The evening, which attracted more than 300 guests, began with a discussion on the power of words with Pulitzer Prize winning author Debby Applegate, former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, musician Josh Ritter, and Atlantic literary editor Ben Schwarz.

Next up was a debate between author Christopher Hitchens and AtlanticAssociate Editor Ross Douthat, moderated by Paul Holdengraber, the Director of Public Programs at the New York Public Library.

Music by Josh Ritter followed as everyone in attendance discussed the debate over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.

To view a video featuring highlights of the Bookmark on the Beach festival, click here.

God—Is He or Isn’t He?: A Civilized Debate

Making Words Sing: An Author, An Editor, A Poet and A Lyricist

More photos after the jump.

To view the video of these interviews, click on the pictures below.

Christopher Hitchens

The Atlantic's Ben Schwarz

Paul Holdengraber

The Atlantic's Ross Douthat

To watch the video of this performance, click on the photo below.

Listen to what some of the guests had to say here.

Plum and The Atlantic Monthly have teamed up to bring some amazing authors to Nantucket for Bookmark 2007. On Sunday, August 5, we sat down with Jeffrey Goldberg at Bennett Hall to discuss his powerful novel Prisoner, a book that takes us into the heart of an Israeli prison accounting Goldberg's interaction with a Palestinian insurgent being held there.

"Israel was not a complicated subject for me as a kid," he said during his session in front of a live audience.

"I wasn't happy about being assigned to this prison," Goldberg stated, but, he continues, "I saw two positives to being there. One positive, I was an incipient reporter in this place, I'll make use of this and meet some of these guys and see what they're about. Two: By talking to these people, maybe I could, in some small way, soften some hearts and the way people feel about the conflict [between Israelis and Palestinians]."

Goldberg's life-changing experience began in the early 90s, as the conflicts in Israel and the Gaza Strip began to escalate. "These things change quickly," he said, "Unfortunately for us, they're changing in a negative way."

To view clips on this interview, click on the photo.

To learn about our August 26 Bookmark on the Beach event in Nantucket, visit our Events page.