An Evening with Dawn Major and Kim Poovey
2025-03-20 17:00 - 18:30 (America/New_York) | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Thursday, March 20, 2025 – 5:00-6:30 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 Pat Conroy Literary Center will host an evening with authors Dawn Major and Kim Poovey portraying characters from their respective novels, introduced by host Mary Ellen Thompson.
Free and open to the public, this special event will be held at the Conroy Center (601 Bladen St.) on March 20 at 5:00 p.m. Books will be available for sale and signing. Please call in advance to reserve a seat: 843-379-7025.
Dawn Major is an associate editor for the Southern Literary Review. Her debut novel, The Bystanders, was named finalist for 2024 Georgia Author of the Year for Best First Novel. Set in the 1980s, The Bystanders is the story of a family who moves from California to a small town in Missouri, where, to put it mildly, they didn’t fit in. Dawn will converse from the point of view of her teenaged character, Shannon Lamb, who is the source of much gossip from the townspeople.
Kim Poovey is a storyteller, Victorian reenactress, and has written nine novels. The first of her Dreamist Series, The Haunting of Monroe Manse, centers on Sarah Holden, a smalltown antiques dealer who is “plagued by haunted dreams and gruesome visions.” As Sarah’s visions increase in intensity, the reader is taken on a chilling page turning journey of the otherworldly. Kim will portray Sarah in the conversation.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Dawn Major’s debut novel, The Bystanders, was named finalist for 2024 Georgia Author of the Year for Best First Novel. Major has a graduate degree in Creative Writing, is associate editor at Southern Literary Review, and a co-editor at WELL READ Magazine where she writes a column called “TripLit with D. Major.”
She enjoys advocating for Southern writers and artists on her blog, SouthernRead. Major’s literary awards include the following: the Dr. Robert Driscoll Award for Excellence in Writing Award and a James Dickey Fellowship. She is a member of the William Gay Archive and helps edit and publish the late author’s works. She serves on the board at Broadleaf Writers Association, is a member of multiple writing association, as well as a member of M’ville, an Atlanta-based artist salon. She has been published in multiple journals, reviews, and anthologies. Major lives in Atlanta, GA with her family and is currently working on her novelette, The Dandy Chronicles.
Kim Poovey is a bestselling author of cozy horror and historical fiction. She has traveled the Southeast for more than 20 years presenting on 19th century fashion, Victorian era mourning practices, Ornamental Hairwork, and the history of ghost stories.
In 2011 she portrayed Mrs. Stanton, wife of Secretary of War Stanton (Kevin Kline), in the Robert Redford film, The Conspirator. Additional film projects include portraying the wife of a villainous husband in the Vook version of Jude Devereaux’ novella Promises and the documentary Beyond the Oaks, Lowcountry Plantations.
Kim has published nine books to include four in the Dreamist series and two in the Shadows trilogy. In addition, Kim has written for several magazines to include Beaufort Lifestyles, Bluffton Breeze, Citizen’s Companion, and the Civil War Times. When not writing or performing, Kim works as a school psychologist. She lives in a haunted 1890s Victorian cottage in the South Carolina Lowcountry with her husband, Darryl, and their furry children.
Mary Ellen Thompson is an associate editor for the Southern Literary Review. Her interview with the legendary Pat Conroy was published in A Lowcountry Heart. A lead features writer for Beaufort Lifestyle Magazine for eight years, and columnist for Lowcountry Weekly for ten years, she has also written for Pooler Magazine, Effingham Magazine, Carolina Arts Magazine, St. Mary’s Magazine and Eat, Sleep, Play Beaufort. Mary Ellen has very happy feet and loves to travel.
Raised on the Main Line of Philadelphia and the Eastern Shore of MD, she has a B.S. From Skidmore College in Business. Currently living on Saint Helena Island, SC, she hosts a Writer’s Residency for the Pat Conroy Literary Center, and is writing a retrospective narrative.

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 Penelope Coker Hall and Eliza Wilson Ingle, Authors of A Curious Heart
2025-03-25 17:00 - 18:30 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Tuesday, March 25, 2025 – 5:00-6:30 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 evening with Penelope Coker Hall and Eliza Wilson Ingle, Authors of A Curious Heart: The Life and Letters of Elizabeth Boatwright Coker, on Tuesday, March 25, 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 Authors
Written by Elizabeth Boatwright Coker’s daughter, Penelope Coker Hall, and granddaughter, Eliza Wilson Ingle, A Curious Heart chronicles the life and work of the award-winning author.
In this poignant literary biography, Hall and Ingle give readers a front row seat to the remarkable life and career of award-winning author Elizabeth Boatwright Coker (1909-1993). Drawing liberally from Elizabeth’s own letters, journal entries, book passages and interviews, A Curious Heart reveals for the first time the inner life of this complex, Southern woman who dreamed of becoming a published writer.
Born in Darlington, South Carolina in an era when women could not vote and the legacy of the Civil War suffused nearly everything, Elizabeth was blessed with movie star beauty, a keen intellect and sense of humor, and extraordinary determination. At an early age, she was mentored by inspired teachers and some of the great writers of the 20th century. She would go on to challenge the status quo, in her life and her books.
Elizabeth’s journey juggling the demands of corporate wife and mother with that of working writer is a story of trial and triumph, heartbreak and joy. Her life spanned nearly the entire century, the second half of which yielded nine historical novels. With sensitivity and insight, the authors chronicle the passion, the powers of observation, the gift of storytelling, and the fierce independence that propelled their mother and grandmother to The New York Times bestseller list and the South Carolina Hall of Fame.
Born in Hartsville, South Carolina, Penelope Coker Hall matriculated to Sarah Lawrence College and eventually settled in New York, becoming a writer and host for Metromedia’s Channel Five TV show “The New Yorkers.” Later at NBC, Hall worked as a co-producer of several TV specials, including “Vanishing 400” and “Debutante.” During this time, she met and married film producer William Wilson and in 1968 their daughter, Eliza, was born. In 1972, Hall left the performing arts and embarked on a new marriage with widower Mortimer Hall of Millbrook, N.Y. Ensconced in Millbrook for 50 years, Hall served as editor of Dutchess Magazine while raising daughter Eliza as well as Morti’s five young children, along with a bevy of horses and dogs. Hall is author of several children’s books and the novel Riding High (under the pseudonym of Emily Brooks), written with former E.P. Dutton editor Ann LaFarge. Today, she divides her time between Charleston, S.C. and Millbrook.
Eliza Wilson Ingle is a New York native with Southern roots. She earned her BA in Dance from Middlebury College, and after a brief stint in New York City, moved to Charleston S.C. where she became a Professor of Dance at the College of Charleston. In addition to teaching, Ingle has been a performer and choreographer with Anonymity Dance Company. A dance reviewer for The Post and Courier covering Spoleto Festival USA, as well as a contributor to Charleston Magazine and Charleston City Paper, and creator and co-host of “Just Imagine” – a radio program covering local cultural events and people – she stays tapped into the arts and believes, as her grandmother did, in the power of story.

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 Afternoon with novelists Jeffrey Blount and John Pruitt, in conversation with Rebecca Dwight Bruff
2025-03-28 14:00 - 15:30 | Penn Center, 16 Penn Center Circle West, St. Helena Island, SC, 29920, United States
Friday, March 28, 2025 – 2:00-3:30 PM EDT
Price: Free
Registration: Register at Eventbrite by March 27
Venue: Penn Center’s Frissell Hall, 16 Penn Center West, St. Helena Island
Website: Facebook Event Page
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host an afternoon with novelists Jeffrey Blount (Mr. Jimmy from Around the Way) and John Pruitt (Tell It True), in conversation with Rebecca Dwight Bruff (Trouble the Water) on Friday, March 28, at 2:00 p.m.
Free and open to the public, this special event is presented in partnership with Luxe Lowcountry Travel and will be held at Penn Center’s Frissell Hall, 16 Penn Center West, St. Helena Island. Books by all three authors will be available for sale and signing.
Advance registration is required by March 27 at: https://blountandpruitt.eventbrite.com
About Jeffrey Blount and Mr. Jimmy from Around the Way
Jeffrey Blount is the award-winning author of three novels. 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 and was the first African-American to direct the Today show. He is an award-winning documentary scriptwriter for films and interactives that are now on display in the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture.
Mr. Jimmy from Around the Way is a story about failure, self-discovery, empowerment, and the possibility of redemption. James Henry Ferguson doesn’t belong here. After a highly publicized fall from grace, James 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. Winner of the 2024 National Indie Excellence Award for African American Fiction, 2024 Next Generation Indie Book Awards for African American Fiction, 2024 NYC Big Book Award for General Fiction, and 2024 American Book Fest Best Book Award for African American Fiction.
“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 John Pruitt and Tell It True
John Pruitt began his journalism career in 1964 as a television reporter-cameraman and eventually rose to top anchor at WSB-TV in Atlanta, Georgia. For a half-century he covered the civil rights movement, Georgia politics, and the major news figures of the day. His reporting has been honored with multiple awards including induction into the Atlanta Press Club and Georgia Association of Broadcasters Halls of Fame.
In Tell It True, An African American serviceman is gunned down on a rural Georgia road in July 1964. This shocking murder ensnares a wide range of characters including the journalists who cover it, the lawmen who must solve it, the civil rights leaders who capitalize upon it, the politicians who exploit it, and the Atlanta magnate who fears its impact on the New South image he desperately wants to protect. TV news cameraman Gil Matthews and AP reporter Mindy Williams team up to follow the twists and turns of the murder investigation as rural, state, and federal lawmen clash, a civil rights leader fends off a black power challenger, and voters take sides in a governor’s race pitting virulent racist Roscoe Pike against moderate underdog Harrison Parker. Focusing on the challenges faced by journalists as they covered a societal revolution and brought the dramatic and sometimes violent scenes to TV screens around the world, Tell It True takes us to a time when the future of the South hung in the balance.
“Pruitt takes us back to a time where black lives truly didn’t matter in the South, but it was a time black votes began to matter. The characters in this novel tell the story of the media’s role in changing race relations in the South, and the behind-the-scenes political alliances that helped to bring change. Pruitt’s meticulous character development and scenery depiction put me right there in the story. Gripping from beginning to end and hard to put down.”—Monica Kaufman Pearson, journalist and former news anchor
About Rebecca Dwight Bruff
Rebecca Bruff is the author of the award-winning historical novel Trouble the Water and the children’s book Stars of Wonder. Bruff earned her bachelor’s degree in education at Texas A&M and a master’s and doctorate in theology at Southern Methodist University. In 2017, she was a scholarship recipient for the prestigious Key West Literary Seminar. A frequent presenter at literary events, she volunteers at the Pat Conroy Literary Center.

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 bestselling novelist Colleen Oakley, author of Jane and Dan at the End of the World
2025-04-04 17:00 - 18:30 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Friday, April 4, 2025 – 5:00-6:30 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 evening with USA Today bestselling novelist Colleen Oakley, author of Jane and Dan at the End of the World, on Friday, April 4, at 5:00 p.m., at Conroy Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort). Oakley 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. Please call to reserve your seat in advance: 843-379-7025.
About Jane and Dan at the End of the World
Date night goes off the rails in this hilariously insightful take on midlife and marriage when one unhappy couple find themselves at the heart of a crime in progress, from the USA Today bestselling author of The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise.
Jane and Dan have been married for nineteen years, but Jane isn’t sure they’re going to make it to twenty. The mother of two feels unneeded by her teenagers, and her writing career has screeched to an unsuccessful halt. Her one published novel sold under five hundred copies. Worse? She’s pretty sure Dan is cheating on her. When the couple goes to the renowned upscale restaurant La Fin du Monde to celebrate their anniversary, Jane thinks it’s as good a place as any to tell Dan she wants a divorce.
But before they even get to the second course, an underground climate activist group bursts into the dining room. Jane is shocked—and not just because she’s in a hostage situation the likes of which she’s only seen in the movies. Nearly everything the disorganized and bumbling activists say and do is right out of the pages of her failed book. Even Dan (who Jane wasn’t sure even read her book) admits it’s eerily familiar.
Which means Dan and Jane are the only ones who know what’s going to happen next. And they’re the only ones who can stop it. This wasn’t what Jane was thinking of when she said “’til death do us part” all those years ago, but if they can survive this, maybe they can survive anything—even marriage.
“Jane and Dan at the End of the World is a triumph! Poignant, darkly funny, and mind-bendingly twisty at every turn. With each new chapter, I felt more invested in Jane and Dan, the fate of their marriage, and the outcome of their shocking predicament. I cheered for them all the way to the story’s satisfying end.”—Elle Cosimano, New York Times bestselling author of Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice
“Only Colleen Oakley could turn a terrorist attack on a restaurant into a charming story full of humor, surprises, and familial love. A delightful, imaginative, laugh-out-loud joy ride of a novel.”—Nina Simon, New York Times bestselling author of Mother-Daughter Murder Night
About the Author
Colleen Oakley is the USA Today bestselling author of The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise, The Invisible Husband of Frick Island, You Were There Too, Close Enough to Touch, and Before I Go. Her books have been translated into more than twenty languages around the world and have won multiple awards including Georgia Author of the Year and the French Reader’s Prize.
A former magazine editor for Women’s Health & Fitness and Marie Claire, Colleen lives in Atlanta with her husband, four children, three chickens, and a mutt named Baxter.

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 a mentor to the student leaders of DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization.

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.

Teddy Bear Picnic Read Aloud with Daylo April 2025
2025-04-05 09:30 - 12:00 | Port Royal Farmers Market, 1615 Ribault Rd, Port Royal, SC, 29935, United States
Saturday April 5, 2025 – 9:30 a.m. to noon EDT
Price: Free
Venue: Port Royal Farmers Market | Ribaut Rd & Pinckney Blvd, Port Royal, SC 29935
Website: Facebook Event Page
On the first Saturday of every month, you can join the student volunteers of DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization for a Teddy Bear Picnic read-aloud at the Port Royal Farmers Market (1615 Ribaut Rd.). In collaboration with the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, high school and college student volunteers from the Beaufort-based chapters of DAYLO gather at the gazebo in Naval Heritage Park from 9:30 a.m. to noon to read diverse, inclusive picture books to children and their families, inspiring a love of stories, books, reading, and peer-to-peer mentoring.
Cozy blankets, a plethora of stuffed animals, and some snacks help the students make a welcoming environment in this free community literacy program. Several times a year, National Park Service Ranger Katherine Freeman also joins in for Read with a Ranger, a literacy and art project thematically connected to the missions of DAYLO, the Conroy Center, and the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park.
DAYLO is a student-led diversity themed book club and community service group founded at Beaufort High School and now with chapters across South Carolina. Learn more at: https://linktr.ee/DAYLOBFT.

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 2025 Open Mic Night
2025-04-10 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, April 10, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. For National Poetry Month, Open Mic Night will feature poet and memoirist Galen Warden, author of I Believe You: When Doctor’s Wont, A Mother Must. She will also be reading on behalf of her son, James Strazza, author of Unsung: Poems Written in the Dark. Open Mic will also include short readings of 3 to 5 minutes each by other writers in many genres.
When: Thursday, April 10, 2025 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 author:
Galen Warden has enjoyed poetry since childhood, drawing from the joyful, transcendent, and most difficult moments of her life. From adolescence through motherhood, divorce, dating, and caregiving—and throughout her career as a designer and marketer for Bowker and LexisNexis—poetry has been a steady companion. Her work has appeared in Sensations Magazine, The Ever-Dancing Muse, Get Satisfied, and Lips, plus the anthologies Poets of the Palisades, The Paterson Literary Review, and The World Book of Healing.
Galen is a fourth-generation Beaufortonian who has cared for her adult son James in her home for the past five years. Her forthcoming memoir, I Believe You, captures the heartrending reality of very severe M.E.
“I have come to know Galen as an amazing mother, caregiver and advocate. Patients, families, caregivers and medical professionals will benefit from her lived experience and effectiveness… Her book is a highly effective clarion call to anyone with ME or long COVID to just rest, and to their loved ones to support them. I believe it’s what the world urgently needs right now.”—Janet L. Dafoe, PhD, psychologist
James Strazza was a prolific songwriter as well as a professional music producer when his young life was destroyed by a serious neurological disease. His only creative outlet became texting on his phone, so he leveraged his songwriting skills for a newfound passion: poetry. His second collection of poetry is Unsung, Poems Written in the Dark.
“This poet—and he is a poet in the fullest sense—gives utterance to a horrific reality that escapes all utterance. Transforming us into witnesses, he ignites our own soul: to read James Strazza is to burn with him. And to be forever transformed.”—David Patterson, Hillel A. Feinberg Distinguished Chair in Holocaust Studies, University of Texas at Dallas

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 novelist Dawn Tripp, author of Jackie
2025-04-15 17:00 - 18:30 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Tuesday, April 15, 2025 – 5:00-6:30 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
In partnership with NeverMore Books, the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host an evening with novelist Dawn Tripp, author of Jackie, on Tuesday, April 15, 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 through NeverMore Books. Seating is limited; please call in advance to reserve: 843-379-7025.
ABOUT THE BOOK AND AUTHOR
“An intimate, episodic narrative… Tripp’s wonderful, pointillistic skill with physical description and the deft, empathetic leaps she takes — jumping off from letters, contemporary memoirs and photographs snapped of the former First Lady — gives “Jackie” undeniable emotional punch. Tripp’s book stands out for its psychological acuity… notable for its admirable emphasis on the intelligence and grace of this valiant American woman.”—Washington Post
“Perfect for those who can’t get enough from one of the country’s most iconic couples.” —People
In this mesmerizing novel of the life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, bestselling author Dawn Tripp has crafted an intimate story of love and power, family and tragedy, loss, and reinvention.
Jackie is the story of a woman who forged a legacy out of grief and shaped history even as she was living it—a deeply private person with a nuanced, formidable intellect. It is the story of a love affair, a complicated marriage, and the fracturing of identity that comes in the wake of unthinkable violence.
When Jackie meets the charismatic congressman Jack Kennedy in Georgetown, she is twenty-one and dreaming of France. She has won an internship at Vogue, and she thinks Kennedy is not her kind of adventure: “Too American. Too good-looking. Too boy.” Yet she is drawn to his mind, his humor, and his drive. The chemistry between them ignites. During the White House years, the love between two independent people deepens. Then, a motorcade in Dallas: “Three and a half seconds—that’s all it was—a slivered instant between the first shot, which missed the car, and the second, which did not. . . . A hypnotic burst of sunlight off her bracelet as she waved.”
This spellbinding novel is a window into the world of a woman who led many different lives: Jackie, Jacks, Jacqueline, Miss Bouvier, Mrs. Kennedy, Mrs. Onassis, Jackie O. It is at once a deeply human story and a captivating work of imagination that comes right up against what she was thinking and feeling, what she was afraid of, fought for, and believed in.
Dawn Tripp’s novel Georgia was a national bestseller, finalist for the New England Book Award, and winner of the Mary Lynn Kotz Award for Art in Literature. She is also the author of three previous novels: Game of Secrets, Moon Tide, and The Season of Open Water, which won the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction.

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 novelist Emily Carpenter, author of Gothictown
2025-04-17 17:00 - 18:30 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Thursday, April 17, 2025 – 5:00-6:30 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 evening with novelist Emily Carpenter, author of the newly published novel Gothictown, on Thursday, April 17, 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
“A high-energy read that effortlessly reinvents the modern Gothic while delivering all the elements that make the genre so captivating: a haunting atmosphere, a dark legacy, a determined heroine and a whisper of horror. I love the Gothic and I love Gothictown.” —Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times bestselling author
“Just the right amount of creepiness to add a scary but not terrifying element to the promised gothic tale, and the post-pandemic what-do-I-do-now feeling is spot on.” —firstCLUE
*A Publishers Marketplace BUZZ BOOKS Selection*
In an immersive Southern Gothic with echoes of Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery and Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, a restauranteur lured by pandemic-era incentives moves her family to a seemingly idyllic small town in Georgia, only to discover a darkness lurking beneath the Southern hospitality and sun-dappled streets.
The email that lands in Billie Hope’s inbox seems like a gift from the universe. For $100, she can purchase a spacious Victorian home in Juliana, Georgia, a small town eager to boost its economy in the wake of the pandemic. She can leave behind her cramped New York City rental and the painful memories of shuttering her once thriving restaurant and start over with her husband and her daughter. Plus, she’ll get a business grant to open a new restaurant in a charming riverside community laden with opportunity. It seems like a dream come true…or a devil’s bargain.
A few phone calls and one hurried visit later, and Billie, Peter, and six-year-old Meredith are officially part of the Juliana Initiative. The town is everything promised—two hours northwest of Atlanta but a world away from city living, a “gentle jewel” with weather as warm as its people. Between settling into their lavish home and starting her new restaurant, Billie is busy enough to dismiss any troubling signS.
But Billie’s sleep is marred by haunting dreams, and her marriage with Peter is growing increasingly strained. Meanwhile the town elders, all descended from Juliana’s founding families, exert a level of influence that feels less benevolent and more stifling day by day.
There’s something about “Gentle Juliana”—something off-kilter and menacing beneath that famous Southern hospitality. And no matter how much Billie longed for her family to come here, she’s starting to wonder how, and if, they’ll ever leave.
Emily Carpenter is a bestselling author of suspense novels including Burying the Honeysuckle Girls, The Weight of Lies and Gothictown.
Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, she graduated from Auburn University and worked in New York City as an actor, producer, screenwriter, and behind-the-scenes soap opera assistant for the CBS shows As the World Turns and Guiding Light. She now lives with her family outside Atlanta, Georgia, and can be found online at EmilyCarpenterAuthor.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 Marjory Wentworth, author of One River, One Boat
2025-04-25 17:00 - 18:30 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Friday, April 25, 2025 – 5:00-6:30 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
In honor of National Poetry Month, the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host an evening with Marjory Wentworth, past Poet Laureate of South Carolina, and author of One River, One Boat, on Friday, April 25, 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
Famously cut from Governor Nikki Haley’s inauguration in 2015, former South Carolina poet laureate Marjory Wentworth’s poem “One River, One Boat” serves as the titular piece for her newest book. This collection of occasional poems and essays includes those written about heartbreaking and joyous times in South Carolina’s history and Wentworth’s own life including the deaths of relatives, gubernatorial inaugurations, the Mother Emmanuel AME massacre, Hurricane Hugo, and more.
Congressman James Clyburn read Wentworth’s poem “One River, One Boat” into the Congressional record in 2015 after it was pulled from Haley’s inauguration, saying he “hope[s] the people of South Carolina, across the country, and peoples around the world are as touched by her words as I have been.”
“A poet is a historian. If they are tuned in to the community around them, their words can be important documents of an era. South Carolina is a complicated and beautiful place. If you want to know the nuance of the Palmetto State, read Marjory’s poems.”—Marcus Amaker, Inaugural Poet Laureate of Charleston
Marjory Wentworth is the New York Times bestselling co-author of Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets, and the author of the prizewinning children’s story Shackles.
Celebrated for her significant contributions to literature and social justice, she served as the poet laureate of South Carolina from 2003–2020. During her tenure as poet laureate, she published 4 collections of poems and received seven Pushcart Prize nominations. She is also the co-writer with Juan Mendez of Taking a Stand: The Evolution of Human Rights and We Are Charleston: Tragedy and Triumph at Mother Emanuel, with Herb Frazier and Dr. Bernard Powers, and co-editor with Kwame Dawes of Seeking: Poetry and Prose inspired by the Art of Jonathan Green.
After receiving a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Holyoke College and a Master of Art in Writing from New York University, she moved to South Carolina in 1989, where she taught courses in writing, social justice, and banned books at The College of Charleston. For further information about the author visit her website, marjorywentworth.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.

Workshop: Write Living Newspapers Led by Marjory Wentworth
2025-04-26 10:00 - 12:00 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Register: Register at EventBrite
Saturday, April 26 , 2025 · 10:00 am – 12:00 noon EST
Cost: $45
Limited to 12 participants
Venue: Pat Conroy Literary Center | 601 Bladen St Beaufort, SC 29902
Write Living Newspapers
Laurence Ferlinghetti wrote, “If you would be a poet, write living newspapers.” In this workshop we will consider the ways the occasion poem is often written to document or provide commentary on an event. Sometimes it is intended to be read or performed publicly, but not necessarily. There are no specific guidelines for occasion poems, except that they mark a specific occasion or situation. The poems can be long or short, serious or humorous, formal or experimental. We will look at several occasion poems together and consider ways we too can “write living newspapers.”
This is an in-person writers workshop, held at the Pat Conroy Literary Center (601 Bladen St.). Limited to 12 participants with advance registration required; $45/person.
Learn more and register at EventBrite
Website: Facebook Event Page
About our instructor:
Marjory Wentworth is the New York Times bestselling co-author of Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets, and the author of the prizewinning children’s story Shackles.
Celebrated for her significant contributions to literature and social justice, she served as the poet laureate of South Carolina from 2003–2020. During her tenure as poet laureate, she published 4 collections of poems and received seven Pushcart Prize nominations. She is also the co-writer with Juan Mendez of Taking a Stand: The Evolution of Human Rights and We Are Charleston: Tragedy and Triumph at Mother Emanuel, with Herb Frazier and Dr. Bernard Powers, and co-editor with Kwame Dawes of Seeking: Poetry and Prose inspired by the Art of Jonathan Green.
After receiving a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Holyoke College and a Master of Art in Writing from New York University, she moved to South Carolina in 1989, where she taught courses in writing, social justice, and banned books at The College of Charleston. For further information about the author visit her website, marjorywentworth.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.

Teddy Bear Picnic Read Aloud with Daylo May 2025
2025-05-03 09:30 - 12:00 | Port Royal Farmers Market, 1615 Ribault Rd, Port Royal, SC, 29935, United States
Saturday May 3, 2025 – 9:30 a.m. to noon EDT
Price: Free
Venue: Port Royal Farmers Market | Ribaut Rd & Pinckney Blvd, Port Royal, SC 29935
Website: Facebook Event Page
On the first Saturday of every month, you can join the student volunteers of DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization for a Teddy Bear Picnic read-aloud at the Port Royal Farmers Market (1615 Ribaut Rd.). In collaboration with the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, high school and college student volunteers from the Beaufort-based chapters of DAYLO gather at the gazebo in Naval Heritage Park from 9:30 a.m. to noon to read diverse, inclusive picture books to children and their families, inspiring a love of stories, books, reading, and peer-to-peer mentoring.
Cozy blankets, a plethora of stuffed animals, and some snacks help the students make a welcoming environment in this free community literacy program. Several times a year, National Park Service Ranger Katherine Freeman also joins in for Read with a Ranger, a literacy and art project thematically connected to the missions of DAYLO, the Conroy Center, and the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park.
DAYLO is a student-led diversity themed book club and community service group founded at Beaufort High School and now with chapters across South Carolina. Learn more at: https://linktr.ee/DAYLOBFT.

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.

May 2025 Virtual Open Mic Night
2025-05-08 18:00 - 19:30 | Online – Facebook Live
The Pat Conroy Literary Center’s monthly Open Mic Night will be presented as a virtual event, live-streamed to our Facebook page, on Thursday, May 8, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Our featured presenter is fiction writer James Alan Gill, author of the story collection Not Dark Yet. Open Mic will also feature short readings of 3 to 5 minutes each by other writers in many genres.
When: Thursday, May 8, 2025 at 6 PM – 7:30 PM EDT
Price: Free · Duration: 1 hr 30 min
Where: Virtual – Facebook
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 author:
James Alan Gill was raised in a town with no stoplights by a family of coal miners, then attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale where he earned degrees in History and Creative Writing.
His work has appeared in numerous publications, including Colorado Review, Crab Orchard Review, The Common, Sou’wester, The Laurel Review, Midwestern Gothic, Fried Chicken and Coffee, Atticus Review, Book of Matches, and Prime Number Magazine. He has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and is a seven-time winner of the JD Supra Reader’s Choice Award for his writing in the legal technology industry. He currently lives with his wife, Brittany, in Minneapolis.
“Not Dark Yet unfurls like a fantastic roll of film capturing the hidden pockets of wonder in the lives of the denizens of James Alan Gill’s Illinois town of Matin. People fall in and out of love, race cars, make friends, make tracks, as ordinary lives reveal the extraordinary, all the while wrestling with the fundamental question, Can you really live the life you want and still please the people who love you?”—Whitney Otto, New York Times Bestselling Author of How to Make an American Quilt and Eight Girls Taking Pictures.
“Gill writes, with grace and humor and pain, about small-town life. This evocative chronicle of plain lives in crisis belongs on the same shelf as the stories of Bobbie Ann Mason and Raymond Carver. Poignant and powerful.”—Benjamin Percy, author of The Ninth Metal, Red Moon, and Thrill Me.

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 Afternoon with Annelore Harrell, author of Et Cetera Y’all
2025-05-31 14:00 - 15:30 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Saturday, May 31, 2025 – 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 Annelore Harrell, author of Et Cetera Y’all, Volume 1, on Saturday, May 31, 2025, 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. Seating is limited; please call in advance to reserve: 843-379-7025.
About the Book and Author
“Step into the enchanting world of Annelore Harrell and the coastal Lowcountry I love so dearly. With twenty-four years of remarkable newspaper columns, this collection is a treasure chest of insight, immersive experiences, and wisdom. From past to present, Annelore Harrell brings us on a journey to meet the forgotten heroes, see the locales of her experience, and encounter the allure of southern hospitality. A captivating storyteller with a keen and wise eye, Annelore Harrell’s prose transports us to the soul of the south.”–Patti Callahan Henry, bestselling author
Get inspired by the extraordinary Annelore Harrell, who brings her unique voice and vibrant storytelling to life in Et Cetera Y’all, Volume 1. This delightful collection, released in October 2024, showcases her charming and insightful newspaper columns from her inaugural year.
Annelore Harrell’s journey is a tapestry woven with fascinating experiences and extraordinary accomplishments. Born in 1932 in Savannah, Georgia, Annelore began visiting Myrtle Island in Bluffton with her family in 1942, joining the ranks of the “summer people” who traveled from Savannah. Despite bullying at school in 1937, which led her to stop speaking her first language, German, Annelore’s resilience shone through.
By age 12, Annelore was confidently driving a car, a skill she still retains with a careful eye on the rearview mirror. Her remarkable journey continued with her presidency of the world’s largest Officer’s Wives Club at Ft. Bragg, NC, in 1970. In 1974, she captivated audiences with her portrayal of Eleanor of Aquitaine in “Lion in Winter” in Stuttgart.
Transitioning into real estate in the mid-to-late ’70s, Annelore founded Annelore Harrell Realty, further cementing her legacy. In 1981, she moved to her retirement home on Myrtle Island, but retirement was merely a new chapter for her.
In the early ’80s, she taught her daughter, Tamela Pinckney, and other young mothers the art of bridge. From 1995 to 1998, Annelore hosted a weekly, live, one-hour show on the Bluffton Broadcasting Channel, “BBC.” Her voice resonated with the community for nearly 25 years as a weekly columnist for the Bluffton newspaper, Carolina Morning News, later known as The Bluffton Today. Her outstanding work earned 1st Place in her category for Best Column from the SC Press Association.
In 2017, Mayor Lisa Sulka celebrated Annelore’s contributions by recognizing her 1,000th newspaper column and declaring June 23rd as “Lala Day,” a nickname her grandchildren gave her. She was further honored in 2021 when she served as the Grand Marshal of the Bluffton Christmas Parade.
Annelore’s eclectic tastes in reading and music reflect her adventurous spirit. She enjoys various genres, from rock and classical to blues, bluegrass, indie, alternative, R&B, and Gregorian chants. Known for her unforgettable parties and fashion-forward style, she was rocking men’s ties long before it became a trend.
Even at 92 in 2025, Annelore’s energy and zest for life continue to inspire. Kathy L. Murphy of Big Book Love (formerly Pulpwood Queens Book Club) honored her work by naming Et Cetera Y’all, Volume 1, the Bonus Book of the Month for December 2025.
Annelore Harrell’s story is a testament to living with passion, resilience, and an unquenchable thirst for adventure.

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.

Teddy Bear Picnic Read Aloud with Daylo June 2025
2025-06-07 09:30 - 12:00 | Port Royal Farmers Market, 1615 Ribault Rd, Port Royal, SC, 29935, United States
On the first Saturday of every month, you can join the student volunteers of DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization for a Teddy Bear Picnic read-aloud at the Port Royal Farmers Market (1615 Ribaut Rd.).

Free

Camp Conroy: 2025 Summer Camp for Young Writers & Artists ages 9 to 12
2025-06-09 08:00 - 17:00 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Robert Smalls Leadership Academy 43 W. K. Alston Drive, Beaufort, SC, United States

Camp Conroy is now TWO one-week day camps for young writers and artists. Camp#1 for campers ages 9 to 12 will be held on June 9 to 13 (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.). Camp#2 for campers ages 13 to 16 will be held on June 23 to 27 (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) Hosted by the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, both camps will be held at Robert Smalls Leadership Academy in Beaufort, SC.

$250

June 2025 Open Mic Night
2025-06-12 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, June 12, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. For National Poetry Month, Open Mic Night will feature local novelist Doris E. Wright, author of Cabbagehead. Open Mic will also include short readings of 3 to 5 minutes each by other writers in many genres.
When: Thursday, June 12, 2025 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 author:
Doris E. Wright is an award-winning author whose fiction and nonfiction stories have been published in several anthologies. She is a mother, grandmother, wife, artist and writer. Always curious about what’s beyond the next bend, she has ridden camels in Timbuktu, done tai chi in Xi’an, and walked the veld in Kwazulu-Natal. To facilitate her and her husband’s love of travel, especially on the cheap, they have pet sat dogs, cats, tarantulas, rats, a tortoise, and both normal and unusual plants in the U.S., France, Ireland, and the U.K.
“Cabbagehead by Doris E. Wright will have you wondering if plants have a life, and if they can intervene in our lives in ways we’ve not yet fathomed. Readers will love Wright’s deft skill with words, her ability to move the story along, and her ability to keep us in suspense. Dry wit, the suspense over the next revelation in the vegetable dilemma, and Wright’s other writerly gifts will keep you reading. It’s a story for anyone who’s experienced family estrangement or lost themselves in nature anywhere.”–Estelle Ford-Williamson, author of Rising Fawn

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.

Camp Conroy: 2025 Summer Camp for Young Writers & Artists ages 13 to 16
2025-06-23 - 2025-06-25 | Robert Smalls Leadership Academy, 43 W. K. Alston Drive, Beaufort, 29906, United States
REGISTRATION: Eventbrite
Camp Conroy is now TWO one-week day camps for young writers and artists. Camp#1 for campers ages 9 to 12 will be held on June 9 to 13 (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.). Camp#2 for campers ages 13 to 16 will be held on June 23 to 27 (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) Hosted by the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, both camps will be held at Robert Smalls Leadership Academy in Beaufort, SC.
This year’s camp theme, Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors, honors the work of Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, who developed her metaphor as a way of describing how books can help readers to see themselves, see others, and enter into new experiences and understanding.
During each of the two camps, we will be building a book together by creating–individually and collaboratively–the writing and art that we will publish together in our anthology, then critiquing, editing, and designing our work in preparation for publication. Although our two age groups are divided into separate weeks, they will be contributing to a special collaborative project together as well.
Campers can explore a range of writing genres, from poetry to short stories to micro-memoirs; as well as multiple forms of self-expression in the visual arts, including drawing, painting, and photography. They will be guided through their creative endeavors by Camp Conroy’s talented counselors, full-time adult instructors, and special guest presenters and instructors. A final reading and presentation of camper creations will conclude the experience, and campers will each receive a copy of the camp anthology on publication later this summer.
Camp Conroy invites diversity and inclusivity among our campers with respect to race, religion, ability, and all other aspects of identity. Scholarships are available to assist campers who might not otherwise be able to take part in this experience.
The $250 registration fee for Camp Conroy includes one week of instruction, camp activities, and healthy daily snacks. Students must bring their own lunches and drinks each day. (This is a day camp; overnight lodging and meals are not included.) After the camp, participants will each receive a copy of their published anthology. Registration closes on May 20.
In the 2004 Pat Conroy Cookbook, Pat describes his “Bill Dufford Summer” spent between his junior and senior years on the campus of Beaufort High School (what is now Beaufort Middle School, the site of last year’s Camp Conroy). It was a transformative summer for Pat and for his principal, mentor, and surrogate father figure, Bill Dufford. As Pat writes at the end of his recollection, “I had everything—the best summer of my life.” That has been and remains the goal of our Camp Conroy, to give our campers the best summers of their lives. We hope you will join us this year.
Scholarships: A limited number of full and partial scholarships are available. To apply, interested students should submit a sample of their work (story, essay, poem, artwork, or photography) with a brief letter about their interest in the Camp Conroy experience by May 10, to the Pat Conroy Literary Center, Attention: Camp Conroy, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC 29902. Please specify the age of the camper so we know which of the two weeks you are applying for. Scholarship recipients will be contacted in early June.
Sponsorships: We welcome your tax-deductible donations to the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center to sponsor a Camper, a Camp Counselor, a Camp Instructor, or a Guest Presenter. Scholarships for Campers make it possible for young writers and artists to participate in this experience who might not otherwise have the opportunity. Sponsorships of Camp Counselors, Camp Instructors, and Guest Presenters benefit all of our Campers.
Facebook Page

Camp Conroy 2025 (Camp #2)
2025-06-23 08:30 - 2025-06-27 15:30 | Robert Smalls Leadership Academy
Camp Conroy is now TWO one-week day camps for young writers and artists. Camp#1 for campers ages 9 to 12 will be held on June 9 to 13 (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.). Camp#2 for campers ages 13 to 16 will be held on June 23 to 27 (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) Hosted by the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, both camps will be held at Robert Smalls Leadership Academy in Beaufort, SC.
Registration: https://campconroy2025.eventbrite.com
This year’s camp theme, Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors, honors the work of Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, who developed her metaphor as a way of describing how books can help readers to see themselves, see others, and enter into new experiences and understanding.
During each of the two camps, we will be building a book together by creating–individually and collaboratively–the writing and art that we will publish together in our anthology, then critiquing, editing, and designing our work in preparation for publication. Although our two age groups are divided into separate weeks, they will be contributing to a special collaborative project together as well.
Campers can explore a range of writing genres, from poetry to short stories to micro-memoirs; as well as multiple forms of self-expression in the visual arts, including drawing, painting, and photography. They will be guided through their creative endeavors by Camp Conroy’s talented counselors, full-time adult instructors, and special guest presenters and instructors. A final reading and presentation of camper creations will conclude the experience, and campers will each receive a copy of the camp anthology on publication later this summer.
Camp Conroy invites diversity and inclusivity among our campers with respect to race, religion, ability, and all other aspects of identity. Scholarships are available to assist campers who might not otherwise be able to take part in this experience.
The $250 registration fee for Camp Conroy includes one week of instruction, camp activities, and healthy daily snacks. Students must bring their own lunches and drinks each day. (This is a day camp; overnight lodging and meals are not included.) After the camp, participants will each receive a copy of their published anthology. Registration closes on May 20.
In the 2004 Pat Conroy Cookbook, Pat describes his “Bill Dufford Summer” spent between his junior and senior years on the campus of Beaufort High School (what is now Beaufort Middle School, the site of last year’s Camp Conroy). It was a transformative summer for Pat and for his principal, mentor, and surrogate father figure, Bill Dufford. As Pat writes at the end of his recollection, “I had everything—the best summer of my life.” That has been and remains the goal of our Camp Conroy, to give our campers the best summers of their lives. We hope you will join us this year.
Scholarships: A limited number of full and partial scholarships are available. To apply, interested students should submit a sample of their work (story, essay, poem, artwork, or photography) with a brief letter about their interest in the Camp Conroy experience by May 22, to the Pat Conroy Literary Center, Attention: Camp Conroy, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC 29902. Please specify the age of the camper so we know which of the two weeks you are applying for. Scholarship recipients will be contacted in early June.
Sponsorships: We welcome your tax-deductible donations to the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center to sponsor a Camper, a Camp Counselor, a Camp Instructor, or a Guest Presenter. Scholarships for Campers make it possible for young writers and artists to participate in this experience who might not otherwise have the opportunity. Sponsorships of Camp Counselors, Camp Instructors, and Guest Presenters benefit all of our Campers. For details: https://campconroy2025.eventbrite.com

Monthly Teddy Bear Picnic Read-Aloud with DAYLO
2025-07-05 09:30 - 12:00 | Port Royal Farmers Market
On the first Saturday of every month, you can join the student volunteers of DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization for a Teddy Bear Picnic read-aloud at the Port Royal Farmers Market (1615 Ribaut Rd.). In collaboration with the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, high school and college student volunteers from the Beaufort-based chapters of DAYLO gather at the gazebo in Naval Heritage Park from 9:30 a.m. to noon to read diverse, inclusive picture books to children and their families, inspiring a love of stories, books, reading, and peer-to-peer mentoring.
Cozy blankets, a plethora of stuffed animals, and some snacks help the students make a welcoming environment in this free community literacy program. Several times a year, National Park Service Ranger Katherine Freeman also joins in for Read with a Ranger, a literacy and art project thematically connected to the missions of DAYLO, the Conroy Center, and the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park.
DAYLO is a student-led diversity themed book club and community service group founded at Beaufort High School and now with chapters across South Carolina. Learn more at: https://linktr.ee/DAYLOBFT.
The Pat Conroy Literary Center is a nonprofit interpretive and learning center advancing the legacy of beloved, bestselling writer, educator, and mentor Pat Conroy (1945-2016), author of The Water Is Wide, The Great Santini, The Prince of Tides, and more. Learn more at: www.patconroyliterarycenter.org.

Teddy Bear Picnic Read Aloud with Daylo July 2025
2025-07-05 09:30 - 12:00 | Port Royal Farmers Market, 1615 Ribault Rd, Port Royal, SC, 29935, United States
Saturday July 5, 2025 – 9:30 a.m. to noon EDT
Price: Free
Venue: Port Royal Farmers Market | Ribaut Rd & Pinckney Blvd, Port Royal, SC 29935
Website: Facebook Event Page
On the first Saturday of every month, you can join the student volunteers of DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization for a Teddy Bear Picnic read-aloud at the Port Royal Farmers Market (1615 Ribaut Rd.). In collaboration with the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, high school and college student volunteers from the Beaufort-based chapters of DAYLO gather at the gazebo in Naval Heritage Park from 9:30 a.m. to noon to read diverse, inclusive picture books to children and their families, inspiring a love of stories, books, reading, and peer-to-peer mentoring.
Cozy blankets, a plethora of stuffed animals, and some snacks help the students make a welcoming environment in this free community literacy program. Several times a year, National Park Service Ranger Katherine Freeman also joins in for Read with a Ranger, a literacy and art project thematically connected to the missions of DAYLO, the Conroy Center, and the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park.
DAYLO is a student-led diversity themed book club and community service group founded at Beaufort High School and now with chapters across South Carolina. Learn more at: https://linktr.ee/DAYLOBFT.

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.

July 2025 Virtual Open Mic Night
2025-07-10 18:00 - 19:30 | Online – Facebook Live
The Pat Conroy Literary Center’s monthly Open Mic Night will be presented as a virtual event, live-streamed to our Facebook page, on Thursday, July 10, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Our featured presenter is novelist Abagail Summers, author of After the Storm. Open Mic will also feature short readings of 3 to 5 minutes each by other writers in many genres.
When: Thursday, July 10, 2025 at 6 PM – 7:30 PM EDT
Price: Free · Duration: 1 hr 30 min
Where: Virtual – Facebook
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 author:
Abagail Summers is a Lowcountry author of short stories, poetry, and novels—including Life with a Bird Out the Window (2014), Forgiving the Past (2020), The Untold Legacy (2021), and her newest release, After the Storm (2025).
Two of her short stories, Shining Light and Claire De Lune, were published in the anthology An Iron Fist in A Velvet Glove, and both were awarded honorable mention in the Globe Soup 7-Day Writing Contest. Summers earned her BA in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is a member of several writing groups, including Write Like You Mean It, Kingsbridge Writers Circle, Writers Beyond Borders, Charlotte Lit, and Main Street Writes, She has been regular participant in the Pat Conroy Literary Center’s Open Mic Nights.

About After the Storm
June Waters walks away from the country music business at the height of her popularity, leaving people wondering why. But only she knows why. Not even the people closest to her know what’s happening inside her head or her heart. To make matters worse, her dad is dying from lung cancer and can no longer run the farm on his own, which has put her family in jeopardy of losing it all. Against their will, June moves her absent husband and resentful daughter to her hometown of Franklin, Tennessee. But when she’s there, her past weaves its way back into her life, leaving her with many questions about who she is. Not only that, but the hourglass has been turned, the bank starts the foreclosure process. As she balances on the high wire of life, she must make an agonizing choice: Fight for the land she loves by heading back to Nashville with her pride tucked back into her pocket, or become the mother her daughter needs her to be.

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.

Virtual Open Mic Night -- Featuring Abagail Summers, Author of After the Storm
2025-07-10 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 presented as a virtual event, live-streamed to our Facebook page, on Thursday, July 10, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Our featured presenter is novelist Abagail Summers, author of After the Storm. 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 virtual Open Mic? Let us know at contact@patconroyliterarycenter.org.
About Our Featured Author:
Abagail Summers is a Lowcountry author of short stories, poetry, and novels—including Life with a Bird Out the Window (2014), Forgiving the Past (2020), The Untold Legacy (2021), and her newest release, After the Storm (2025). Two of her short stories, Shining Light and Claire De Lune, were published in the anthology An Iron Fist in A Velvet Glove, and both were awarded honorable mention in the Globe Soup 7-Day Writing Contest. Summers earned her BA in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is a member of several writing groups, including Write Like You Mean It, Kingsbridge Writers Circle, Writers Beyond Borders, Charlotte Lit, and Main Street Writes, She has been regular participant in the Pat Conroy Literary Center’s Open Mic Nights.
About After the Storm
June Waters walks away from the country music business at the height of her popularity, leaving people wondering why. But only she knows why. Not even the people closest to her know what’s happening inside her head or her heart. To make matters worse, her dad is dying from lung cancer and can no longer run the farm on his own, which has put her family in jeopardy of losing it all. Against their will, June moves her absent husband and resentful daughter to her hometown of Franklin, Tennessee. But when she’s there, her past weaves its way back into her life, leaving her with many questions about who she is. Not only that, but the hourglass has been turned, the bank starts the foreclosure process. As she balances on the high wire of life, she must make an agonizing choice: Fight for the land she loves by heading back to Nashville with her pride tucked back into her pocket, or become the mother her daughter needs her to be.

An Evening with Katherine Scott Crawford author of The Miniaturist's Assistant
2025-07-17 17:00 - 18:30 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Thursday, July 17, 2025 – 5:00-6:30 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 partnership with Beaufort Bookstore, will host an evening with novelist Katherine Scott Crawford, author of The Miniaturist’s Assistant, on Thursday, July 17, at 5:00 p.m., at the Conroy Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort).
Books will be available for sale and signing. Seating is limited; please call in advance to reserve: 843-379-7025.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The Miniaturist’s Assistant explores the mystery of time, how our choices ripple throughout history, and what it means to be a fully-realized woman— in any century.
2004: In historic Charleston, recently divorced art conservator Gamble Vance throws herself into her career restoring centuries-old miniature portraits. But one portrait haunts her: a woman in a fox stole, with familiar hazel eyes. When Gamble meets a girl in an alley, she’s convinced it’s the same woman— and it’s not the first time they’ve met. For help, Gamble turns to African American Studies scholar Tolliver Jackson— a former foster kid with secrets of his own. But as Gamble’ s memories resurface, the pair discover a connection which may endanger more than one life… in more than one lifetime.
1804: Miniature portraitist and fallen-away Quaker Daniel Petigru paints for Charleston’ s high society. Daniel and his sister live with a free Black family, their connection long and complicated. When Gamble arrives from the future and her presence puts them all at risk, Daniel must decide if he loves her enough to let her go.
“What a lush, bold novel is The Miniaturist’s Assistant by Katherine Scott Crawford, blending love, intrigue, and the role of portrait art in history for a story that is as suspenseful as it is wildly romantic. I’m not a fan of time travel tales in general, but the astounding journey of art restorer Gamble Vance through the Charleston of the present and the very long past transcends genre and takes the reader places that are entirely new.”—Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean and The Birdwatcher
“The Miniaturist’s Assistant is a multifaceted love story wrapped in a mystery that unfurls on the changing winds of history. A rollicking, page-turning tale, this unforgettable novel explores time travel, art, passion, the complexity of past sins, and the abundant promises embedded in the here and now. Katherine Scott Crawford has written a beautiful book steeped in humanity, truth, and wonder.”—Connie May Fowler, author of Before Women had Wings
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Katherine Scott Crawford is the award-winning author of The Miniaturist’s Assistant and Keowee Valley. A former backpacking guide, adjunct professor, and recovering academic, her newspaper column appeared weekly across the country and abroad, including in USA Today, The Detroit Free Press, the Herald Scotland, and more. Winner of a North Carolina Arts Award in fiction, she holds an MFA in Writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.
She’d rather be in the woods with her dog than anywhere else, enjoys curious people, adventure, and snow—and believes historical fiction the best way to time travel. An eleventh-generation Southerner, she directs writing retreats at a remote mountain lodge in Western North Carolina, where she lives with her family.

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 Novelist Katherine Scott Crawford, Author of The Miniaturist's Assistant
2025-07-17 17:00 - 18:30 | Pat Conroy Literary Center
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, in partnership with Beaufort Bookstore, will host an evening with novelist Katherine Scott Crawford, author of The Miniaturist’s Assistant, on July 17 at 5:00 p.m., at the Conroy Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort).Books will be available for sale and signing. Seating is limited; please call in advance to reserve: 843-379-7025.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The Miniaturist’s Assistant explores the mystery of time, how our choices ripple throughout history, and what it means to be a fully-realized woman— in any century.
2004: In historic Charleston, recently divorced art conservator Gamble Vance throws herself into her career restoring centuries-old miniature portraits. But one portrait haunts her: a woman in a fox stole, with familiar hazel eyes. When Gamble meets a girl in an alley, she’ s convinced it’ s the same woman— and it’ s not the first time they’ ve met. For help, Gamble turns to African American Studies scholar Tolliver Jackson— a former foster kid with secrets of his own. But as Gamble’ s memories resurface, the pair discover a connection which may endanger more than one life… in more than one lifetime.
1804: Miniature portraitist and fallen-away Quaker Daniel Petigru paints for Charleston’ s high society. Daniel and his sister live with a free Black family, their connection long and complicated. When Gamble arrives from the future and her presence puts them all at risk, Daniel must decide if he loves her enough to let her go.
“What a lush, bold novel is The Miniaturist’s Assistant by Katherine Scott Crawford, blending love, intrigue, and the role of portrait art in history for a story that is as suspenseful as it is wildly romantic. I’m not a fan of time travel tales in general, but the astounding journey of art restorer Gamble Vance through the Charleston of the present and the very long past transcends genre and takes the reader places that are entirely new.”—Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean and The Birdwatcher
“The Miniaturist’s Assistant is a multifaceted love story wrapped in a mystery that unfurls on the changing winds of history. A rollicking, page-turning tale, this unforgettable novel explores time travel, art, passion, the complexity of past sins, and the abundant promises embedded in the here and now. Katherine Scott Crawford has written a beautiful book steeped in humanity, truth, and wonder.”—Connie May Fowler, author of Before Women had Wings
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Katherine Scott Crawford is the award-winning author of The Miniaturist’s Assistant and Keowee Valley. A former backpacking guide, adjunct professor, and recovering academic, her newspaper column appeared weekly across the country and abroad, including in USA Today, The Detroit Free Press, the Herald Scotland, and more. Winner of a North Carolina Arts Award in fiction, she holds an MFA in Writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She’d rather be in the woods with her dog than anywhere else, enjoys curious people, adventure, and snow—and believes historical fiction the best way to time travel. An eleventh-generation Southerner, she directs writing retreats at a remote mountain lodge in Western North Carolina, where she lives with her family.

Silent Book Club Beaufort
2025-07-19 16:30 - 18:30 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Silent Book Club Beaufort, a unique take on the traditional book club, will hold its next meetup on Saturday, July 19, from 4:30 to 6:30PM at the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center (601 Bladen St.). A relaxed and pressure-free space for readers of all types, this community gathering invites book lovers to enjoy their current reads in a welcoming and peaceful atmosphere.

Silent Book Club Beaufort is co-sponsored by the Conroy Center and the student book club DAYLO (Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization).
Unlike traditional book clubs, Silent Book Club Beaufort has no assigned reading, no deadlines, and no discussions required. Whether you prefer ebooks, audiobooks, comic books, textbooks, or paperbacks, readers are invited to bring their book of choice, settle in, and savor the joy of uninterrupted reading among like-minded individuals.

Silent Book Club Beaufort also features a book swap: Leave a book, take a book.

The casual meetups provide an excellent opportunity to discover new book recommendations, make friends, and reconnect with the love of reading. Whether you’re a lifelong bookworm or just getting back into reading, everyone is welcome.

Silent Book Club Beaufort is free to attend and proudly supports local businesses and organizations. Additional dates and locations will be announced via the SBCB Instagram page at www.instagram.com/silentbookclubbeaufort.

Silent Book Club Beaufort
2025-07-19 16:30 - 18:30 | 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, United States, South Carolina 29902

An Evening with New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Novelist Karen White, Author of That Last Carolina Summer
2025-07-23 17:00 - 19:00 | Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce, 711 Bladen St, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Register: Register at EventBrite
Wednesday, July 23, 2025 · 5 – 7pm EDT
Cost: $40 (no refunds)
Venue: Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce | 711 Bladen Street Beaufort, SC 29902
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center and the Storybook Shoppe bookstore are honored to host an evening with New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Karen White, author of newly published That Last Carolina Summer. Join us on Wednesday, June 23, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at 711 Bladen Street (BCBCC, ground floor). This event will also feature a special welcome by Conroy Center honorary chair and bestselling author Cassandra King.
Advance registration required; $40 fee includes an autographed copy of That Last Carolina Summer, the author’s presentation, and refreshments. This is a book-with-ticket event; no refunds will be possible. Additional copies of Karen White’s books will also be available for sale and signing through the Storybook Shoppe.
Learn more and register at EventBrite
Website: Facebook Event Page
ABOUT THE BOOK
Beloved bestselling author Karen White returns with a captivating Southern drama about sisterhood, secrets and one woman’s reckoning with the past.
As a child, Phoebe Manigault developed the gift of premonition after she was struck by lightning in the creek near her Charleston home. Plagued throughout her life by mysterious dreams, and always living in the shadow of her beautiful sister, Addie, Phoebe eventually moves to the West Coast, as far from her family as possible. Now, years later, she is summoned back to South Carolina, to help Addie care for their ailing mother.
As Phoebe’s return lures her back into deep-rooted tensions and conflicts, she is drawn to Celeste, whose granddaughter went missing years ago. Their connection brings comfort to Phoebe, while Celeste’s adult grandson Liam resurrects complicated emotions tied to Phoebe’s past.
But the longer Phoebe spends in her childhood home, the more her recurring nightmares intensify—bringing her closer to the shocking truth that will irrevocably change everything. Unfolding against the lush backdrop of the South Carolina Lowcountry, That Last Carolina Summer is an unforgettable story about the unbreakable bonds of family and the gift of second chances.
“This multi-generational story is layered with juicy family secrets while exploring sisterhood, the power of memory, and the pull of home. The perfect summer read.”—Jamie Brenner, bestselling author of A Novel Summer
“Karen White brings all her magnificent storytelling gifts to this stunner of a novel. As much as you want to race along and discover all the secrets, you find yourself stopping to savor the truths she weaves into every twist and turn. If That Last Carolina Summer has a flaw, it is this: you won’t ever want to wake up from its spell.”—Beatriz Williams, bestselling author of Husbands & Lovers
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Karen White is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author with millions of copies of her books in print in fifteen different languages. When not writing, Karen spends her time reading and bird-watching. She and her husband have two grown children and a spoiled Havanese dog, Sophie, and she divides her time between Atlanta, Georgia, and the northwest Florida coast.

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 NYT Bestselling Novelist Karen White, Author of That Last Carolina Summer
2025-07-23 17:00 - 18:30 | Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center and the Storybook Shoppe bookstore are honored to host an evening with New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Karen White, author of newly published That Last Carolina Summer. Join us on Wednesday, July 23, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at 711 Bladen Street (BCBCC, ground floor). This event will also feature a special welcome by Conroy Center honorary chair and bestselling author Cassandra King.
Advance registration required; $40 fee includes an autographed copy of That Last Carolina Summer, the author’s presentation, and refreshments. This is a book-with-ticket event; no refunds will be possible. Additional copies of Karen White’s books will also be available for sale and signing through the Storybook Shoppe.
Register at: https://karenwhite-beaufort.eventbrite.com
ABOUT THE BOOK
Beloved bestselling author Karen White returns with a captivating Southern drama about sisterhood, secrets and one woman’s reckoning with the past.
As a child, Phoebe Manigault developed the gift of premonition after she was struck by lightning in the creek near her Charleston home. Plagued throughout her life by mysterious dreams, and always living in the shadow of her beautiful sister, Addie, Phoebe eventually moves to the West Coast, as far from her family as possible. Now, years later, she is summoned back to South Carolina, to help Addie care for their ailing mother.
As Phoebe’s return lures her back into deep-rooted tensions and conflicts, she is drawn to Celeste, whose granddaughter went missing years ago. Their connection brings comfort to Phoebe, while Celeste’s adult grandson Liam resurrects complicated emotions tied to Phoebe’s past.
But the longer Phoebe spends in her childhood home, the more her recurring nightmares intensify—bringing her closer to the shocking truth that will irrevocably change everything. Unfolding against the lush backdrop of the South Carolina Lowcountry, That Last Carolina Summer is an unforgettable story about the unbreakable bonds of family and the gift of second chances.
“This multi-generational story is layered with juicy family secrets while exploring sisterhood, the power of memory, and the pull of home. The perfect summer read.”—Jamie Brenner, bestselling author of A Novel Summer
“Karen White brings all her magnificent storytelling gifts to this stunner of a novel. As much as you want to race along and discover all the secrets, you find yourself stopping to savor the truths she weaves into every twist and turn. If That Last Carolina Summer has a flaw, it is this: you won’t ever want to wake up from its spell.”—Beatriz Williams, bestselling author of Husbands & Lovers
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Karen White is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author with millions of copies of her books in print in fifteen different languages. When not writing, Karen spends her time reading and bird-watching. She and her husband have two grown children and a spoiled Havanese dog, Sophie, and she divides her time between Atlanta, Georgia, and the northwest Florida coast.

An Evening With Best Selling Author Kiese Laymon - City Summer, Country Summer
2025-07-24 18:00 - 19:30 | Robert Smalls Leadership Academy, 43 W. K. Alston Drive, Beaufort, 29906, United States
MacArthur Genius Grant Honoree and Children’s Book Author Kiese Laymon Visits Beaufort on July 24
The Storybook Shoppe children’s bookstore will host award-winning author Kiese Laymon for an evening of stories on Thursday, July 24, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., at Robert Smalls Leadership Academy (43 W. Alston Dr., Beaufort). This free program for families will include a writing opportunity inspired by our lowcountry summers as well as discussion of Laymon’s debut picture book City Summer, Country Summer in conversation with local students E Achurch and Emily Alaia from DAYLO (Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization). Books will be available for sale and signing. This special event is a community collaboration between the Storybook Shoppe, Robert Smalls Leadership Academy, DAYLO, and the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center.

ABOUT THE BOOKCity Summer, Country Summer is a lyrical and evocative picture book that captures the transformative power of friendship. The story of three Black boys as they embark on a lifechanging summer. The boys spend one special summer exploring the Mississippi woods—and the woulds and coulds of sharing the kind of freeing friendship that is love. Watched over and given space to discover by Grandmama and Mama Lara, New York, Country, and little C find camaraderie in their contrasts and all the unspoken things between them while playing games of Marco Polo in the thick garden and sledding on cardboard by the underpass. With text brimming with love City Summer, Country Summer illustrates the tenuous bonds of friendship Black boys forge with one another.
“A heartfelt, elegantly wrought, and triumphant tribute to Black boy kinship. On the sunny porches of their grandmothers’ neighboring houses and in the cool shadows of the surrounding woods, hesitation becomes tenderness, anxiety becomes laughter, and difference becomes safeness.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Laymon’s text is lyrical and specific…Franklin’s digital illustrations…clearly centers each emotion the boys experience…deeply moving…reveling as it does in the tender bonds of Black boy friendship.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

ABOUT THE AUTHORKiese Laymon is a Black Southern writer from Jackson, Mississippi. Laymon is also the author of the genre-bending novel Long Division and the bestselling memoir Heavy: An American Memoir, winner of the 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, the 2018 Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose, the Austen Riggs Erikson Prize for Excellence in Mental Health Media, and named one of the 50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years by The New York Times. He was also the recipient of the 2020-2021 Radcliffe Fellowship at Harvard and a MacArthur Genius grant. He currently teaches English and creative writing at Rice University.

ABOUT THE INTERVIEWERSE Achurch is founding president of the DAYLO chapter at The Complete Student and Emily Alaia is president of the Battery Creek High School chapter of DAYLO. Both are rising juniors.

POSTPONED - An Evening with Bestselling Author Kiese Laymon - City Summer, Country Summer
2025-07-24 18:00 - 19:30 | Robert Smalls Leadership Academy
POSTPONED – Due to a travel delay beyond his control, author Kiese Laymon is unable to join us as planned this Thursday evening at Robert Smalls Leadership Academy. His author visit—hosted by the Storybook Shoppe in collaboration with DAYLO and the Conroy Center—will be rescheduled.
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MacArthur Genius Grant Honoree and Children’s Book Author Kiese Laymon Visits Beaufort on July 24
The Storybook Shoppe children’s bookstore will host award-winning author Kiese Laymon for an evening of stories on Thursday, July 24, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., at Robert Smalls Leadership Academy (43 W. Alston Dr., Beaufort). This free program for families will include a writing opportunity inspired by our lowcountry summers as well as discussion of Laymon’s debut picture book City Summer, Country Summer in conversation with local students E Achurch and Emily Alaia from DAYLO (Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization). Books will be available for sale and signing.
This special event is a community collaboration between the Storybook Shoppe, Robert Smalls Leadership Academy, DAYLO, and the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center.
ABOUT THE BOOK
City Summer, Country Summer is a lyrical and evocative picture book that captures the transformative power of friendship. The story of three Black boys as they embark on a lifechanging summer. The boys spend one special summer exploring the Mississippi woods—and the woulds and coulds of sharing the kind of freeing friendship that is love. Watched over and given space to discover by Grandmama and Mama Lara, New York, Country, and little C find camaraderie in their contrasts and all the unspoken things between them while playing games of Marco Polo in the thick garden and sledding on cardboard by the underpass. With text brimming with love City Summer, Country Summer illustrates the tenuous bonds of friendship Black boys forge with one another.
“A heartfelt, elegantly wrought, and triumphant tribute to Black boy kinship. On the sunny porches of their grandmothers’ neighboring houses and in the cool shadows of the surrounding woods, hesitation becomes tenderness, anxiety becomes laughter, and difference becomes safeness.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Laymon’s text is lyrical and specific…Franklin’s digital illustrations…clearly centers each emotion the boys experience…deeply moving…reveling as it does in the tender bonds of Black boy friendship.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kiese Laymon is a Black Southern writer from Jackson, Mississippi. Laymon is also the author of the genre-bending novel Long Division and the bestselling memoir Heavy: An American Memoir, winner of the 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, the 2018 Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose, the Austen Riggs Erikson Prize for Excellence in Mental Health Media, and named one of the 50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years by The New York Times. He was also the recipient of the 2020-2021 Radcliffe Fellowship at Harvard and a MacArthur Genius grant. He currently teaches English and creative writing at Rice University.
ABOUT THE INTERVIEWERS
E Achurch is founding president of the DAYLO chapter at The Complete Student and Emily Alaia is president of the Battery Creek High School chapter of DAYLO. Both are rising juniors.
