Pat Conroy Literary Center

An Evening with Lowcountry Legend Ron Daise, Author of Raptors in the Ricelands
2024-09-10 17:00 - 18:30 (America/New_York) | 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, United States, South Carolina 29902
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host an evening with lowcountry legend Ron Daise, author of the newly published novel Raptors in the Ricelands, on Tuesday, September 10, at 5:00 p.m., at the Conroy Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort). Free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale and signing. Seating is limited; please call in advance to reserve: 843-379-7025.
About the Book and Author:
In the twenty-first century fictional community of Georgetown, South Carolina, a story unfolds revealing family secrets and conflicts that challenge cultural beliefs. With bighearted intention, newlyweds Florence and Chadwick Wineglass attempt to promote economic legacy, but their unconscious motives often ensnare those they assist. The Wineglasses become raptor-like in their generosity at a moment when other community members’ intentions also prove to be menacing.
Conveyed in four acts and with chapter names that follow the production stages of Carolina Gold Rice, Raptors in the Ricelands spans the future, the present, and the past, and fosters a message of connection with African diasporic communities around the globe. Historical accounts include the Orangeburg Massacre; Black church life, particularly in Oconee County as begun during slavery; the launch of White supremacy in Fort Mill; the Reconstruction Era; and the Universal Negro Improvement Association.
“Ron Daise is an American griot. In this novel, Daise welcomes us into his village and, with his words, feeds our imagination and spirit. His voice connects our past with the present and helps us to get a glimpse of what our future might look like. This modern-day Gullah tale reflects the experiences of many Americas; in fact, it creates a bridge from the Lowcountry of South Carolina to the world.”–Alison Mc Letchie, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences, South Carolina State University
“The many characters in this fictional story seem familiar and fully realized as Daise expertly shows the reader the connectivity between their lives, their Gullah culture, and the valuable “Carolina Gold” rice. Equally important in this book are the teachings of Marcus Garvey Jr., and the reminder that all that humanity can only move forward when we unselfishly commit to helping those most in need.’–Eric Crawford, author of Gullah Spirituals: The Sound of Freedom and Protest in the South Carolina Sea Islands
Ron Daise, a son of St. Helena Island, SC, is an author, performer, educator, and cultural interpreter. His books, productions, and recordings have documented and shaped Gullah Geechee heritage since 1986. Co-star of “Gullah Gullah Island,” Nick Jr. TV’s award-winning children’s program of the 1990s, Ron also is a former chairman of the federal Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission, and is featured in exhibits at the International African American Museum, Charleston, SC; the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, DC; and Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet, SC. When not writing and performing, Ron is a baker and owner of Mr. Ron’s Gullahlicious Pound Cakes. A graduate of Hampton Institute (now Hampton University), Ron and his wife Natalie reside in Georgetown, SC, and are parents of two adult children.

Open Mic Night -- Featuring Deirdre Garr Johns
2024-09-12 18:00 - 19:30 | 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, United States, South Carolina 29902
The Pat Conroy Literary Center’s monthly Open Mic Night will be held at the Conroy Center (601 Bladen St.) on Thursday, September 12, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Our featured writer is Deirdre Garr Johns, author of the forthcoming children’s picture book Weathering the Storm and the forthcoming poetry chapbook Fallen Love. Open Mic will also feature short readings of 3 to 5 minutes each by other writers in many genres.
Interested in reading as part of Open Mic? Let us know at contact@patconroyliterarycenter.org.
About Our Featured Writer
Deirdre Garr Johns writes poetry, nonfiction, and children’s fiction. Her work is often inspired by the beauty of nature and the memories of people and places. Deirdre hopes to inspire others and create a sense of connectedness to the world around us. Deirdre’s poetry has appeared in Sylvia Magazine, South Carolina Bards Poetry Anthology, Eunoia Magazine, Nymeria Magazine, Silver Birch Press, Stone Poetry Quarterly, Pink Magazine, and more. Her nonfiction has appeared in Sasee Magazine.
Fallen Love (Finishing Line Press), her first chapbook collection, will be available for pre-sales this fall and published in January 2025. Her children’s book, Weathering the Storm, will be published later this fall. She currently resides in South Carolina with her family, but Pennsylvania will always be home. She enjoyed a teaching career for eighteen years. Learn more at www.amuseofonesown.com.

The Hilton Head Poetry Trail -- A Presentation by Poet Elizabeth Robin
2024-09-14 14:00 - 16:00 | 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, United States, South Carolina 29902
Let’s talk about the Hilton Head Poetry Trail
Have you heard? Hilton Head Island has a poetry trail! Want to visit but can’t get there now? Know what’s in store before you go? Learn how to create a trail in your own town? Join us for a special presentation by award-winning poet Elizabeth Robin, all about the Hilton Head Poetry Trail.
A marriage of technology, creative writing, public art, and arts-minded businesses, the Hilton Head Poetry Trail offers a new way to see Hilton Head Island: through the eyes of the poets who live there. Grabbing extra copies of Local Life Magazine? Scan the sign placed inside the front door and read a Pop-up Poets collaboration. Contemplating the landscape as you rest on Toni Morrison’s bench at Mitchelville Freedom Park? Read James Mallory’s poem “The Beautiful Couple.” Confused, asking “What is it?” as you stare at Caracol in Shelter Cove Park? Scan the trail sign and Jacque Markham gives you one interpretation.
It’s the kind of collaboration that makes the arts an experience. A unique approach to a public arts project, this trail brings poetry into public spaces in a permanent-yet-flexible medium. Because it uses QR codes, the trail can track its visits and regularly switch out trail content to include more poets and poems at each site. Monthly visits have averaged over 300 readings from 20-plus states and 4 or more foreign countries in its first year. Some poems have been read over 1,000 times!
The project is a partnership between the town of Hilton Head Island’s Office of Cultural Affairs and the Island Writers Network. The technology guru and idea man on the project is Bill Schmitt, who developed the logo, the sign design and Facebook page. Natalie Harvey, the Director of Cultural Affairs, oversees the sculptures approved for the project and the affixing of signs near the public art and park installations. Poet Elizabeth Robin recruited the poets and the businesses that are participating, and pairs poems to locations.
Elizabeth Robin, retired teacher and award-winning poet, is the author of three collections of poems published by Finishing Line Press: To My Dreamcatcher (2022), Where Green Meets Blue (2018) and Silk Purses and Lemonade (2017). She partnered with the Office of Cultural Affairs to establish the Hilton Head Poetry Trail, a 25-station route of local poets. A Piccolo Spoleto Sundown Poet (2023), she won the 2021 Carrie McCray Nickens Fellowship, was an Island Writers Network open mic emcee for eight years, and creates literary programs on Hilton Head Island. Recent work appears in Tall Women, The Jasper Project: Poetry of the People, Poetry Society (SC) Yearbook, Catfish Stew, Ukweli, Drunk Monkeys and others.

An Evening with Novelist Roger Jones, Author of The Final Victory
2024-09-19 17:00 - 18:30 | 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, United States, South Carolina 29902
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host an evening with novelist Roger Jones, author of The Final Victory, on Thursday, September 19, at 5:00 p.m., at the Conroy Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort). Free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale and signing. Seating is limited; please call in advance to reserve: 843-379-7025.
About the Book:
In a novel that fuses the riveting action of The Boys in the Boat with the emotional heft of The Fault in Our Stars, twenty men and women with cancer-ridden bodies compete in a grueling race only to discover that real victory is achieved within.
After he is diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer, Tripp Avery feels like all is lost. He finds himself coaching a team of twelve men and eight women with cancer diagnoses of their own, hoping to qualify for the Mixed Masters Dragon Boat national championship and defy their prognoses. If they win, they will represent the United States at the International Dragon Boat races in Hong Kong.
But things soon get complicated, as four of his teammates struggle against their physical limitations and the psychological weight of their conditions. In the summer heat of Chattanooga, their resolve grows thin—along with Tripp’s patience. After a devastating loss to the defending national champions, Tripp can only see the finish line, and he pushes the team even harder. Soon, the team starts to fall apart.
As members of the team collapse under the pressure and one is hospitalized, he must confront his own failings and find a way to move forward. He begins to question his motives, wondering if the win is worth the trauma and what that says about him. Despite the odds, he resolves to rally the team toward a comeback that seems impossible, if only for one final victory.
“What is courage? In this notable debut, Roger Jones explores the strength, resilience, compassion, and willpower of a band of athletes who define courage and triumph over unspeakable odds.These twenty men and women overcome cancer to not merely win a national championship but to survive. I laughed. I cried.I was inspired. The Final Victory is an uplifting novel we all need to read.”—Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times bestselling author
“An inspiring and stirring tale of courage, The Final Victory is inspired by the true story of a group of athletes who face life-threatening illnesses and are bonded together by their indomitable will to win. Jones gives us a novel that is equal parts laugh out loud funny, moving, and uplifting. You will love it!”—Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author
“The Final Victory brilliantly demonstrates that women recovering from breast cancer can lead full and active lives — paddle for sure, but also pick up and hug their grandchildren. Dragon boating challenges the limits of human performance, especially for those with more than their share of hurdles to clear. That’s the magic that Roger Jones captures, and that’s why The Final Victory is a great book.”—Dr. Don McKenzie, Founder of the original Breast Cancer Dragon Boat team
About the Author
Roger Jones, businessman, philanthropist, humanitarian and avid athlete has founded numerous business and community organizations. In 1996, he started Companion Associates, Inc., one of South Carolina’s largest privately held real estate development firms. Companion Associates was distinguished as one of South Carolina’s fastest growing companies by The South Carolina State Chamber of Commerce in 2006. Jones has helped establish and launch a number of non-profit organizations including Reading Partners of South Carolina, Charleston Social Venture Partners, and The Charleston Paddle Club.
During a 2012 trip to East Germany to receive a newly developed intensive radiation treatment for Neuroendocrine Cancer, Jones decided to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a writer. The Final Victory is his first novel. He has had articles and short stories published in several local publications as well as The Writers Digest. Married for forty-seven years, he is the proud father of three children and grandfather of three grandchildren. His life’s greatest lesson is quoted by The Final Victory’s protagonist Tripp Avery, “Forgiveness is the foundation of every miracle.”

A Lost Art: Grammar for Writers, Led by Katherine Tandy Brown and Carol Lucas
2024-09-24 18:00 - 20:00 | Pat Conroy Literary Center
Now that you’re writing a lot, have you been wondering where that grammar you learned in school has gone? Have daily slang and colloquialisms wrecked your stories and articles? This practical workshop will take you back to Conjunction Junction and fill in all those “memory gaps.” You’ll be writing the king’s English in no time, and your editors will be grateful!
This interactive writers workshop will be held at the Pat Conroy Literary Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort) on Tuesday, September 24, 6:00-8:00 p.m. Limited to 15 participants. $45/person. Advance registration required.
Learn more and register at https://patconroyliterarycenter.eventbrite.com
ABOUT OUR INSTRUCTORS
Katherine Tandy Brown – Freelance travel writer, workshop leader and writing coach for 30+ years; writing a memoir, Anne, Queen of the Wingchair, and a novel, Karma: An Equine Thriller; columnist for Lowcountry Weekly and The Lane Report.
Carol Lucas – High school English teacher for 32 years; coordinator of Service Learning Program for 10 years; author of A Breath Away: One Woman’s Journey through Widowhood; weekly columnist for The Island News.

Eighth Annual Lowcountry Book Club Convention
2024-09-27 17:00 - 2024-09-28 15:00
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host the 8th annual Lowcountry Book Club Convention on Friday, September 27, at the Technical College of the Lowcountry in Beaufort, and Saturday, September 28, at the Culinary Institute of the South at the Technical College of the Lowcountry in Bluffton. Ideal for book club members, those interested in joining a book club, or anyone who simply loves the joy of reading, the Lowcountry Book Club Convention is made possible in part by the support of the Pulpwood Queens Books Club, with book sales through NeverMore Books.
The Lowcountry Book Club Convention will begin on Friday evening with a panel discussion among four authors: novelist Virginia Hall-Apicella (Even a Sparrow), journalist Michael DeWitt Jr. (The Fall of the House of Murdaugh), novelist Pete Masalin (Military Brat), and novelist Kim Poovey (Shadows of the War). Moderated by Conroy Center executive director Jonathan Haupt, this opening session will be followed by a book signing and reception, catered by Debbi Covington. This is a ticketed event, held in bldg 12 of Beaufort’s TCL campus (104 Reynolds St., Beaufort).
The Convention continues on Saturday at the Culinary Institute of the South in Bluffton (1 Venture Dr.), with three author keynote conversations and gourmet box lunches catered by Debbi Covington. This year’s keynote authors are award-winning novelist Kimberly Brock (The Fabled Earth), award-winning public school librarian Amanda Jones (That Librarian), and award-winning novelist Rhonda McKnight (The Thing About Home). Each author discussion will be followed by a book signing. This is a ticketed event.
Learn more and register in advance at https://lowcountrybookclubconvention2024.eventbrite.com
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Friday, September 27 — TCL bldg 12, Beaufort
5:00-6:00 p.m. Local author panel discussion, featuring novelist Virginia Hall-Apicella (Even a Sparrow), journalist Michael DeWitt Jr. (The Fall of the House of Murdaugh), novelist Pete Masalin (Military Brat), and novelist Kim Poovey (Shadows of the War)
6:00-7:00 p.m. Book signing and reception, catered by Debbi Covington
Saturday, September 28 — Culinary Institute of the South, Bluffton
9:30-10:00 a.m. Check-in Begins
10:00-11:00 a.m. Keynote conversation with award-winning novelist Kimberly Brock, author of The Fabled Earth
1 1:00-11:30 a.m. Book signing break
11:30-12:30 p.m. Keynote conversation with award-winning public school librarian Amanda Jones, author of That Librarian
1 2:30-1:30 p.m. Book signing break & lunch: gourmet box lunches, catering by Debbi Covington. (Register by September 22 for lunch)
1:30-2:30 p.m. Keynote conversation with award-winning novelist Rhonda McKnight, author of The Thing About Home
2:30-3:00 p.m. Final book signing break
FEATURED KEYNOTE AUTHORS
Kimberly Brock is the bestselling author of The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare, which was shortlisted for the prestigious Townsend Prize for Fiction, and The River Witch, recipient of the Georgia Author of the Year Award. Brock is the founder of Tinderbox Writers Workshop and has served as a guest lecturer for many regional and national writing workshops including at the Pat Conroy Literary Center. A native of North Georgia, she now lives near Atlanta. Her latest novel, The Fabled Earth, will be published on October 1: “The Fabled Earth is a brilliantly layered, unforgettable story of memory, myth, and found family. Off the coast of Georgia, on Cumberland Island, three separate women search for belonging in the wake of incomprehensible loss. Weaving a stunning Southern landscape, Gilded Age glamour, and the societal turmoil of the late 1950s, Brock takes readers on an epic journey that conjures the longing of forgotten youth while simultaneously reminding us of its dangers. I have never read a novel where the author’s love of storytelling shines more brightly than this one.”–Lynda Cohen Loigman, author of The Matchmaker’s Gift
Amanda Jones has been an educator for 23 years, at the same middle school she attended as a child. She has served as president of the Louisiana Association of School Librarians and won numerous awards for her work in school libraries, including School Library Journal Librarian of the Year. A sought-after keynote speaker, Amanda is a frequent volunteer for state and national library associations, as well as a co-founder of the Livingston Parish Library Alliance and founding member of Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship. She lives in Livingston Parish, Louisiana. That Librarian is her first book: “[Jones] is frank, open, emotionally raw, and unwavering. What she endured is every librarian’s worst nightmare, yet she perseveres, offering tips and playbooks for how readers can defend books about LGBTQIA+ topics of interest, sexual health, and more in their own public libraries. A must-read in order to understand the deep and lasting impact of online smear campaigns and enduring need to stand up for books. Jones is an inspiration to everyone combating book bans and her memoir/guidebook should be available to all to help us defend our right to read.” –Booklist (Starred Review)
Rhonda McKnight is the author of several bestselling novels, including An Inconvenient Friend and What Kind of Fool. She is the winner of the 2015 Emma Award for Inspirational Romance of the Year. She loves reading and writing books that touch the heart of women through complex plots and interesting characters in crisis. Themes of faith, forgiveness, and hope are central to her stories. Originally from a small coastal town in New Jersey, Rhonda writes from the comfort of her South Carolina home. The Thing About Home is her most recent novel: “In this zippy outing from McKnight, a humiliated social media influencer rediscovers her roots . . . McKnight lays out some vivid lowcountry history, and her fully realized characters ring true.”–Publishers Weekly
FEATURED LOCAL AUTHORS
Hampton County native Michael M. DeWitt Jr. is a multiple-award-winning journalist, longtime editor of the 143-year-old The Hampton County Guardian, and author of Wicked Hampton County and Fall of the House of Murdaugh. DeWitt’s boots-on-the-ground coverage of the Murdaugh crime saga has been published in print and online around Gannett’s nationwide USA TODAY Network, and he has appeared on ABC’s 20/20, CBS’s 48 Hours, Dateline NBC, and Netflix documentaries to discuss the case. As a humorist, DeWitt’s award-winning Southern humor newspaper column, “Southern Voices, Southern Stories,” was published in newspapers from Cape Cod to northern California, and he has been a regular contributor for South Carolina Wildlife magazine, Sporting Classics magazine, and its online counterpart, Sporting Classics Daily. DeWitt is also the author ofthe Images of America volume on Hampton County, a photo history of the place his family has called home for close to three hundred years.
Dr. Virginia (Ginny) Hall-Apicella, a native of Rochester, New York, spent 30 years as a psychologist in the New York City court system, as a consultant in mental health agencies, and in private practice. She specialized in the concerns of women and children. Her debut novel, Even A Sparrow, is a fictional account of her ancestors’ journey from Europe to America in 1815. In addition to psychology-based articles, she has published several short stories and edited a historical newsletter. A self-acknowledged “history nerd, ” she is a docent at a local historic church. When not writing, she enjoys gardening, reading, poker, and croquet. Ginny and her husband have three children and four grandchildren.
Pete Masalin writes what he knows. Born into a Navy family, he experienced all the turns and trials associated with that of a career Navy man. Drawing upon his youthful exploits and adventure, Military Brat is Masalin’s second published offering. It follows his 2016 book The Sorrow of Loss, The Wisdom of Recovery: A Narrative of an Unwanted Journey. He and his wife, Katie reside in historic Beaufort, not far from their six children and three grandchildren, all living in nearby Charleston.
Kim Poovey is an author, storyteller, and Victorian reenactress. Her published works include The Haunting of Monroe Manse, The Haunting of Edgefield Manor, The Haunting of Borden House, Shadows of the Moss, Shadows of the War, Truer Words, Dickens’ Mice: The Tails Behind the Tale, and Through Button Eyes: Memoirs of an Edwardian Teddy Bear. She has also written for several publications including Beaufort Lifestyle magazine, Bluffton Breeze magazine, Citizen’s Companion, and the Civil War Times. She lives in a haunted 1890s Victorian cottage in the South Carolina Lowcountry with her husband and their furry children.
