Three novelists, a stretch of Nantucket Sound shoreline, and a weekend with nothing on the schedule but reading, dinners, and beach meetups: that is the pitch behind Books by the Sea, a new literary retreat debuting September 18-20, 2026, at Blue Water Resort in South Yarmouth. Red Jacket Resorts describes it as an immersive weekend reading experience built around author visits, group chats, craft conversations, and unhurried stretches of sand-and-book time.
According to the Boston Herald, Red Jacket Resorts created the event to bring people together through reading, conversation and connection. Meaghan Didato, the company's marketing manager, is listed among those shaping the retreat's programming, and the getaway brings together beach book lovers with the authors who write them, blending author panels, signed books, and local-themed titles with plenty of unscheduled downtime.
Guests can choose between two tiers when booking through redjacketresorts.com/books-by-the-sea-reading-retreat, though the Herald's reporting centers on the retreat's schedule rather than pricing specifics. Check-in begins at 4 p.m. Friday, September 18, with the evening reserved for mingling and dining. Every guest receives a special book gift along with a curated Red Jacket Resorts gift upon arrival, the same report notes.
Three Authors, Three Very Different Beach Reads
The retreat's headline draw is its trio of authors. Meg Mitchell Moore, an acclaimed author and Newburyport resident who grew up spending summers on Cape Cod, wrote Down With the Shipmans, which she has described as a beach book following three adults and two dogs through a summer weekend on the seacoast of Rye, New Hampshire. Moore told the Boston Herald she has never participated in an event quite like Books by the Sea, and said she plans to bring her own stack of books, including The Calamity Club, which she intends to read over the weekend.
Hannah Selinger, a Massachusetts-based instant USA Today bestselling author, wrote Valley of the Moms, a domestic thriller published through Little, Brown and Company in June 2026 that drew narrative inspiration from Parent Teacher Organization disputes in suburban Hamilton, Massachusetts, according to Book Club Chat. Selinger is also a James Beard Award-nominated journalist, the outlet reports.
Rounding out the lineup is Jeanette Settembre, an instant USA Today bestselling author and journalist who wrote Little Red Flags, a romantic thriller published in May 2026 through Regalo Press. Settembre previously served as editor-in-chief of Manhattan College's student newspaper, The Quadrangle, and her debut became an instant USA Today bestseller, per The Quadrangle.
A Weekend Built Around Breakfast, Beach Time, and Book Swaps
Saturday's programming leans into slow mornings and structured conversation. The day includes breakfast, coffee, and visits with each of the three authors, followed that evening by a dinner and panel discussion with all three writers together, the Herald reports. Sunday wraps the retreat with a breakfast built around chatter and book swapping among guests before checkout.
The debut event fits into a much larger shift in how people vacation. Vrbo's Unpack '26 travel trends report, published in October 2025, found that 91% of surveyed travelers expressed interest in what the report calls Readaways, literary-themed getaways centered on reading and relaxation, according to Expedia. That surge in demand for book-focused travel has been building nationally heading into 2026. Travel Weekly reported that Eventbrite saw a 26% year-over-year increase in book events in 2023.
Why a September Weekend Matters on Cape Cod
Timing the retreat for the third weekend of September is no accident. The Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce markets the post-Labor Day stretch as Second Summer, a period of warm ocean temperatures, lighter traffic, and reduced lodging rates meant to keep the region's tourist economy humming into fall, according to the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce. Shoulder-season visitors matter enormously to the regional economy: visitor spending on Cape Cod reached $2.8 billion in 2024, representing 11.5% of Massachusetts' total tourism spending, with nearly half of all regional spending occurring between May and November, according to data from the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism reported by A Cape Cod Voice.
Blue Water Resort itself sits along Nantucket Sound at 291 South Shore Drive, offering 109 guest rooms, oceanfront views, pet-friendly accommodations, and its original vintage neon sign, preserved through recent property updates, according to ShermansTravel. The Red Jacket Resorts brand traces its roots to the 1960s Blue Rock Motor Inn in Yarmouth, named after the Red Jacket Clipper, a 19th-century sailing ship commanded by Cape Cod native Captain Asa Eldridge, before expanding over the decades into a five-property mid-Cape collection. The Town of Yarmouth's zoning bylaw describes South Shore Drive as a traditional seaside motel area located in a residential zoning district.
The property is part of a $40 million renovation that EOS Hospitality announced in January 2024 across three of its mid-Cape properties, including Blue Water Resort, Red Jacket Beach Resort, and Riviera Beach Resort, updating 397 guest rooms, family suites, dining venues, and beachfront amenities, according to Boston 25 News. EOS Hospitality had acquired the Red Jacket portfolio in late 2021, the station notes.
Once the last guests check out from Books by the Sea, Blue Water Resort will not stay quiet for long. The property serves as the official headquarters for Red Jacket Resorts' Barktober celebration throughout October 2026, featuring pet-friendly check-in treats, local vendor pop-ups, and live music, leaning into the resort's dog-friendly room policy to draw another wave of off-peak autumn visitors.
