Join us as the Pat Conroy Literary Center presents two back-to-back sessions at the second annual Bluffton Book Festival from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 16, at the Bluffton Branch Library. Free and open to the public, the program will feature Cassandra King Conroy; Story River Books authors Bren McClain, Ellen Malphrus, Bernie Schein, and Maggie Schein; with Ed Williams.

SCHEDULE OF DAY’S EVENTS

3:30–4:30 p.m.
Pat Conroy’s Love of Place and of Food
Presented by Ed Williams

“A recipe is a story that ends with a good meal.”—Pat Conroy

Learn about beloved author Pat Conroy’s Lowcountry heart as reflected in selections of several of his popular books. Also hear about this master southern storyteller and passionate cook through stories and recipes, particularly those that come from the bounty of the tidal waters and marshes of Beaufort County. Presented by Ed Williams, a retired college professor, a lifelong fan of Pat Conroy, and teacher of courses on Conroy for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at USC Beaufort.

4:30–6:00 p.m.
A Conversation with Pat Conroy’s Story River Books
Featuring Cassandra King Conroy, Bren McClain, Ellen Malphrus, Bernie Schein, and Maggie Schein, moderated by Jonathan Haupt

“Story River Books is a gift to writers and to readers.”—Pat Conroy

Beloved southern writer Pat Conroy continued to teach long after he left the classroom, serving as a mentor, inspiration, and tribal elder to dozens of writers over his fifty-year writing career. In his final years, he volunteered to serve as editor at large (or more accurately as “editor at larger-than-life”) of the original southern fiction imprint Story River Books, selecting and championing 22 books by a talented group of writers, both well-known and largely unknown.

Join us for a lively conversation with Conroy’s widow and fellow novelist Cassandra King Conroy along with four of Story River’s writers: Bren McClain, author of One Good Mama Bone; Ellen Malphrus, author of Untying the Moon; Bernie Schein, author of Famous All Over Town; and Maggie Schein, author of Lost Cantos of the Ouroborous Caves; moderated by the Pat Conroy Literary Center executive director and former publisher of Story River Books Jonathan Haupt.

A book signing will follow the panel discussion.

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