GREAT BAY/MARIGOT, St. Martin (June 2, 2019)—The 17th annual St. Martin Book Fair opens in Marigot on Thursday, June 6, 2019, with “celebrity and business leader Peter Bailey as the keynote speaker,” addressing the theme of “New Grounds,” said Shujah Reiph, the festival coordinator.
The opening ceremony of the island-wide book fair starts at 8 PM “under the literary big tent” at Lazy Bay fair grounds, popularly called Lazy Bay parking lot—which faces Rue de la République, the main street of Marigot.
“I think Peter Bailey is a great match as a main speaker with how the ‘literary big tent’ will transform Lazy Bay parking lot; and in the way he is breaking new grounds as a media executive and with his celebrity experiences in the USA,” said Reiph.
Peter Bailey is also an award-winning author who penned Trick Daddy’s hip hop memoir, Magic City: Trials of a Native Son, a book The New York Times called “one of the pop music gems.”
Bailey founded Miami’s NiteCap Media following his work as a journalist with Time, Newsweek, and The Miami Herald. (nitecapmedia.com) NiteCap’s docu-series is “routinely featured on BET, The Huffington Post, Vibe and other outlets” in the USA, said Bailey, who is also the company’s CEO.
As NiteCap’s host Bailey has interviewed the likes of Mike Tyson, Fantasia, 50 Cent, Janelle Monae, T.I., and billionaire developer Don Peebles.
Bailey’s celebrity experiences include his own acting debut, said Reiph. Bailey appeared alongside Lynn Whitfield, Clifton Powell, and Keith David in the US Civil War movie “The North Star.”
In St. Martin, Bailey will screen his own film, “Paradise Discovered,” at the John Larmonie Center on Monday, June 3, at 8 PM. As a pre-book fair activity, admission is free to this movie about hurricanes Irma and Maria, said Reiph.
The documentary, which focuses on the people of Anguilla telling about their hurricane experiences, also reflects Peter Bailey’s New York Times Op Ed “Has America Forgotten the Virgin Islands” on Caribbean hurricane survivors. Bailey was born in the Virgin Islands and lives in Miami, where he has been honored as one of the city’s “most powerful and influential Black business leaders of 2019” by Legacy Miami.
Peter Bailey will also conduct the free Journalism Master Class at St. Martin Book Fair, Friday, June 7, University of St. Martin (USM), starting at 9 AM, said Reiph.
The opening ceremony of the St. Martin Book Fair alternates between both parts of the island each year, as “a symbol of the historic unity of the St. Martin people,” said Reiph. The 17th edition of the literature festival is organized by Conscious Lyrics Foundation in collaboration with St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, which is the strategic partner of the book fair, the University of St. Martin, LC Fleming Foundation, Motorworld, Nagico, and SOS 95.9 FM, said Reiph.
