The Nickerson Lecture

2025 Featured Speaker: Author and Musician, Brendan Slocumb

The Association is pleased to announce that we have our featured speaker for the annual Nickerson Lecture being held this year on October 11 at the Brewster Baptist Church: Brendan Slocumb, author of The Violin Conspiracy (2022), Symphony of Secrets (2023), and The Dark Maestro (May 2025). He will be delivering two lectures, one at 12:30 PM and a second at 5:30 PM. A book signing will follow each lecture.

Members who join the Association before August 10 for the membership period July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, will be eligible for early member registration of two (2) tickets per household starting August 15 at 10:00 AM.

Registration for the general public will begin September 1 at 10:00 AM.

For more details about the event and Mr. Slocumb, here is our press release and here is a link to his website.

Frances Mapes Nickerson, wife of Samuel M. Nickerson III, came to Brewster in 1947. She was elected to the board of the Brewster Ladies’ Library Association and later served as its president. After her 14 years on the board, she further gave of her time and talents to catalogue books, volunteer for summer evening hours, oversee landscaping of the library grounds, and even take charge of fixing the roof.

Mrs. Nickerson’s legacy of volunteer service was followed by a major bequest to the Brewster Ladies’ Library. Because of her generosity, the BLLA is able to offer an annual lecture by a prominent speaker that is free of charge to our community. Our hope is that these annual lectures will cover a wide array of subjects and generate engaging discussions about literature.

Past speakers have included:

  • Michael Beschloss, 2024

  • Geraldine Brooks, 2023

  • Bob Woodward, 2022

  • Valerie Plame, 2019

  • Robert Edsel, 2018

  • Denise Kiernan, 2017

  • Byron Pitts, 2016

  • Laura Ling, 2015

  • William Kamkwamba, 2014

  • Doris Kearns Goodwin, 2013