorite Nantucket Reds.
Portrait by Kit Noble.
NATHANIEL PHILBRICK is the author of eight New York Times bestselling works of American history, including In the Heart of the Sea, winner of the 2000 National Book Award and the basis of the 2015 movie of the same title directed by Ron Howard; Mayflower, a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in History; a trilogy about the American Revolution that includes Valiant Ambition, winner of the George Washington Book Prize; and Travels with George.
His latest, The Rush: California Gold, the Civil War, and the Making of the Modern World, is scheduled for publication on October 6, 2026.
Philbrick’s writing has appeared in Vanity Fair, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Boston Globe.
He has appeared on the Today Show, The Morning Show, Dateline, PBS’s American Experience, the Newshour, C-SPAN, NPR, and, most recently, Ken Burns’ The American Revolution. He was an All-American sailor at Brown University and lives on Nantucket Island, where he cofounded the Egan Maritime Institute.
CO-CHAIRS
Lisa Clarey-Lawler
Alan Raul
STEERING COMMITTEE
Jack Carter
Michelle Garfinkel
Kimberly Kozlowski
Linda McGrath
Diana Minshall
Blaise Sheppard
Gwenn Masterman Snider
Eric J. Tanenblatt
Ann Taylor
Luminary Award Dinner SPONSORS 2026
LIBRARY LOVER
$25,000
Meg and Samuel Flax
Nan Geschke
Mr. Bruce Lawler and Ms. Lisa Clarey-Lawler
Margaret and John Ruttenberg
Eric and Wendy Schmidt
ENTHUSIAST
$15,000
Anne and Andrew Calder
Barbara and Amos Hostetter
Thomas J. Howard
L. Dennis & Kimberly Kozlowski Family Office
Peter and Deborah Manus
Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin McGrath
Phyllis Rappaport
Mary Tinsley Raul and Alan Raul
ADMIRER
$10,000
John and Judy Belash
Deb Futter and William Cohan
Jim and Beth Frates
Goldman Sachs and Co.
Joan and Philip Gulley
Jane and John Loose
Mark and Christa Lopez
Deedie and Ted McCarthy
Jeff and Caroline Paduch
Richard Phillips
Janet L. Steinmayer
Ann and Peter Taylor
Alison and Charles Townsend
ADVOCATE
$5,000
Anonymous
Janet G. Bailey
Jody and Brian Berger
Belinda and Charles Bralver
Jack Carter and Charles Pohlad
Paul and Ana Collins
Tim and Debbie Connors
Bev and Will Crenshaw
Marsha and Bob Egan
Tom and Tanya Forman
Karen and Christopher Gagnier
Michelle and Steven Garfinkel
Maureen and John Graf
Judith Greenberg Seinfeld
Claire and Bob Greenspon
Suzy and Richard Grote
Linda and Joe Hale
Constance Hallquist
Carole Heaton and Michael Morrow
Mr. Christopher and Mrs. Heather Helle
Sandra Urie and Frank Herron
Aimée Vincent Jamison and Jay Jamison
Lydia and Mark Kennelley
Kathy Lieb
Vincent and Debra Maffeo
Ann and Craig Muhlhauser
Nantucket Pharmacy
Laura DeBonis and Scott Nathan
Susan O’Malley
Nat and Melissa Philbrick
Kim and Lori Preston
Hillary and Jeffrey Rayport
Susan and Tom Roeder
Royal Bank of Canada
Mark and Robin Rubenstein
Susan R. Shapiro
The Shaughnessy Family
Kat and Blaise Sheppard
Ally and Drew Sievers
Jennifer and Tom Sleeper
Susan F. Smith
Mark and Gwenn Snider
James Sulzer and Barbara Elder
Mary and Eric Tanenblatt
Garrett Thornburg
Tuckernuck
Jane A. Tyler
David and Traci Weaver
Laurie and Toby Webb
Andrea and Richard Weiss
The Braden Worth Family
Ms. Leslie Forbes and Mr. David Worth
BOOKWORM
$2,500
Diane S. Archer
Susan Baer
Charity Grace Photography
Amanda B. Cross
Diana Minshall Real Estate
Tracy and John Flannery
Jen and Fred Fox
Steve Hanon
Lois Romano and Sven Holmes
Robert A. Kaye
Stephanie Maffeo
Corinne H. Nevinny
Orth Russert Family
Penguin Random House
Ella Wall Prichard
Sconset Gardener Inc., Martin E. McGowan
Mrs. Randee Seiger
Daisy M. Soros
Ms. Darla Stuckey
Cate La Farge Summers
Mary Taaffe
CONTRIBUTOR
Anonymous
Jennifer and Robert Bowman
Mr. and Mrs. Graham Gund
Carolyn Lamm and Peter Halle
Sharon and Gordon Hartley
Inkerman
Kit Noble Photography
Dan Knise
Martha Dippell and Daniel Korengold
J. Thomas Macy and Alice H. Macy
Sanjeev and Karen Mehra
Millie’s
Mohr Gardening, Inc
N Magazine
Nantucket Book Partners
Jill and Mitch Roberts
Ms. Nancy Seaman and Mr. Alan Schwartz
Judith F. Lee and Robert Schwarzenbach
Steven and Ellen Segal
The Nantucket Hotel
The Sign Lady Nantucket
Tom Forman Productions
Mr. and Mrs. Josef Volman
Ms. Margot T. Young
For more details and inquiries, contact Maggie O’Reilly, Director of Development: moreilly@nantucketatheneum.org, 508 228 1110 x 114.
Board Chair Sam Flax added, “We are proud to inaugurate this award by honoring a writer whose work stands in the tradition of the great American thinkers who have appeared on our stage — from Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau to Frederick Douglass.”
“Nat’s extraordinary literary achievements and longstanding connection to Nantucket embody the spirit of this award,” said Executive Director Leslie Malcolm. “His work has deepened our understanding of the American experiment and reflects the civic values the Atheneum seeks to promote.”
