Pat Conroy Literary Center

An Afternoon with Novelist Caroline Cleveland, Author of When Cicadas Cry
2024-05-11 14:00 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, United States, South Carolina 29902
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host an afternoon with debut novelist Caroline Cleveland, author of When Cicadas Cry, on Saturday, May 11, at 2:00 p.m., at Conroy Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort). Cleveland will be joined in conversation by Conroy Center executive director Jonathan Haupt. Free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale and signing through NeverMore Books. Please call to reserve your seat in advance: 843-379-7025.
About When Cicadas Cry
In this stunning debut by a South Carolina attorney, Zach Stander, a lawyer with a past, and Addie Stone, his indomitable detective and lover, find themselves entangled in secrets, lies, and murder in a small Southern town.
A high-profile murder case—A white woman has been bludgeoned to death with an altar cross in a rural church on Cicada Road in Walterboro, South Carolina. Sam Jenkins, a Black man, is found covered in blood, kneeling over the body. In a state already roiling with racial tension, this is not only a murder case, but a powder keg.
A haunting cold case—Two young women are murdered on quiet Edisto Beach, an hour southeast of Walterboro, and the killer disappears without a trace. Thirty-four years later the mystery remains unsolved. Could there be a connection to Stander’s case?
A killer who’s watching—Stander takes on Jenkins’s defense, but he’s up against a formidable solicitor with powerful allies. Worse, his client is hiding a bombshell secret. When Addie Stone reopens the cold case, she discovers more long-buried secrets in this small town. Would someone kill again to keep them?
“John Grisham meets Harper Lee in this immersive and thought-provoking Southern legal thriller. Caroline Cleveland’s talented storytelling propels this realistic tale of secrets and history, combined with the power of contemporary passion and prejudice. The setting is authentic, the characters relatable, and the story propulsive and engaging. Standing ovation for this brilliant debut!”—Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author of One Wrong Word
“A twisty narrative of secrets and lies, I flew through When Cicadas Cry in a day. A haunting case from the past. A racially tinged murder in the present. And a small South Carolina town about to erupt like a powder keg. Equal parts courtroom thriller and gripping mystery.” —John McMahon, author of The Good Detective
About the Author
Caroline Cleveland is a labor and employment lawyer based in Charleston. A native South Carolinian, Caroline grew up in the Lowcountry and earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1991. When Cicadas Cry is her first novel.
About the Interviewer
Jonathan Haupt is the executive director of the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, the past director of the University of South Carolina Press, and co-editor of the anthology Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy, winner of 17 book awards. He is a frequent guest book reviewer for the Charleston Post and Courier and vice president of the board of directors of the statewide Friends of South Carolina Libraries.

An Afternoon with novelist Caroline Cleveland
2024-05-11 14:00 - 15:30 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Saturday, May 11, 2024 – 2:00-3:30 PM EDT
Price: Free
Registration: Seating is limited; please call to reserve your spot: 843-379-7025.
Venue: Pat Conroy Literary Center | 601 Bladen St., Beaufort
Website: Facebook Event Page
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host an afternoon with debut novelist Caroline Cleveland, author of When Cicadas Cry, on Saturday, May 11, at 2:00 p.m., at Conroy Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort). Cleveland will be joined in conversation by Conroy Center executive director Jonathan Haupt. Free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale and signing through NeverMore Books. Please call to reserve your seat in advance: 843-379-7025.
About When Cicadas Cry
In this stunning debut by a South Carolina attorney, Zach Stander, a lawyer with a past, and Addie Stone, his indomitable detective and lover, find themselves entangled in secrets, lies, and murder in a small Southern town.
A high-profile murder case—A white woman has been bludgeoned to death with an altar cross in a rural church on Cicada Road in Walterboro, South Carolina. Sam Jenkins, a Black man, is found covered in blood, kneeling over the body. In a state already roiling with racial tension, this is not only a murder case, but a powder keg.
A haunting cold case—Two young women are murdered on quiet Edisto Beach, an hour southeast of Walterboro, and the killer disappears without a trace. Thirty-four years later the mystery remains unsolved. Could there be a connection to Stander’s case?
A killer who’s watching—Stander takes on Jenkins’s defense, but he’s up against a formidable solicitor with powerful allies. Worse, his client is hiding a bombshell secret. When Addie Stone reopens the cold case, she discovers more long-buried secrets in this small town. Would someone kill again to keep them?
“John Grisham meets Harper Lee in this immersive and thought-provoking Southern legal thriller. Caroline Cleveland’s talented storytelling propels this realistic tale of secrets and history, combined with the power of contemporary passion and prejudice. The setting is authentic, the characters relatable, and the story propulsive and engaging. Standing ovation for this brilliant debut!”—Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author of One Wrong Word
“A twisty narrative of secrets and lies, I flew through When Cicadas Cry in a day. A haunting case from the past. A racially tinged murder in the present. And a small South Carolina town about to erupt like a powder keg. Equal parts courtroom thriller and gripping mystery.” —John McMahon, author of The Good Detective
About the Author
Caroline Cleveland is a labor and employment lawyer based in Charleston. A native South Carolinian, Caroline grew up in the Lowcountry and earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1991. When Cicadas Cry is her first novel.

About the Interviewer
Jonathan Haupt is the executive director of the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, the past director of the University of South Carolina Press, and co-editor of the anthology Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy, winner of 17 book awards. He is a frequent guest book reviewer for the Charleston Post and Courier and vice president of the board of directors of the statewide Friends of South Carolina Libraries.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

Open Mic Night, Featuring Elizabeth Leverton
2024-05-09 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, May 9, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Our featured writer is poet Elizabeth Leverton, author Peace, Rhododendron. 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
Elizabeth Leverton earned a BA in English Lit and a master’s degree in English with a concentration in writing and editing at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She began writing poetry thirty years ago. A recent graduate of the Commercial Graphics program at Midlands Technical College, Elizabeth is a graphic designer/typesetter who also enjoys songwriting and playing guitar, singing karaoke, dancing, swimming, tennis, sewing functional art, and acrylic painting. She lives in Columbia, South Carolina, with her Labrador Retriever, Molly, and part-Siamese sister cats, Silo and Weaver. Peace, Rhododendron is her first book.

May 2024 Open Mic Night
2024-05-09 18:00 - 19:30 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
The Pat Conroy Literary Center’s monthly Open Mic Night will be held at the Conroy Center (601 Bladen St.) on Thursday, May 9, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Our featured writer is poet Elizabeth Leverton, author Peace, Rhododendron. Open Mic will also feature short readings of 3 to 5 minutes each by other writers in many genres.
When: Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 6 PM – 7:30 PM EDT
Price: Free · Duration: 1 hr 30 min
Where: Conroy Center (601 Bladen St.)
Interested in reading as part of Open Mic? Let us know at contact@patconroyliterarycenter.org
We want to build our community of writers and an appreciation for the art and talent of new, emerging, and long-time writers. Thank you for supporting this partnership!
Event Facebook Page
About our featured writer:
Elizabeth Leverton earned a BA in English Lit and a master’s degree in English with a concentration in writing and editing at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She began writing poetry thirty years ago. A recent graduate of the Commercial Graphics program at Midlands Technical College, Elizabeth is a graphic designer/typesetter who also enjoys songwriting and playing guitar, singing karaoke, dancing, swimming, tennis, sewing functional art, and acrylic painting.
She lives in Columbia, South Carolina, with her Labrador Retriever, Molly, and part-Siamese sister cats, Silo and Weaver. Peace, Rhododendron is her first book.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

South Carolina Academy of Authors 2024 Induction - SCAA Fellowship Winners
2024-05-05 13:00 - 14:00 | The Rhett House Inn, 1009 Craven St., Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
When: Sunday May 5, 2024 | 1:00 – 2:00 pm EDT
Where: Rhett House Inn Garden (1009 Craven St., Beaufort)
Advance Registration Required: Eventbrite | Free
SCAA Fellowship Winners reading at the Rhett House Inn Garden (1009 Craven St., Beaufort). Winners not yet announced. Free, advance registration required.
The South Carolina Academy of Authors (SCAA), in partnership with the Pat Conroy Literary Center, will hold its biennial induction weekend in Beaufort this May 3-5.

South Carolina Academy of Authors 2024 Induction - Main Event
2024-05-04 17:30 - 20:00 | Beaufort Holiday Inn & Suites Conference Center, 2225 Boundary St., Beaufort, 29902, United States
When: Saturday May 4, 2024 | 5:30 – 8:00 pm EDT
Where (UPDATED VENUE): Beaufort Holiday Inn & Suites Conference Center (2225 Boundary St., Beaufort)
Advance Registration Required: Eventbrite | $55
South Carolina Literary Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Dinner at the Beaufort Holiday Inn & Suites Conference Center (2225 Boundary St., Beaufort). Honorees William P. Baldwin and Harlan Greene will be recognized in person. Marcus Amaker is unable to attend, but will appear in a pre-recorded video acceptance. Ann Head will be represented by her daughters, Nancy Thode and Stacey Ahner. Buffet dinner, cash bar. $55/person. Books available for sale and signing.
The South Carolina Academy of Authors (SCAA), in partnership with the Pat Conroy Literary Center, will hold its biennial induction weekend in Beaufort this May 3-5.
About Marcus Amaker
Marcus Amaker served as the first Poet Laureate of Charleston from 2016 to 2022. In 2019, he was honored with a Governor’s Arts award in South Carolina and was named the artist-in-residence of the Gaillard Center, a world-renowned performance and education venue. His tenth book is Hold What Makes You Whole, from Free Verse Press.

South Carolina Academy of Authors 2024 Induction - William P. Baldwin
2024-05-04 12:30 - 13:30 | Beaufort County Library Main Branch, 311 Scott Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
When: Saturday May 4, 2024 | 12:30 – 1:30 pm EDT
Where: Beaufort County Library Main Branch (311 Scott St., Beaufort)
Advance Registration Required: Eventbrite | Free
William P. Baldwin author presentation at Beaufort County Library Main Branch (311 Scott St., Beaufort), followed by a book signing. Free, advance registration required.
The South Carolina Academy of Authors (SCAA), in partnership with the Pat Conroy Literary Center, will hold its biennial induction weekend in Beaufort this May 3-5.
About William P. Baldwin
Lowcountry native William P. Baldwin is being recognized for his work in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. His best-known novel, The Hard to Catch Mercy, was awarded the Lillian Smith Book Award. Most recently, he has published The Unpainted South: Carolina’s Vanishing World, a collection of songs, photographs, and poems, as well as the novel Charles Town.

South Carolina Academy of Authors 2024 Induction - Harlan Greene
2024-05-03 17:00 - 19:00 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
When: Friday May 3, 2024 | 5:00 – 7:00 pm EDT
Where: Pat Conroy Literary Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort)
Advance Registration Required: Eventbrite | Free
Harlan Greene author presentation at the Pat Conroy Literary Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort), followed by a book signing and reception. Presented in partnership with Lowcountry Pride. Free, advance registration required. Catering by Debbi Covington. (Weather permitting, this event will be held outside at the Conroy Center.)
The South Carolina Academy of Authors (SCAA), in partnership with the Pat Conroy Literary Center, will hold its biennial induction weekend in Beaufort this May 3-5.
About Harlan Greene
Harlan Greene has written both fiction and nonfiction, with a focus on Charleston. As an archivist and historian, he has worked to save and interpret the literary heritage of the state. His most recent work, The Real Rainbow Row: Explorations in Charleston’s LGBTQ History was published in 2022.

South Carolina Academy of Authors 2024 Induction - Ann Head
2024-05-03 12:30 - 13:30 | Beaufort County Library Main Branch, 311 Scott Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
When: Friday May 3, 2024 | 12:30 – 1:30 pm EDT
Where: Beaufort County Library Main Branch (311 Scott St., Beaufort)
Advance Registration Required: Eventbrite | Free
Ann Head author presentation by her daughters Nancy Thode and Stacey Ahner at Beaufort County Library Main Branch (311 Scott St., Beaufort), presented in partnership with the Beaufort District Collection. This special event will also include recognition of the 2024 winner of the Ann Head Literary Prize at Beaufort High School. Free, advance registration required.
The South Carolina Academy of Authors (SCAA), in partnership with the Pat Conroy Literary Center, will hold its biennial induction weekend in Beaufort this May 3-5.
About Ann Head
The SCAA recognizes authors both living and deceased, and, this year, will be posthumously celebrating fiction writer Ann Head (1915-1968). She published several novels as well as over 50 short stories and novelettes in major magazines both here and abroad. Her most famous, Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones, was made into a TV movie and stayed in print for four decades. Head was also the first creative writing mentor to Pat Conroy (1945-2016), who was himself inducted into the literary hall of fame in 1988.

An Evening with Mark Larson, Award-winning Educator and Author
2024-04-29 17:00 - 18:30 | Beaufort Bookstore, 2127 Boundary St, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Monday, April 29, 2024 – 5:00-6:30 PM EDT
Price: Free
Registration: Seating is limited; please call to reserve your spot: 843-525-1066.
Venue: Beaufort Bookstore (2127 Boundary St, #15, Beaufort)
Website: Facebook Event Page
The Beaufort Bookstore and the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host an evening with Mark Larson, award-winning educator and author of Working in the 21st Century: An Oral History of American Work in a Time of Social and Economic Transformation, on Monday, April 29, at 5:00 p.m., at the Beaufort Bookstore (2127 Boundary St, #15, Beaufort).
Larson will be in conversation with two of the interview subjects of his book, Dr. N’kia J. Campbell, officer of academic initiatives for the Beaufort County School District, and Bradley Tarrance, principal of Robert Smalls Leadership Academy.
Free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale and signing. Please call to reserve your seat in advance: 843-525-1066.
About the Book
Esquire magazine has named Working in the 21st Century as One of the Best Books of 2024 (so far).
From nurses and teachers to wildland firefighters and funeral directors—this oral history offers an intimate, honest, and illuminating collection of interviews that reveal what it’s like to work in America at this historic and volatile moment in time.
Author Mark Larson sits down with more than one hundred workers from across the socioeconomic spectrum as they share their experiences with work and what it has meant in their lives—the good, the bad, the mundane, and the profound. Doulas, firefighters, chefs, hairstylists, executives, actors, stay-at-home parents, and so many more talk about what they do all day and how it aligns (or doesn’t) with what they want to be doing with their lives. The pandemic, the ensuing “Great Resignation,” and the current reckonings with racial justice are among the forces that are now upending and reshaping our longstanding relationships with work. Larson’s interviews display how these forces collide in the lives of average Americans as they tell their own stories with passion, heartbreak, and, ultimately, hope.
Working in the 21st Century asks why we show up—or don’t—to the jobs we’ve chosen, and how the upheaval of the past few years has changed how we perceive the work we do. It will be released to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Studs Terkel’s 1974 classic Working.
“Mark Larson’s superb and robust oral storytelling brings new light to the life of work. His book explores the intricacies of people working in these 21st-century times and shows that while work has been transformed, it is also becoming more relevant and powerful than ever.”—Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune contributing columnist and ABC7 Chicago political analyst
“Mark Larson appeared in one of Studs Terkel’s books and is clearly an admirer of America’s 20th-century storyteller. While Working in the 21st Century celebrates the 50th anniversary of Studs’s Working, the book, through its diversity and clarity, portrays both the similarities and differences of work 50 years later. Larson is a wonderful oral historian and the stories he tells depict the realities of work at the present time. His interviews and writing bring alive the breadth and depth of what it means to live in 2024.”—Alan Wieder, author of Studs Terkel: Politics, Culture, but Mostly Conversation
About the Author
Mark Larson is a Chicago-based writer and educator who holds a doctorate in educational leadership. Larson has worked at Evanston Township High School, the Field Museum, Lincoln Park Zoo, and National Louis University.
He is the author of two books on education and Ensemble: An Oral History of Chicago Theater, for which he conducted over 300 interviews with Chicago theater artists, past and present. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Mary. They have twin daughters and twin grandsons.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

Pat Conroy Book Club: A Lowcountry Heart
2024-04-25 18:30 - 19:30 | The Rhett House Inn, 1009 Craven St., Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Thursday April 25, 2024 – 6:30-7:30 PM EDT
Price: $10
Registration: Register at Eventbrite | Limited to 20 participants
Venue: The Rhett House Inn | 1009 Craven St., Beaufort
Website: Facebook Event Page
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center and the award-winning Rhett House Inn will host a monthly book club discussion of Pat Conroy’s dozen books in order of publication, moderated by Charlene Spearen and Jonathan Haupt. Book discussions will be held on fourth Thursdays beginning at 6:30 p.m. Limited to 20 participants each month. $10/person. Advance registration required. Participants are expected to read the books and to come prepared to discuss them.
Discussions will be held at The Rhett House Inn (1009 Craven St., Beaufort)
Register at Eventbrite
January 25: South of Broad
February 21: My Reading Life
March 28: The Death of Santini
April 25: A Lowcountry Heart
ABOUT OUR DISCUSSION LEADERS
Dr. Charlene Monahan Spearen received her MFA degree in Creative Writing and a Ph.D. in Composition and Rhetoric from the University of South Carolina. She is currently serving as the Public Relations and Special Projects Coordinator for Penn Center after a successful career in academia at Allen University. She served as the Program Coordinator for the University of South Carolina’s Arts Institute and was the Assistant Director for the South Carolina Poetry Initiative. In addition to her work throughout the Carolinas, Spearen has been a featured reader and Creative Writing instructor and scholar in County Monaghan and County Mayo, Ireland. She has published a full-length collection of poems titled A Book of Exquisite Disasters. Her poems have appeared in journals and publications throughout the United States.
Jonathan Haupt is the executive director of the nonprofit Conroy Center and the former director of the University of South Carolina Press, where he created the Story River Books fiction imprint with Pat Conroy, named by Garden & Gun magazine as one of “the top ten things to love about the South.” Haupt’s book reviews and author interviews have appeared in the Charleston Post and Courier, Lowcountry Weekly, Beaufort Lifestyle, Savannah Morning News’ Beacon magazine, Southern Review of Books, and Southern Writers Magazine’s Suite T blog. He is co-editor of the anthology Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy, the recipient of seventeen book awards. He serves on the boards of the Friends of South Carolina Libraries and the South Carolina Academy of Authors. In 2020, Haupt was recognized with the Doug Marlette Literacy Leadership Award presented by the Pulpwood Queens, the largest book club in the U.S.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

An Evening with poet Ray McManus
2024-04-25 17:00 - 18:30 | The Rhett House Inn, 1009 Craven St., Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Thursday, April 25, 2024 – 5:00-6:30 PM EDT
Price: Free
Registration: Seating is limited; please call to reserve your spot: 843-379-7025.
Venue (UPDATED): Rhett House Inn’s garden (1009 Craven St., Beaufort)
Website: Facebook Event Page
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host an evening with award-winning poet Ray McManus, author of The Last Saturday in America, on Thursday, April 25, at 5:00 p.m., at the Rhett House Inn’s garden (1009 Craven St., Beaufort). This is an outdoor event. Free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale and signing. Please call to reserve your seat in advance: 843-379-7025.
About The Last Saturday in America
“These are poems about boys listening to men who were once boys who listened to men, the blind leading the blind leading the blind through the dark. Some boys grow up. Some men never do. Ray McManus has chipped away at the pageantry and performance, the stupidity of the lie, the outright futility of it all…. The Last Saturday In America is, ‘a song that pays homage / to a history of work we should’ve done better.’ Here’s hoping one day we do.” —David Joy, author of Those We Thought We Knew, from the introduction
For fans of Americana music and a beer after mowing the lawn, The Last Saturday in America confronts the long shadow of Southern masculinity.
The Last Saturday in America is set in a nation on the precipice of great change. Through examinations of suburban neighbors, bullies, gun violence, and vasectomy appointments, Ray McManus draws a portrait of American masculinity in the face of political division, pandemic, and cultural warfare. McManus’s speaker is caught between the way he was raised and the future he wants to see for who he is raising. He can no longer rely on what he thought he knew, nor does he know what to do about it. The man rendered in these pages is a father, a son, a Southerner. And he is willing to burn it all down and start something new, only to see that the new start he is looking for has been with him the whole time.
About Ray McManus
Ray McManus is the author of four books of poetry: Punch. (winner of the 2015 Independent Publishers Book Award for Best Book of Poetry in North America), Red Dirt Jesus (selected by Alicia Ostriker for the Marick Press Poetry Prize 2011), and Driving through the country before you are born (winner of the South Carolina Book Prize in 2006), and a chapbook called Left Behind. He is the co-editor for the anthology Found Anew with notable contributors with South Carolina ties. His poems have been published in numerous journals such as Crazyhorse, Prairie Schooner, and POETRY magazine.
He lives in South Carolina where he teaches for USC Sumter and serves as the Writer in Residence for the Columbia Museum of Art.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

Workshop: Grants Make Cents Led by Penny Federspill
2024-04-20 14:00 - 16:00 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Register: patconroyliterarycenter.eventbrite.com
Saturday, April 20, 2024 · 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm EST
Cost: $25
Limited to 15 participants (A minimum of five participants is needed for this workshop.)
Venue: Pat Conroy Literary Center | 601 Bladen St Beaufort, SC 29902
Need alone is not enough to win grants. Led by Penny Federspill, Grants Make Cents will provide the basic skills needed to learn the essential elements of successful grant writing. These elements include methods of finding an appropriate grant funder, from your own backyard to paid research data firms.
The presentation will be comprised of all the parts of a grant narrative, accompanied by examples, with special attention directed to needs assessment, objectives, evaluation, and budgeting. This will include hands-on exercises. Time will be allotted to participants to begin to write a grant proposal, with individual assistance as needed. A template will be used to guide the writer; it will be a roadmap to achieving a standard format that can be used and reused. Attendees will also leave with a Tip Sheet and glossary to help in future endeavors.
This in-person workshop will be held at the Pat Conroy Literary Center (601 Bladen St.), limited to 15 participants. (A minimum of 5 needed to hold the class.) $25/person.
Learn more and register at https://patconroyliterarycenter.eventbrite.com
Website: Facebook Event Page
About our instructor:
Penny Federspill has been able to merge her love of learning with helping others to gain access to “free money.” She has 40 years of experience in public school environments in Ohio and South Carolina as an instructor, educator, and administrator. Ms. Federspill has researched, developed, and organized her business, Grants Make Cents, resulting in dozens of funded grants, grant writing workshops, and contracts as a grant consultant.
As a city Grant Administrator, she gained successful experience with community education and environmental grants and a $225,000 Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). As a part-time school district Grant Administrator she wrote community education grants, grants for drug-free programs, and Effective Schools grants. She holds education degrees and has earned recognition from several grant educational institutions. Locally, she found a grant for a sweetgrass basket designer and wrote a grant for the first after school program for a Beaufort County high school.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

Evening with novelist Carolyn P. Hartley, author of the Buried Sunshine Series
2024-04-18 17:00 - 19:00 | The Rhett House Inn, 1009 Craven St., Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Thursday, April 18, 2024 – 5-7:00 PM EDT
Price: $15 (includes a glass of wine and refreshments by Mimi Rodrigues)
Registration: Register at Eventbrite
Venue: The Rhett House Inn | 1009 Craven St., Beaufort
Website: Facebook Event Page
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, in collaboration with the award-winning Rhett House Inn, will host an evening with historical novelist Carolyn P. Hartley, author of the Buried Sunshine Series, on Thursday, April 18, at 5:00-7:00 p.m., at the Rhett House Inn (1009 Craven St., Beaufort). $15 registration fee includes a glass of wine and refreshments by Mimi Rodrigues. Books will be available for sale and signing.
Register at Eventbrite
“The Buried Sunshine Series is a courageous family saga, a sizzling coming of age story, as heroine, Adele Dawson discovers her roots in this action-adventure series.”—Millie West, award-winning author and screenwriter awards
About Book One: Redemption
Greed is invisible until you see the damage it inflicts on innocent children. Redemption exposes raw families caught between social lines when federal funds, intended to trickle down from corporate landowners never makes it into the hands of tenant farmers.
When agriculture was the bedrock of the American economy, families, suddenly penniless lost nearly everything in historic floods, bank failures, political and social annihilation. But at their core, one family would not let catastrophes defeat them. Adele Christina Dawson, the oldest stepchild of an imbittered farmer, is suddenly thrust into adulthood when her mother dies giving birth to a tenth child.
“Adele Dawson is intelligent, feisty, and strong, and she emits a beam that carries this story forward, that lifts it up from the rushing current of thick Mississippi Mud.”—Main Street Rag
About Book Two: Reconciliation
Adele Dawson, finally back with her West Virginia birth family, is driven to learn why her father died so young and why her mother remarried despicable August Beck, a con artist, then gave birth to eight of his children. When her half-sisters also come to live with her, they get wise to a secret museum of treasures in Adele’s once-lavish stone mansion. She unlocks secrets inside a locked trunk about her mother’s coerced life in corruption, greed, and extortion, secrets that now threaten to extinguish the entire family.
Her paternal grandmother’s final wish is that Adele rebuild the family’s coal mine, nearly bankrupt from the Depression, and restore the river stone mansion to its original beauty. The more involved she becomes in the mining business, the more she discovers her mother’s enemies have concealed themselves within the family business. On the verge of gaining trust from superstitious coal miners, her saboteur stepfather creates mine blasts that injure workers, forcing the reconstruction to miss critical deadlines.
“This thrilling novel series leaves the reader spellbound with a story that captures everything a reader could wish for. Once you start reading you won’t stop. A must read.”—William A Petty, historian, curator, and author
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carolyn P. Hartley is an award-winning author, most recently for the Buried Sunshine novel series: Redemption (2019), Reconciliation (2022), and Rebellion (forthcoming 2024).
Reconciliation achieved #1 bestseller rank in seven Amazon categories, including American History Romance. She is lead author of The Caregiver’s Toolbox (CTB), an Amazon #1 hot new release for nine consecutive weeks in two healthcare categories. After six years, CTB is still a popular backlist title.
In prior careers, Carolyn was a book packager for Prentice Hall, McGraw-Hill, Universal Press Syndicate, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and VP of marketing and communications for Fleishman Hillard International, where she placed clients on The Today Show, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, Fox and Friends, among others. Carolyn publishes her creative non-fiction, essays, and short stories in literary and consumer magazines, including North American Literary Review, Child, Whispering Prairie Press, Family Circle, and Working Women’s Magazine, and, for six years she was a columnist for Woman’s World. She developed public service announcements for Al Franken, Miss America, and the Points of Light Foundation. She also is founder of JMerrillPress, LLC, an independent woman-owned publisher that focuses on women of courage.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

April 2024 Open Mic Night
2024-04-11 18:00 - 19:30 | Online – Facebook Live
The Pat Conroy Literary Center’s monthly Open Mic Night will be held virtually on Thursday, April 11, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Our featured writer is poet Heather Corbally Bryant, author of The Coffin Makers. Open Mic will also feature short readings of 3 to 5 minutes each by other writers in many genres.
When: Thursday, April 11, 2024 at 6 PM – 7:30 PM EDT
Price: Free · Duration: 1 hr 30 min
Where: Virtual
Interested in reading as part of Open Mic? Let us know at contact@patconroyliterarycenter.org
We want to build our community of writers and an appreciation for the art and talent of new, emerging, and long-time writers. Thank you for supporting this partnership!
Event Facebook Page
About The Coffin Makers
“Heather Corbally Bryant’s eleventh collection of poetry shows her deepening grasp of language, and follows her grappling with the exigencies of a global pandemic in both intricate and plainspoken poetry.”–Laura Munson, bestselling author and founder of Haven Writing Retreats
“In The Coffin Makers, Heather Corbally Bryant offers us poetic witness to a world turned upside down by catastrophic fear, in clear, beautiful poems, marking out our moments of grief, isolation and hope, step by step. These poems will remain with us as graceful testament to our moment of crisis.”–Eibhear Walshe, Director of Creative Writing, University College Cork
About our featured writer:
Heather Corbally Bryant is a Senior Lecturer in the Writing Program at Wellesley College. She has also taught at Harvard, the University of Michigan and the Pennsylvania State University where she has won awards for her teaching. She has written eleven books of poetry, a prize-winning academic book, How Will the Heart Endure: Elizabeth Bowen and the Landscape of War, and a work of creative nonfiction, You Can’t Wrap Fire in Paper. Her poems have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, the Massachusetts Book Award, and have won Honorable Mention in the Finishing Line Press Open Chapbook Competition.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

Beaufort Human Library, Fourth Edition
2024-04-07 12:30 - 16:00 | Technical College of the Lowcountry – Building 12 Auditorium, 104 Reynolds Street, Bldg 12, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Sunday, April 7, 2024 – 12:30-4:00 PM EDT
Price: Free · Duration: 3 1/2 hrs
Location: Technical College of the Lowcountry’s MacLean Hall (104 Reynolds St, bldg 12, Beaufort, SC)
Check Out the Fourth Edition of the Beaufort Human Library, April 7
“Where oral history meets speed dating.” The Beaufort Human Library project seeks to foster empathy and understanding across communities by offering the public opportunities to “check out” more than a dozen Human Books who will be sharing their personal stories of facing challenges and striving for acceptance. These engaging conversations will cover topics including occupations, education, healthcare, gender, race, faith, immigration, addiction, abuse, and law enforcement, among others. Ultimately the dialogues will focus on building bridges of understanding, person to person, through storytelling.
The fourth edition of the Beaufort Human Library will be held on opening day of National Library Week: Sunday, April 7, from 12:30 to 4:00 p.m. in MacLean Hall, building 12 of the Technical College of the Lowcountry (TCL), at 104 Reynolds Street in Beaufort. Free and open to the public, the event is hosted by TCL; the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center; DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization; and volunteer community organizers.
Following a featured Book presentation in the TCL auditorium from 12:30 to 1:00 p.m., all of the volunteer Human Books will be available throughout MacLean Hall to be checked out for 30-minute small group conversations from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. No advance registration is needed. Volunteer Librarians and student Bookmarks from DAYLO will be on hand to help guests navigate their Beaufort Human Library experience.
Website: Facebook Event Page

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

Pat Conroy Book Club: The Death of Santini
2024-03-28 18:30 - 19:30 | The Rhett House Inn, 1009 Craven St., Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Thursday March 28, 2024 – 6:30-7:30 PM EDT
Price: $10
Registration: Register at Eventbrite | Limited to 20 participants
Venue: The Rhett House Inn | 1009 Craven St., Beaufort
Website: Facebook Event Page
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center and the award-winning Rhett House Inn will host a monthly book club discussion of Pat Conroy’s dozen books in order of publication, moderated by Charlene Spearen and Jonathan Haupt. Book discussions will be held on fourth Thursdays beginning at 6:30 p.m. Limited to 20 participants each month. $10/person. Advance registration required. Participants are expected to read the books and to come prepared to discuss them.
Discussions will be held at The Rhett House Inn (1009 Craven St., Beaufort)
Register at Eventbrite
January 25: South of Broad
February 21: My Reading Life
March 28: The Death of Santini
April 25: A Lowcountry Heart
ABOUT OUR DISCUSSION LEADERS
Dr. Charlene Monahan Spearen received her MFA degree in Creative Writing and a Ph.D. in Composition and Rhetoric from the University of South Carolina. She is currently serving as the Public Relations and Special Projects Coordinator for Penn Center after a successful career in academia at Allen University. She served as the Program Coordinator for the University of South Carolina’s Arts Institute and was the Assistant Director for the South Carolina Poetry Initiative. In addition to her work throughout the Carolinas, Spearen has been a featured reader and Creative Writing instructor and scholar in County Monaghan and County Mayo, Ireland. She has published a full-length collection of poems titled A Book of Exquisite Disasters. Her poems have appeared in journals and publications throughout the United States.
Jonathan Haupt is the executive director of the nonprofit Conroy Center and the former director of the University of South Carolina Press, where he created the Story River Books fiction imprint with Pat Conroy, named by Garden & Gun magazine as one of “the top ten things to love about the South.” Haupt’s book reviews and author interviews have appeared in the Charleston Post and Courier, Lowcountry Weekly, Beaufort Lifestyle, Savannah Morning News’ Beacon magazine, Southern Review of Books, and Southern Writers Magazine’s Suite T blog. He is co-editor of the anthology Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy, the recipient of seventeen book awards. He serves on the boards of the Friends of South Carolina Libraries and the South Carolina Academy of Authors. In 2020, Haupt was recognized with the Doug Marlette Literacy Leadership Award presented by the Pulpwood Queens, the largest book club in the U.S.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

Workshop: Publishing Pursuits: Traditional or Indie? Led by Kim Poovey
2024-03-27 18:00 - 20:00 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Register: patconroyliterarycenter.eventbrite.com
Wednesday, March 27, 2024 · 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm EST
Cost: $40
Limited to 15 participants (A minimum of five participants is needed for this workshop.)
Venue: Pat Conroy Literary Center | 601 Bladen St Beaufort, SC 29902
You’ve finished your manuscript and are ready to share it with the world! The question is whether to go with a traditional publisher or try your hand at independent (Indie) publishing. There are pros and cons to both. Learn the differences between traditional, hybrid, and Indie publishing and how to decide which is the best option for your manuscript.
This workshop will cover:
*Aspects of traditional publishing with large and small presses, hybrid publishing, and Indie publishing
*The pros and cons of traditional and Indie publishing
*Questions you need to ask when considering traditional or hybrid publishing
*The ins and outs of Indie publishing
What this workshop does not cover:
*How to write a query letter
*How to pitch to agents
This in-person workshop will be held at the Pat Conroy Literary Center (601 Bladen St.), limited to 15 participants. (A minimum of 5 needed to hold the class.) $40/person.
Learn more and register at https://patconroyliterarycenter.eventbrite.com
Website: Facebook Event Page
About our instructor:
Kim Poovey is an author of historical fiction and hauntings. She began her writing career with a traditional publishing house for her first two novels, Truer Words and Through Button Eyes: Memoirs of an Edwardian Teddy Bear. In 2017, she switched to Indie publishing and hasn’t looked back. Under her imprint, Dickens Ghost Publishing, LLC, Kim has produced five books; a collection of short stories, the first three novels in her Dreamist series about a woman who can communicate with the dead in her dreams, and Shadows of the Moss, book one in a historical fiction trilogy.
Kim has presented for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) through USCB as well as presenting at Camp Conroy for the past two summers. In addition, Kim has written for several magazines, including Beaufort Lifestyle, Bluffton Breeze, Citizen’s Companion, and the Civil War Times. When not writing, Kim is a school psychologist who lives with her husband and fur babies in a haunted 1890s cottage in the Lowcountry.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

An Evening with Columbia City Poet Laureate Jennifer Bartell Boykin
2024-03-23 17:00 - 18:30 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Saturday, March 23, 2024 · 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm EST
Free
Please call to reserve in advance: 843-379-7025
Venue: Pat Conroy Literary Center | 601 Bladen St Beaufort, SC 29902
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host an evening with Columbia City Poet Laureate Jennifer Bartell Boykin, author of the debut poetry collection Traveling Mercy, on Saturday, March 23, 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 to reserve in advance: 843-379-7025.
Boykin will also be teaching a poetry writing workshop earlier that same afternoon, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. To learn more and register for the workshop, please visit https://patconroyliterarycenter.eventbrite.com
Website: Facebook Event Page
ABOUT THE BOOK
Traveling Mercy navigates the journeys of a Black woman from rural South Carolina. Her travels transcend time as she encounters history, nature, and grief. She sits with the eldest residents before her birth, with the first ancestor who came to these shores, with her parents through their marriage, and through her own loneliness in the wake of their deaths. Planting as she harvests, this book is a lament and a love story to survival.
“After reading a single magnificent poem in Traveling Mercy, “the sapling in your chest floods with too much water and light.” Read a handful of poems, and find yourself on the poet’s ferry crossing the river “between thens and tomorrows.” Every magical, existential line is an iteration of Jennifer Bartell’s dexterous poetics. This accomplished debut elegizes human loss while celebrating the resilience that persists through witness and language. Traveling Mercy is a dazzling first book.”–National Book Award-Winning Poet Terrance Hayes
“Bartell’s Traveling Mercy is such an intimate history of a Black girl raised by Black women, raised by church fans and magnolia memories, dream-hymns of Black people pushing through mud and disease and held together by traditions. This rich collection of poems, by a Black girl who knows how and why to style okra seeds in her hair, spills with fat oysters and a community’s petrified pounded grace. Bartell assures she will never give us one chance to hold our breath, as we jump into this never-ending deep end of blazing life, therefore, prepare to be drenched.”– National Book Award-Winning Poet Nikky Finney
About our writer:
Poet Laureate of Columbia, South Carolina, and a 2023 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow, Jennifer Bartell Boykin is the author of Traveling Mercy (from Finishing Line Press). Her poetry has appeared in Obsidian, Callaloo, the Raleigh Review, kinfolks: a journal of black expression, the museum of americana: a literary review, and Scalawag.
Bartell Boykin is the recipient of fellowships from Callaloo and The Watering Hole. She teaches creative writing and English dual-enrollment courses at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, South Carolina, where she was named the 2019–20 Teacher of the Year. She is also an American Library Association Spectrum Scholar and an Augusta Baker Scholar at the University of South Carolina’s School of Information Science, where she is pursuing her master of library and information science degree. Bartell Boykin was born and raised in Bluefield, a Black community in Johnsonville, South Carolina.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

Workshop: Foodways in Poetry Led by Jennifer Bartell Boykin
2024-03-23 14:00 - 16:00 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Register: patconroyliterarycenter.eventbrite.com
Saturday, March 23, 2024 · 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm EST
Cost: $40
Limited to 15 participants (A minimum of five participants is needed for this workshop.)
Venue: Pat Conroy Literary Center | 601 Bladen St Beaufort, SC 29902
Collard greens, okra, fried chicken, company chicken, pileau (pronounced perlo), sweet tea, pound cake and more appear throughout my poetry. Each dish is important to my experiences with my family and my community. Think of the dishes that are staples for you. What are the memories you have with that food? How do you feel while eating it? Who are you with? The tastes, textures, and smells are the menu for memory, emotion, and therefore poetry.
In this workshop, we will explore the connections between food, memory, and poetry. Come with 1-2 dishes and memories associated with them in mind. If you have a family recipe you’d like to explore, bring that too.
In addition to teaching her workshop, Bartell Boykin will also be reading from and discussing her new collection of poems at the Conroy Center from 5:00-6:30 p.m. that same evening. Books will be available for sale and signing.
Saturday, March 23, 2:00-4:00 p.m. at the Pat Conroy Literary Center. Limited to 15 participants. (A minimum of five participants is needed for this workshop.) $40/person.
Learn more and register at https://patconroyliterarycenter.eventbrite.com
Website: Facebook Event Page
About our instructor:
Poet Laureate of Columbia, South Carolina, and a 2023 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow, Jennifer Bartell Boykin is the author of Traveling Mercy (from Finishing Line Press). Her poetry has appeared in Obsidian, Callaloo, the Raleigh Review, kinfolks: a journal of black expression, the museum of americana: a literary review, and Scalawag.
Bartell Boykin is the recipient of fellowships from Callaloo and The Watering Hole. She teaches creative writing and English dual-enrollment courses at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, South Carolina, where she was named the 2019–20 Teacher of the Year. She is also an American Library Association Spectrum Scholar and an Augusta Baker Scholar at the University of South Carolina’s School of Information Science, where she is pursuing her master of library and information science degree. Bartell Boykin was born and raised in Bluefield, a Black community in Johnsonville, South Carolina.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

March 2024 Open Mic Night
2024-03-14 18:00 - 19:30 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
The Pat Conroy Literary Center’s monthly Open Mic Night will be held at the Conroy Center (601 Bladen St.) on Thursday, March 14, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Our featured writer is award-winning poet Evelyn Berry, author of Grief Slut. Open Mic will also feature short readings of 3 to 5 minutes each by other writers in many genres.
When: Thursday, March 14, 2024 at 6 PM – 7:30 PM EDT
Price: Free · Duration: 1 hr 30 min
Where: Conroy Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort)
Interested in reading as part of Open Mic? Let us know at contact@patconroyliterarycenter.org
We want to build our community of writers and an appreciation for the art and talent of new, emerging, and long-time writers. Thank you for supporting this partnership!
Event Facebook Page
About Grief Slut
“Grief Slut exposes the paradoxical nature of queer life in the South. Required reading in an age of trans discrimination, Berry’s lines will serve as balm and bulwark. exposing the joyous heartbreak of rural queerness.”—Sim Kern, author of The Free People’s Village and Seeds From the Swarm
“Evelyn Berry’s Grief Slut is a book-length aubade to the genderqueer self and body, to the South, to violence and desire and Baja Blast. Grief Slut is a riotously beautiful collection of poems, a love song to flesh and the experience of too muchness that is oh-so-human, oh-so-queer, and oh-so-Southern.”—Han VanderHart, author of What Pecan Light
About our featured writer:
Evelyn Berry is a trans, Southern writer, editor, and educator. She’s the author of Grief Slut (Sundress Publications, 2023) and Buggery (Bateau Press, 2020), winner of the BOOM Chapbook Prize.
She’s a recipient of a 2023 National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship, 2022 Dr. Linda Veldheer Memorial Prize, 2019 Broad River Prize for Prose, and 2018 Emrys Poetry Prize, among other honors. Berry has been performing in venues around the country (and world!) for more than ten years. Her work has appeared in Beloit Poetry Journal, South Carolina Review, Gigantic Sequins, Raleigh Review, Taco Bell Quarterly, and elsewhere. She lives in Columbia, South Carolina.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

Afternoon with Dr. Kathleen Corley, author of the The Magical Place We Call School
2024-03-09 14:00 - 15:30 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Saturday, March 9, 2024 – 2:00-3:30 PM EDT
Price: Free
Registration: Seating is limited; please call to reserve your spot: 843-379-7025.
Venue: Pat Conroy Literary Center | 601 Bladen St., Beaufort
Website: Facebook Event Page
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host an afternoon with award-winning educator and Red Cedar Elementary School principal Dr. Kathleen Corley, author of the The Magical Place We Call School: Creating a Safe Space for Learning and Happiness in a Challenging World.
Free and open to the public, this author event will be held on Saturday, March 9, at 2:00 p.m., at the Conroy Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort). Books will be available for sale and signing. Seating is limited. Please call to reserve in advance: 843-379-7025.
About the Book
“Some day, a techie will invent a chip that can pre-install 40 years of classroom wisdom into every new teacher or principal. Until then, we’ve got Dr. Kathleen Corley’s book.”–Lenore Skenazy, president of Let Grow, author of Free-Range Kids
“An often encouraging, compassionate, and reasoned approach to running elementary schools.”–Kirkus Reviews
At a time when public discourse rages on about what students should or should not be taught, when books are being banned, when school shootings fill the news, and when families are still reeling from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic—here comes The Magical Place We Call School. With its fresh focus on the power and perils of education, it’s an intentional way of thinking that will intrigue readers everywhere.
In her literary debut, school principal Dr. Kathleen Corley, a forty-year veteran in elementary education, writes knowingly and with unique humor and insight about the value of education, how kids think and learn, what they need to succeed in and out of school, and how their home life affects their performance. Plus, she tackles some of the most daunting societal issues impacting children today, from bullying to gun violence and beyond.
Dr. Corley reminds us that something extraordinary still occurs in classrooms across America—not just miraculously, but by design and with tenacity.
In The Magical Place We Call School, Corley shares human interest stories that shed light on what is and isn’t working and provides a calm hand and a much-needed perspective from the front lines of learning. Her deep caring for the children, educators, and parents in her midst shines through, providing a true sense of what she calls “the magic of schools.” It’s a book not to be missed.
About the Authors
Dr. Kathleen Corley is an award-winning educator, an authority on school culture, and the charismatic principal at Red Cedar Elementary School in Bluffton, S.C. Renowned for her unique communication and management skills, Corley has a bachelor’s in music education from the University of Illinois, a master’s in music administration from Chicago Musical College, Roosevelt University, and a Doctorate in Educational Administration from the University of Illinois.
Chicago-born, Dr. Corley began her career in education as an elementary music teacher and transitioned to education administration to make a wider impact upon student achievement and school culture. She entered the administrative ranks as an assistant principal in Palatine, Illinois, then became an elementary school principal in Lynchburg, Virginia, Salem Massachusetts, and Bluffton, South Carolina. She was the founding principal at three of those schools and has been an educator for over forty years (and still counting). Corley has been an assistant professor at Salem State University and continues to mentor principals.
Glenn Plaskin is the bestselling author of twenty-five books and his profiles and syndicated columns have appeared in the New York Times, the Daily News, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Family Circle, US Weekly, Ladies Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, W, and Playboy. His TV appearances include The Today Show, Oprah, Larry King, Joan Rivers, Sally Jessy Raphael, Geraldo, and Good Day New York. Plaskin is also a recognized collaborator and ghostwriter for CEOs, entertainment personalities, high achievers, newsmakers, performing artists, and public speakers.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

Afternoon with award-winning novelist Jeffrey Dale Lofton
2024-03-02 14:00 - 15:30 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Saturday, March 2, 2024 – 2:00-3:30 PM EDT
Price: Free
Registration: Seating is limited; please call to reserve your spot: 843-379-7025.
Venue: Pat Conroy Literary Center | 601 Bladen St., Beaufort
Website: Facebook Event Page
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, in collaboration with Lowcountry Pride, will host an afternoon with award-winning novelist Jeffrey Dale Lofton, author of Red Clay Suzie, Longlisted for the Center for Fiction 2023 First Novel Prize, on Saturday, March 2, at 2:00 p.m., at the Conroy Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort). Free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale and signing through NeverMore Books. Seating is limited. Please call to reserve in advance: 843-379-7025.
About Red Clay Suzie
“Lofton’s descriptive prose is spellbinding; having never been to Georgia myself, I feel like I now know exactly what the air tastes like and how the red clay feels beneath my fingers in the garden. Taken together, the author has created an almost impressionist masterpiece of inner machinations and sensory experiences that leave you pleasantly dazed and content when you finally turn the last page.”—San Francisco Book Review
“Make a glass of sweet tea, pull up a porch chair, and a cloth to mop your brow. Red Clay Suzie roots readers in the pacing of the South as Lofton coaxes his people from the heat and the rain and the gardens and the cars. It is a journey of refuge and emergence—helped and hindered by family and friends. Even through the characters’ most painful moments of discovery and loss, it is an absolute joy to read. Three cheers to Jeffrey Dale Lofton and his stellar debut novel.”—Claire Green, former President of Parents’ Choice Foundation
The coming-of-age story of Philbet, a gay, physically-misshapen boy in rural Georgia, who battles bullying, ignorance, and disdain as he makes his way in life as an outsider—before finding acceptance in unlikely places.
Fueled by tomato sandwiches and green milkshakes, and obsessed with cars, Philbet struggles with life and love as a gay boy in rural Georgia. He’s happiest when helping Grandaddy dig potatoes from the vegetable garden that connects their houses. But Philbet’s world is shattered and his resilience shaken by events that crush his innocence and sense of security; expose his misshapen chest skillfully hidden behind shirts Mama makes at home; and convince him that he’s not fit to be loved by Knox, the older boy he idolizes to distraction. Over time, Philbet finds refuge in unexpected places and inner strength in unexpected ways, leading to a resolution in the form of a letter from beyond the grave.
About Jeffrey Dale Lofton
Jeffrey Dale Lofton hails from Warm Springs, Georgia, best known as the home of Roosevelt’s Little White House. He calls the nation’s capital home now and has for over three decades. During those early years he spent many a night trodding the boards of the DC’s theaters and performing arts centers, including the Kennedy Center, Signature Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, and Studio Theatre. He even scored a few television screen appearances, including a residuals-rich Super Bowl halftime commercial, which his accountant wisecracked “is the finest work of your career.”
Ultimately he stepped away from acting for other, more traditional work, including providing communications counsel to landscape architects and helping war veterans tell their stories to add richness and nuance to historical accounts. At the same time, he focused on pursuing post-graduate work, ultimately being awarded Master’s degrees in both Public Administration and Library and Information Science. Today, he is a senior advisor at the Library of Congress, surrounded by books and people who love books—in short, paradise.
Red Clay Suzie is his first work of fiction, written through his personal lens growing up an outsider figuring out life and love in a conservative family and community in the Deep South.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

8th Annual March Forth
2024-03-02 - 2024-03-03 | Penn Center, 16 Penn Center Circle West, St. Helena Island, SC, 29920, United States
Eighth Annual March Forth to Be Held on March 2 & 3 in Port Royal, Beaufort, and St. Helena Island
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center’s eighth annual March Forth will be held on Saturday, March 2, and Sunday, March 3. This special event commemorates the anniversary of Pat Conroy’s passing on March 4, 2016, with programs on major themes of his writing and teaching life, including social justice, inclusivity, conservation, education, and storytelling.
Learn more and register in advance at Eventbrite
March Forth will include appearances by novelist Jeffrey Dale Lofton, author of Red Clay Suzie (Longlisted for the Center for Fiction 2023 First Novel Prize); novelist, musician, and educator Brendan Slocumb, author of Symphony of Secrets and The Violin Conspiracy (A Good Morning America Book Club Selection); naturalist and biographer Patrick Dean, author of Nature’s Messenger: Mark Catesby and His Adventures in a New World; award-winning nature photographer Kelley Luikey; Spring Island Trust executive director Andy Jones; National Park Service Ranger Katherine Freeman; and the students of DAYLO.
March Forth is hosted this year by Conroy Center executive director Jonathan Haupt, Conroy Center board member Ginger Olszewski, and Lowcountry Weekly publisher and columnist Margaret Evans.
Free events will be held at the Port Royal Farmers Market and the Conroy Center on Saturday, March 2. A ticketed all-day event (including a catered lunch by award-winning caterer and cookbook author Debbi Covington) will be held at Penn Center on St. Helena Island on Sunday, March 3. Books by presenting authors will be available for sale and signing through NeverMore Books.
March Forth is presented in collaboration between the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center and Penn Center, NeverMore Books, Lowcountry Pride, the Port Royal Farmers Market, the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park, the Rhett House Inn, MarshSong Cottage, Catering by Debbi Covington, and DAYLO (Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization), and sponsored in part by the Pulpwood Queens Book Club.
~SCHEDULE OF EVENTS~
TEDDY BEAR PICNIC READ-ALOUD and READ WITH A RANGER at the PORT ROYAL FARMERS MARKET on SATURDAY, MARCH 2
9:30-Noon. Student volunteers from local chapters of DAYLO will be reading children’s picture books to young readers and their families, with light snacks provided. DAYLO students will be joined by National Park Service Ranger Katherine Freeman from the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park for a special read-aloud, Read with a Ranger. This free event will be held near the gazebo at the Port Royal Farmers Market (1615 Ribaut Rd, Port Royal). No registration needed.
AN AFTERNOON WITH JEFFREY DALE LOFTON, AUTHOR OF RED CLAY SUZIE, at the CONROY CENTER on SATURDAY, MARCH 2
2:00-3:30 p.m. Award-winning writer Jeffrey Dale Lofton will discuss his debut novel Red Clay Suzie (Longlisted for the Center for Fiction 2023 First Novel Prize) at the Conroy Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort), presented in collaboration with Lowcountry Pride. Books will be available for sale and signing through NeverMore Books. Seating is limited for this free event; please register in advance at 843-379-7025.
TICKETED MARCH FORTH EVENTS at PENN CENTER on SUNDAY, MARCH 3
9:30-10:00 a.m. Attendee check-in.
10:00-11:30 a.m. Birding and nature walk of Penn Center led by naturalist and Spring Island Trust and Lowcountry Institute executive director Andy Jones.
11:30 to Noon. Catered lunch by Debbi Covington. (Register in advance by February 26 for lunch. Day-of registrations may be possible without lunch.)
Noon to 1:00 p.m. Novelist, musician, and educator Brendan Slocumb, author of Symphony of Secrets and The Violin Conspiracy (A Good Morning America Book Club Selection) in conversation with Conroy Center Executive Director Jonathan Haupt, presented with the generous support of the Pulpwood Queens Book Club.
1:00 to 1:20 p.m. Book signing break with NeverMore Books.
1:20 to 2:20 p.m. Naturalist and biographer Patrick Dean, author of Nature’s Messenger: Mark Catesby and His Adventures in a New World, in conversation with Lowcountry Weekly publisher and columnist Margaret Evans.
2:20-2:40 p.m. Book signing break with NeverMore Books.
2:40-3:40 p.m. A special slideshow presentation by award-winning nature photographer, naturalist, and educator Kelley Luikey.
3:40-4:00 p.m. Closing remarks.
~ABOUT OUR PRESENTERS~
Patrick Dean writes on the outdoors and the environment. He has worked as a teacher, a political media director, and is presently the executive director of a rail-trail nonprofit. An avid trail-runner, paddler, and mountain-biker, he lives with his wife and dogs on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. Dean is the author of A Window to Heaven, about the summit of Denali, and Nature’s Messenger: Mark Catesby and His Adventures in a New World.

Dr. Andy Jones, executive director of the Spring Island Trust and Lowcountry Institute, is a lifelong naturalist, with a passion for the biodiversity of the Southeast. He studied biological sciences at the University of Tennessee, and completed his PhD on the evolutionary history of Philippine birds at the University of Minnesota. From 2006 until early 2022, he served curator of ornithology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. He has also served as a board member and on the research committee of Black Swamp Bird Observatory, as a board member of Winous Point Marsh Conservancy, and as Secretary of the American Ornithological Society. He has been recognized as a Fellow of the American Ornithological Society for his contributions to ornithology.
Jeffrey Dale Lofton is a senior advisor at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. A veteran stage actor turned debut novelist, he is the author of Red Clay Suzie, written through his personal lens growing up an outsider figuring out life and love in a conservative family and community in the Deep South. The novel was Longlisted for the Center for Fiction 2023 First Novel Prize).

Kelley Luikey is an award-winning photographer, educator, and Master Naturalist. Her photography consistently ranks in the Top 100 Images for national and international competitions such as the National Audobon Society and North American Nature Photographers Association. Her work hangs in private homes and offices across the country, has appeared in numerous publications–including National Audubon Society magazine and the cover of Garden and Gun magazine. Through her work, she hopes to inspire others to appreciate and preserve the beauty of the Lowcountry. Luikey resides in Port Royal with her husband and two children. She currently exhibits at Pluff Mudd Art in Bluffton and MacDonald Marketplace in Beaufort.
Brendan Slocumb is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a degree in music education, concentrations on Violin and Viola. For the past two decades, he has been a public and private school music educator from kindergarten through twelfth grade, teaching general music, orchestra, and guitar ensembles. His students were often chosen for district and regional orchestras. In 2005, Brendan was named Teacher of the Year for Robert E. Lee High School; he has been named to Who’s Who of American teachers, and is a Nobel Teacher of distinction. Brendan also serves as an educational consultant for the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He is the author of two novels: The Violin Conspiracy (a selection of the Good Morning America Book Club) and the recently released Symphony of Secrets.

Evening with Raj Haldar, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of This Book Is Banned
2024-02-22 17:00 | Technical College of the Lowcountry – Building 12 Auditorium, 104 Reynolds Street, Bldg 12, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
When: Thursday, February 22, 2024 from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.
Where: Technical College of the Lowcountry | 104 Reynolds St Beaufort, SC 29902
Registration: Free Tickets at Eventbrite
Join us for a free, family-friendly evening of story and song with Raj Haldar, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of This Book Is Banned. This special event is hosted by the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center in collaboration with the Storybook Shoppe, DAYLO (Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization), and the Technical College of the Lowcountry.
Following Raj’s musical storytelling performance, he will be in conversation with the students of DAYLO to discuss the importance of intellectual freedom and pro-literacy advocacy.
This event will be held at the Technical College of the Lowcountry, Bldg 12, McLean Hall, 104 Reynolds St., Beaufort, on Thursday, February 22, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. Attendance is free with advance online registration. Books will be available for sale and signing after the program through the Storybook Shoppe children’s bookstore. Register Here.
Website: Facebook Event Page
ABOUT THIS BOOK IS BANNED
From #1 New York Times bestselling author of P Is for Pterodactyl Raj Haldar comes a silly and irreverent new picture book all about sharing ideas.
This is a book about dinosaurs. No, it’s not. Dinosaurs are not allowed.
Oh. This is now a book about avocados! Sorry. We deleted those too.
FINE. This book is about―nope! Forbidden!
Maybe you shouldn’t even try reading this book…But what could possibly be inside?
Discover just what can happen when ideas are erased instead of expressed with this hilarious picture book romp that kids (and grown-ups) will want to read over and over again. This Book Is Banned is a funny, engaging book perfect for families to read aloud with kids of all ages, parents eager to share a laugh while addressing meaningful themes, educators looking for an entertaining resource to discuss important issues, and readers with a penchant for humor, vibrant illustrations, and thoughtful content.
“A funny, thought-provoking book that opens the door to discussion about book banning with younger children.”―School Library Journal, STARRED review
“Well done and adorably funny… a really great introduction to the subject of banned books for little ones.”―Youth Services Book Review, STARRED review
“A zany, fourth wall–breaking exploration of book banning.”―Kirkus Reviews
“Haldar and Patton employ absurdist hijinks to explore the practice of book banning… By story’s end, readers will likely have had at least one beloved subject ousted―potentially prompting conversation about real-world events.”―Publishers Weekly
“The adult-child combination who reads This Book Is Banned together will have fun discussing the issue of banning in the hypothetical, thanks to the busy and engaging illustrations and text that await them. Young children will want you to read it to them over and over again… Strongly reminiscent of The Monster at the End of This Book.”―NY Journal of Books
About the author:
Raj Haldar is the author of the #1 New York Times Bestselling picture book P is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever. But, for close to a decade, he has been better known as Lushlife, the rapper, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. In that time, he’s amassed a fervent global fanbase and released award-winning viral music videos that highlight his erudite lyrics.
The Sunday New York Times describes his work as “an intoxicating mix of captivating rhymes with audacious, gorgeous production.” So it should come as no surprise that Haldar has made the leap into the world of children’s literature. His latest book, entitled This Book is Banned, gives young readers a lighthearted entry point to begin understanding the dangers of book banning and censorship. His work has been featured by The Washington Post, Interview Magazine, VICE, Pitchfork, Village Voice, Mental Floss, BBC, SPIN and more. Raj currently lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with his wife and two young daughters.
During his visit to the Lowcountry, Raj will also be appearing as a featured author at the Palmetto State Literacy Association annual conference and visiting local schools. He last appeared with leaders of DAYLO in a Banned Books Week national livestream for the Children’s Book Council, hosted by Pat R. Scales, and subsequently featured in Publishers Weekly.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

Pat Conroy Book Club: My Reading Life
2024-02-21 18:30 - 19:30 | The Rhett House Inn, 1009 Craven St., Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Wednesday February 21, 2024 – 6:30-7:30 PM EDT (Rescheduled from Feb 22)
Price: $10
Registration: Register at Eventbrite | Limited to 20 participants
Venue: The Rhett House Inn | 1009 Craven St., Beaufort
Website: Facebook Event Page
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center and the award-winning Rhett House Inn will host a monthly book club discussion of Pat Conroy’s dozen books in order of publication, moderated by Charlene Spearen and Jonathan Haupt. Book discussions will be held on fourth Thursdays beginning at 6:30 p.m. Limited to 20 participants each month. $10/person. Advance registration required. Participants are expected to read the books and to come prepared to discuss them.
Discussions will be held at The Rhett House Inn (1009 Craven St., Beaufort)
Register at Eventbrite
January 25: South of Broad
February 21: My Reading Life
March 28: The Death of Santini
April 25: A Lowcountry Heart
ABOUT OUR DISCUSSION LEADERS
Dr. Charlene Monahan Spearen received her MFA degree in Creative Writing and a Ph.D. in Composition and Rhetoric from the University of South Carolina. She is currently serving as the Public Relations and Special Projects Coordinator for Penn Center after a successful career in academia at Allen University. She served as the Program Coordinator for the University of South Carolina’s Arts Institute and was the Assistant Director for the South Carolina Poetry Initiative. In addition to her work throughout the Carolinas, Spearen has been a featured reader and Creative Writing instructor and scholar in County Monaghan and County Mayo, Ireland. She has published a full-length collection of poems titled A Book of Exquisite Disasters. Her poems have appeared in journals and publications throughout the United States.
Jonathan Haupt is the executive director of the nonprofit Conroy Center and the former director of the University of South Carolina Press, where he created the Story River Books fiction imprint with Pat Conroy, named by Garden & Gun magazine as one of “the top ten things to love about the South.” Haupt’s book reviews and author interviews have appeared in the Charleston Post and Courier, Lowcountry Weekly, Beaufort Lifestyle, Savannah Morning News’ Beacon magazine, Southern Review of Books, and Southern Writers Magazine’s Suite T blog. He is co-editor of the anthology Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy, the recipient of seventeen book awards. He serves on the boards of the Friends of South Carolina Libraries and the South Carolina Academy of Authors. In 2020, Haupt was recognized with the Doug Marlette Literacy Leadership Award presented by the Pulpwood Queens, the largest book club in the U.S.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

Workshop: Linked Poetry: Traditional and New Approaches
2024-02-19 14:00 - 16:00 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Register: patconroyliterarycenter.eventbrite.com
Monday, February 19, 2024 · 2:00 – 4:00 pm EST
Cost: $40
Limited to 15 participants (A minimum of five participants is needed for this workshop.)
Venue: Pat Conroy Literary Center | 601 Bladen St Beaufort, SC 29902
Linked Poetry: Traditional and New Approaches is a poetry workshop for writers of all levels and ages who are looking to collaborate! We will begin with haiku writing exercises and build different styles of linked poems step by step. It is a highly interactive, hands-on workshop. Come with a writing partner or on your own.
Monday, February 19, 2:00-4:00 p.m. at the Pat Conroy Literary Center. Limited to 15 participants. (A minimum of five participants is needed for this workshop.)
Learn more and register at https://patconroyliterarycenter.eventbrite.com
Website: Facebook Event Page
About our instructors:
Natasha Akery is a language arts teacher and poet from North Charleston, South Carolina. She devotes her writing practice to haiku with themes of heritage, motherhood, and spirituality. You can find her poems on Instagram (@writethreelines) and in I Am a Furious Wish: Anthology of Lowcountry Poets, Vol. 1 published by Free Verse Press. Her first chapbook, in [the name], is a collection of haiku inspired by the desert and biblical stories. It is available through Bottlecap Press.

Twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Miho Kinnas is a writer, translator and poet living in Hilton Head Island, SC. She is the author of three poetry collections, Today, Fish Only (2014), Move Over Bird (2019) from Math Paper Press and Waiting for Sunset to Bury Red Camellias (2023) from Free Verse Press. A book of collaboration with E. Ethelbert Miller, We Eclipse into the Other Side was also published in 2023 by Pinyon Publishing. Her poem, Three Shrimp Boats on the Horizon was selected for Best American Poetry 2023.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

Workshop: Editing Basics for Authors, Led by Leslie Rindoks
2024-02-10 10:00 - 12:00 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Register: patconroyliterarycenter.eventbrite.com
Saturday, February 10, 2024 · 10:00 am – 12:00 pm EST
Cost: $40
Limited to 15 participants (A minimum of five participants is needed for this workshop.)
Venue: Pat Conroy Literary Center | 601 Bladen St Beaufort, SC 29902
Dorothy Parker once said, “I hate writing, but I love having written.” For many of us that’s true, the fun begins after we’ve written—when we have something to play with, something to revise.
In this workshop, participants will come to love their inner editors and learn that editing can be fun. We’ll begin by looking first at other writers’ work, then move on to participants’ work. Writers will need to bring the first 20 or so pp of their work in progress. We’ll evaluate major story elements and explore how they might make the work stronger, more effective, and more memorable.
This in-person workshop will be held at the Pat Conroy Literary Center (601 Bladen St.), limited to 15 participants. (A minimum of 5 needed to hold the class.) $40/person.
Learn more and register at https://patconroyliterarycenter.eventbrite.com
Website: Facebook Event Page
TESTIMONIALS:
“Because of Leslie, I am a much better writer. Her guidance and tutelage were invaluable.” —Dan Pliszka, author of Life is Great! (Even if Your Boat Flips Over)
“For my novel, and its iterations over time, I am thankful for Leslie’s sharp eyes and clear-headed comments.” —Karen Salyer McElmurray, author of Wanting Radiance
“Leslie Rindoks is the best in the business. She’s timely, quick-witted, steadfast, and kind. Her mentorship took me from a timid wannabe writer to an author writer with a distinct style.” —Amelia Wyatt, author of Ozzy and the Island and Mind the Gap
“I owe Leslie so much for her knowledge and her intuition as to what makes a good story. She certainly knows her business. In my mind, she is quite brilliant.” —Michael Ambrose, author of the forthcoming Learning to Land
About our instructor:
Originally from Chicago, Leslie Rindoks studied writing at Iowa Writers’ Workshop and illustration at Maryland Institute College of Art. She holds a BFA and MFA in design, and an MFA in creative writing and publication arts. The founder of Lorimer Press and WayWord Books (waywordbooks.com), she has edited more than 70 books. Passionate about combining words and images, she was the lead writer and book designer for LUCK, A Collection of Facts, Fiction, Incantations & Verse and her work was featured in Far From the Centers of Ambition and 100 Love Notes.
Writing as Avery Caswell, she is the author of the story collection MotherLoad and the novels Salvation and Dry Spell. (averycaswell.com)

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

February 2024 Open Mic Night
2024-02-08 18:00 - 19:30 | Online – Facebook Live
The Pat Conroy Literary Center’s monthly Open Mic Night will be held virtually on Thursday, February 8, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Our featured writer is mystery novelist Sally Handley, author of The Mystery of the Bogus Blooms. Open Mic will also feature short readings of 3 to 5 minutes each by other writers in many genres.
When: Thursday, February 8, 2024 at 6 PM – 7:30 PM EDT
Price: Free · Duration: 1 hr 30 min
Where: Facebook Live
Interested in reading as part of Open Mic? Let us know at contact@patconroyliterarycenter.org
We want to build our community of writers and an appreciation for the art and talent of new, emerging, and long-time writers. Thank you for supporting this partnership!
Event Facebook Page
About The Mystery of the Bogus Blooms
When Holly Donnelly gets invited to speak about home-composting at Pineland Park Community College’s Eco-Fair, the last thing she and her sister Ivy expect is to become involved in, not one, but two murder investigations. Throw in a controversy over a student GMO experiment that yields unexpected results, and once again the gardening duo find themselves called upon to help those falsely accused. Are the murders and the experiment connected? Can the stalwart sisters find the real killer and save the students’ scholarships? Not without a little help from their friends. Joining them to solve the mystery are trusted allies from past adventures, Kate Farmer and her neighbors, Benny and Razor, along with the plucky Peppy Alvarez and rookie FBI agent Nicky Manelli.
About our featured writer:
Sally Handley is author of the Holly & Ivy cozy mystery series and the stand-alone suspense novel, Stop the Threat. She also writes a series on the Kindle Vella platform entitled The Adventures of Trixie, written from her faithful companion’s point of view. A member of Sisters in Crime, Sally hosts a monthly on-line Mystery Book Club and a Meet the Authors Series on her YouTube Channel, @sallyhandley1430. For more information, visit her website at www.sallyhandley.com.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.

An Evening with Jeffrey Blount, author of Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way, in conversation with Rebecca Dwight Bruff
2024-02-01 17:00 - 19:00 | Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce, 711 Bladen St, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Thursday, February 1, 2024 – 5:00-7:00 PM EDT
Price: Free
Registration: Eventbrite
Venue: Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce | 711 Bladen Street Beaufort, SC 29902
Website: Facebook Event Page
“A heart-wrenching and beautiful story of a man and his family brought to its knees by the Civil War. . . . historical fiction at its finest.”–Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times Best-Selling Author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host an evening with award-winning writer Jeffrey Blount, author of the newly published novel Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way, in conversation with fellow novelist Rebecca Dwight Bruff, author of Trouble the Water. Free and open to the public, this event will be held at the Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce, 711 Bladen St., on Thursday, February 1, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. A reception will follow the author’s presentation, with books available for sale and signing through the Beaufort Bookstore.
About Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way
After a highly publicized fall from grace, James Henry Ferguson attempts to flee from the chaos in his life. He ends up in a community he had never heard of before, one that has been neglected and ignored by everyone in rural Ham, Mississippi. A place of abject poverty, the neighborhood is commonly referred to as “Around the Way.”
Within a place forgotten by the rest of the world, politics can be a dangerous game. When a troubling discovery is made, the entire neighborhood is rocked to its core and James is forced to confront his own past in order to help the community have a future. He will have to find the strength to fight for the neighbors he once disregarded and avert a heart-breaking disaster.
A self-identified failure is forced to uncover the wisdom of his past in order to recognize that money can’t solve every problem. Full of never-ending twists and turns, no one can prepare themselves for the surprises in store. Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way is a story about failure, self-discovery, empowerment, and the possibility of redemption.
“Blount makes us pause to take an up-close look at poverty and racism in our collective backyard. This powerful novel shows the true meaning of ‘it takes a village,’ and that doing the right thing should be color blind.”—Karen White, New York Times bestselling author
“This tender story is for any of us who have fallen and found the only way up is by reaching out a hand to others.” —Cassandra King, author of Tell Me a Story: My Life with Pat Conroy
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeffrey is the award-winning author of three novels. His most recent book, The Emancipation of Evan Walls was the winner of the 2020 National Indie Excellence Award for African American fiction.
He is also an Emmy award-winning television director and a 2016 inductee to the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame. During a 34-year career at NBC News, Jeffrey directed a decade of Meet The Press, the Today show, NBC Nightly News, and major special events. He is the first African-American to direct the Today show. He is also an award-winning documentary scriptwriter for films and interactives that are now on display in the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture. In 2017 and 2018, Jeffrey served as Journalist in Residence and Shapiro Fellow at the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University. A Virginia native, he graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in Communications/Broadcast Journalism. Born and raised in Smithfield, Virginia, he now lives in Washington, DC.
ABOUT THE INTERVIEWER
Rebecca Dwight Bruff is the author of the award-winning debut novel, Trouble the Water, published June 2019, and the non-fiction book, Loving the World with God, published 2014.
Bruff earned her Bachelors degree in education at Texas A&M University and Master and Doctorate degrees in theology, both from Southern Methodist University. In 2017, she was a scholarship recipient for the prestigious Key West Literary Seminar. She lives and writes in the South Carolina lowcountry.

This program and others like this would not be possible without your financial help for which, as always, Pat Conroy Literary Center gratefully thanks you.
