The Mount to Host the 2026 Edith Wharton Summit

LENOX, Mass — The Mount, Edith Wharton Cultural Center, will host the 2026 Edith Wharton Summit from Thursday, June 4 through Saturday, June 6, 2026, bringing together scholars, cultural historians, writers, and Wharton enthusiasts from around the world for three days of inquiry, dialogue, and immersive programming.

Held at The Mount—Wharton's historic estate in Lenox, Massachusetts—the Summit will examine the relevance of Edith Wharton's life and work in a rapidly changing world. The gathering explores the contemporary resonance of Wharton's writing, including her prescient observations on social upheaval and cultural transformation.

The 2026 Summit is supported by academic advisors Emily Orlando (Fairfield University) and Laura Rattray (University of Glasgow) and will celebrate a decade of scholarship published since the last major Wharton gathering in Washington, D.C. in 2016. Programming will feature new research and emerging perspectives from scholars across multiple disciplines, including literature, gender studies, art history, architecture, media studies, international development, and the humanities.

Over the course of three days, participants will experience behind-the-scenes tours of Wharton's home and library, guided explorations of Lenox and the surrounding region, readings, lectures, and panel discussions across The Mount's historic interiors, Stable Auditorium, and gardens. Social gatherings, curated conversations, and intimate access to Wharton's personal library and archives will deepen engagement with Wharton's legacy and her continuing influence on literature and culture.

The Summit has attracted participants from across the globe, with current registrants representing nine countries— the United States, Germany, Kenya, France, England, Canada, Scotland, Norway, and Switzerland—and 18 U.S. states. Sessions will explore a broad range of topics organized around themes including history and politics, architecture and archaeology, manuscripts and archives, religion and spirituality, mobility and travel, education, life stages, and the intersections of the natural and built environment.

Select sessions will be presented in partnership with the Edith Wharton Society and the Edith Wharton Review.

The full program schedule and event details are available at: https://edithwharton.org/2026-edith-wharton-summit/

Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires Honors Leaders, Volunteers

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
09:07AM / Sunday, May 24, 2026

Liana Toscanini presented the Founder's Choice Award to Smitty Pignatelli for his years of support as state representative. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires held its ninth annual nonprofit awards last week honoring the contributions of those who have helped the community in their own way.

 

The gathering at the Country Club in Pittsfield on Tuesday included the introduction of new nonprofit Executive Director Samantha Anderson, who steps in for retiring founder and director Liana Toscanini. 

 

Toscanini, who created NPC in 2016, was honored at the conclusion of the evening to mark her decade leading the organization. 

 

"Founders don't just lead organizations, they are the organization in the deepest sense," said NPC Board President Emily Schiavoni. "Their relationships, their instincts, their fingerprints are on everything, and when someone has poured a decade of herself into building something from the ground up, the act of stepping back is not a simple handoff, it's an act of extraordinary trust and courage that brings me to what Leanna actually built." 

 

NPC became something of a chamber of commerce for nonprofits under Toscanini's guidance, creating a hub of support for leadership and networking for the small and large nonprofits that fuel much of the activity within the Berkshires. 

 

She developed more than two dozen programs, including Get on Board, which helps connect community members with nonprofit boards, and a giving-back guide, volunteer fairs, and a resource directory.

 

Schiavoni described Toscanini as a great mentor who has had a big impact in strengthening local nonprofits.