Silent Book Club Beaufort
2025-01-11 16:30 - 18:30 (America/New_York) | 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, United States, South Carolina 29902
Silent Book Club Beaufort, a unique take on the traditional book club, will launch Saturday, January 11, from 4:30pm-6:30pm at the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen St. Designed to offer 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.
The inaugural Silent Book Club Beaufort is co-sponsored by the Conroy Center and the student book club DAYLO (Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization), bringing together two organizations dedicated to fostering community connections and celebrating the love of literature.
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.
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. Participants can drop in late or leave early to fit their schedules, with the simple request to arrive 5-10 minutes early to avoid disruptions.
Silent Book Club Beaufort is free to attend and proudly supports local businesses and organizations. Additional dates and locations will be announced soon via the SBCB Instagram page at www.instagram.com/silentbookclubbeaufort. Come embrace the joy of reading at Silent Book Club Beaufort!

An Evening with Karen Salyer McElmurray
2025-01-24 17:00 - 18:00 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Friday, January 24, 2025 – 5:00-6:00 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 award-winning writer Karen Salyer McElmurray, author of the essay collection I Could Name God in Twelve Ways, on Friday, January 24, 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 I Could Name God in Twelve Ways
“I could dream in poetry, could summon words for spiritual experience, could name God in twelve ways and in ten times and places in history.”
Award-winning writer Karen Salyer McElmurray details her life’s journey across continents and decades in a poetic collection that is equal parts essay-as-memoir, memoir-as-Künstlerroman, and travelogue-as-meditation.
It is about the deserts of India. A hospital ward in Maryland. The blue seas of Greece. A greenhouse in Virginia. It is about the spirit houses of Thailand. The mountains of eastern Kentucky. The depths of the Grand Canyon. A creative writing classroom in Georgia. An attic in a generations-old house. It is about coming to terms with both memory and the power of writing itself.
At turns lyrical, poignant, and alluring, McElmurray probes her personal history from the stance of different places, perspectives, and vulnerabilities as she tenderly and fiercely searches for acceptance and a place to call home.
“McElmurray teaches us how to reckon and ravel, how to unpack secrets, abandon maps, and learn from everything, even vertigo, even a global pandemic. This book is for everyone who has ever felt vulnerable in this world, which is to say, everyone.”―Julie Marie Wade, author of Otherwise: Essays and Just an Ordinary Woman Breathing
“The essays in this stunning collection are elegiac, urgent, vulnerable―full of loss and longing. Although the narrative is rooted in Kentucky, the scope is global as the narrator travels literally and metaphorically toward love and away from the ghosts of the past.”―Sue William Silverman, author of Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul
About the Author
Karen Salyer McElmurray’s Surrendered Child: A Birth Mother’s Journey, was an AWP Award Winner for Creative Nonfiction. Her novels are The Motel of the Stars, Editor’s Pick by Oxford American, and Strange Birds in the Tree of Heaven, winner of the Chaffin Award for Appalachian Writing.
As a fiction writer, she is the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the North Carolina Arts Council. Her work in nonfiction has been a recipient of the Annie Dillard Award for the Essay, the New Southerner Award, the Orison Anthology Award for Creative Nonfiction and, most recently, the LitSouth Award. She has co-edited, with poet Adrian Blevins, an essay collection called Walk till the Dogs Get Mean. Wanting Radiance, a novel, and Voice Lessons, a short collection of lyric essays, came out in 2021. A new essay collection, I Could Name God in Twelve Ways came out in September 2024 from University Press of Kentucky.

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 Karen Salyer McElmurray, Author of I Could Name God in Twelve Ways
2025-01-24 17:00 - 18:00 | 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, United States, South Carolina 29902
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host an evening with award-winning writer Karen Salyer McElmurray, author of the essay collection I Could Name God in Twelve Ways and the novel Wanting Radiance, on Friday, January 24, at 5:00 p.m., at the Conroy Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort). Sponsored in part by WayWord Books, this author event is 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.
McElmurray will also lead a writing workshop on Saturday, January 25, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Details and registration: https://endingsandbeginningsworkshop.eventbrite.com
ABOUT I COULD NAME GOD IN TWELVE WAYS
“I could dream in poetry, could summon words for spiritual experience, could name God in twelve ways and in ten times and places in history.”
Award-winning writer Karen Salyer McElmurray details her life’s journey across continents and decades in a poetic collection that is equal parts essay-as-memoir, memoir-as-Künstlerroman, and travelogue-as-meditation.
It is about the deserts of India. A hospital ward in Maryland. The blue seas of Greece. A greenhouse in Virginia. It is about the spirit houses of Thailand. The mountains of eastern Kentucky. The depths of the Grand Canyon. A creative writing classroom in Georgia. An attic in a generations-old house. It is about coming to terms with both memory and the power of writing itself.
At turns lyrical, poignant, and alluring, McElmurray probes her personal history from the stance of different places, perspectives, and vulnerabilities as she tenderly and fiercely searches for acceptance and a place to call home.
“McElmurray teaches us how to reckon and ravel, how to unpack secrets, abandon maps, and learn from everything, even vertigo, even a global pandemic. This book is for everyone who has ever felt vulnerable in this world, which is to say, everyone.”―Julie Marie Wade, author of Otherwise: Essays and Just an Ordinary Woman Breathing
“The essays in this stunning collection are elegiac, urgent, vulnerable―full of loss and longing. Although the narrative is rooted in Kentucky, the scope is global as the narrator travels literally and metaphorically toward love and away from the ghosts of the past.”―Sue William Silverman, author of Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul
ABOUT WANTING RADIANCE
Miracelle Loving’s world comes crashing down when her mother, Ruby, is murdered during a fortune-telling session gone wrong. Without the guidance of her mother, Miracelle grows up following the only path she knows, traveling from town to town, sometimes fortune-telling, picking up odd jobs to fill the time and escape the ever-present lostness she can’t seem to run far enough away from.
Uncertain of what she wants and, indeed, whether she wants anything or anyone at all, the now thirty-something-year-old finds herself working as a card reader in a Knoxville dive bar, selling fictions as futures, when she is confronted with her mother’s ghost voice promising to reveal the truth about her shadowy past. Desperate for answers, Miracelle sets out on a magical road trip unlike any other, in search of her own story and a father she’s never known.
Following snowy highways and backroads, Miracelle stumbles across a museum of oddities and a hole-in-the-road town called Radiant, ultimately wandering into the town of Smyte, where she begins waitressing at the Black Cat Diner. Here, she befriends card-playing has-been Russell Wallen, whom she joins for a series of nighttime adventures, long drives, and after-dark visits to a Holy Roller church. This mythical journey uncovers family secrets and forgotten truths, transforming a familiar story of love and betrayal to reveal the binding power of magic and memory.
“A poetic tale of a daughter’s quiet exploration of her past and how it pushes her forward.” —The Rumpus
“An incantatory Appalachian gothic tale of love, murder, and restless souls, populated with unforgettable flesh-and-blood characters . . . [a] masterpiece.” —Amy Greene, national bestselling author
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Karen Salyer McElmurray’s Surrendered Child: A Birth Mother’s Journey, was an AWP Award Winner for Creative Nonfiction.Her novels are The Motel of the Stars, Editor’s Pick by Oxford American, and Strange Birds in the Tree of Heaven, winner of the Chaffin Award for Appalachian Writing.As a fiction writer, she is the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the North Carolina Arts Council. Her work in nonfiction has been a recipient of the Annie Dillard Award for the Essay, the New Southerner Award, the Orison Anthology Award for Creative Nonfiction and, most recently, the LitSouth Award. She has co-edited, with poet Adrian Blevins, an essay collection called Walk till the Dogs Get Mean. Wanting Radiance, a novel, and Voice Lessons, a short collection of lyric essays, came out in 2021. A new essay collection, I Could Name God in Twelve Ways came out in September 2024 from University Press of Kentucky.

Endings and Beginnings: Writing Workshop Led by Karen Salyer McElmurray
2025-01-25 09:30 - 12:00 | 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, United States, South Carolina 29902
Endings and Beginnings
Graham Greene once said, “a story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead.” This arbitrariness—catching hold of an idea or a dream or a moment of insight—is certainly part of the sheer magic of writing. Deciding how to start a story and how to end it involves careful translation of our original moments of insight. Beginnings and endings become careful revision once we capture the arbitrary experience we begin with. This workshop will look at some examples of openings and endings from essays and longer works of memoir. We will discuss, and we will also begin work on writing some openings of our own.
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: $60/person.
Register: https://endingsandbeginningsworkshop.eventbrite.com
About Our Instructor:
Karen Salyer McElmurray’s Surrendered Child: A Birth Mother’s Journey, was an AWP Award Winner for Creative Nonfiction. Her novels are The Motel of the Stars, Editor’s Pick by Oxford American, and Strange Birds in the Tree of Heaven, winner of the Chaffin Award for Appalachian Writing. As a fiction writer, she is the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the North Carolina Arts Council. Her work in nonfiction has been a recipient of the Annie Dillard Award for the Essay, the New Southerner Award, the Orison Anthology Award for Creative Nonfiction and, most recently, the LitSouth Award. She has co-edited, with poet Adrian Blevins, an essay collection called Walk till the Dogs Get Mean. Wanting Radiance, a novel, and Voice Lessons, a short collection of lyric essays, came out in 2021. A new essay collection, I Could Name God in Twelve Ways came out in September 2024 from University Press of Kentucky.

Workshop: Endings and Beginnings, Led by Karen Salyer McElmurray
2025-01-25 09:30 - 12:00 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Register: Register at EventBrite
Saturday, January 25, 2025 · 9:30am – 12pm EST
Cost: $60
Limited to 12 participants
Venue: Pat Conroy Literary Center | 601 Bladen St Beaufort, SC 29902
Graham Greene once said, “a story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead.” This arbitrariness—catching hold of an idea or a dream or a moment of insight—is certainly part of the sheer magic of writing. Deciding how to start a story and how to end it involves careful translation of our original moments of insight.
Beginnings and endings become careful revision once we capture the arbitrary experience we begin with. This workshop will look at some examples of openings and endings from essays and longer works of memoir. We will discuss, and we will also begin work on writing some openings of our own.
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: $60/person.
Learn more and register at EventBrite
Website: Facebook Event Page
About our instructor:
Karen Salyer McElmurray’s Surrendered Child: A Birth Mother’s Journey, was an AWP Award Winner for Creative Nonfiction. Her novels are The Motel of the Stars, Editor’s Pick by Oxford American, and Strange Birds in the Tree of Heaven, winner of the Chaffin Award for Appalachian Writing.
As a fiction writer, she is the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the North Carolina Arts Council. Her work in nonfiction has been a recipient of the Annie Dillard Award for the Essay, the New Southerner Award, the Orison Anthology Award for Creative Nonfiction and, most recently, the LitSouth Award. She has co-edited, with poet Adrian Blevins, an essay collection called Walk till the Dogs Get Mean. Wanting Radiance, a novel, and Voice Lessons, a short collection of lyric essays, came out in 2021. A new essay collection, I Could Name God in Twelve Ways came out in September 2024 from University Press of Kentucky.

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.

Monthly Teddy Bear Picnic Read-Aloud with DAYLO
2025-02-01 09:30 - 12:00, 2025-03-01 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 February 2025
2025-02-01 09:30 - 12:00 | Port Royal Farmers Market, 1615 Ribault Rd, Port Royal, SC, 29935, United States
Saturday February 1, 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.

Workshop: Writing Our Truths, Led by Tayler Simon
2025-02-13 16:00 - 17:30 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Register: Register at EventBrite
Thursday, February 13, 2025 · 4 – 5:30pm EST
Cost: $45
Limited to 12 participants
Venue: Pat Conroy Literary Center | 601 Bladen St Beaufort, SC 29902
Writing Our Truths: The Power of Autobiographical Poetry & Self-Publishing Your Own Chapbook — Led by Tayler Simon
Turn your life story into a compelling poetry chapbook! This workshop guides you through crafting autobiographical poems that capture personal experiences to resonate with readers. Through a guided writing exercise, you’ll refine your work while learning the basics of self-publishing. We’ll cover chapbook organization, layout, and production options, so you leave ready to bring your unique voice to print. Ideal for poets of all levels, this workshop will empower you to create a poetic mini-memoir and self-publish a chapbook to use your story for good.
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:
Tayler Simon (she/her) is a writer, social worker, and the owner of the bookstore, Liberation is Lit. She has self-published three books, Phases: Poems, Writing Our Truths: A Guide to Self-Publishing for BIPOC Writers, and Love and Other Forms of Heartbreak. Tayler is passionate about promoting social liberation through the power of transformative stories.

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 -- Writing Our Truths: The Power of Autobiographical Poetry, with Tayler Simon
2025-02-13 16:00 - 17:30 | 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, United States, South Carolina 29902
Writing Our Truths: The Power of Autobiographical Poetry & Self-Publishing Your Own Chapbook — Led by Tayler Simon
Turn your life story into a compelling poetry chapbook! This workshop guides you through crafting autobiographical poems that capture personal experiences to resonate with readers. Through a guided writing exercise, you’ll refine your work while learning the basics of self-publishing. We’ll cover chapbook organization, layout, and production options, so you leave ready to bring your unique voice to print. Ideal for poets of all levels, this workshop will empower you to create a poetic mini-memoir and self-publish a chapbook to use your story for good.
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.
Registration: https://writingourtruths.eventbrite.com
About Our Instructor:
Tayler Simon (she/her) is a writer, social worker, and the owner of the bookstore, Liberation is Lit. She has self-published three books, Phases: Poems, Writing Our Truths: A Guide to Self-Publishing for BIPOC Writers, and Love and Other Forms of Heartbreak. Tayler is passionate about promoting social liberation through the power of transformative stories.
Tayler will also be the featured author at that evening’s Open Mic Night at the Conroy Center, beginning at 6:00 p.m.

February 2025 Open Mic Night
2025-02-13 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, February 13, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Our featured author is Tayler Simon, founder of Liberation Is Lit and author of Phases and Love and Other Forms of Heartbreak. Open Mic will also feature short readings of 3 to 5 minutes each by other writers in many genres.
When: Thursday, February 13, 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:
Tayler Simon (she/her) is a writer, social worker, and the owner of the bookstore Liberation is Lit. She has self-published three books: Phases: Poems, Writing Our Truths: A Guide to Self-Publishing for BIPOC Writers, and Love and Other Forms of Heartbreak. Tayler is passionate about promoting social liberation through the power of transformative stories.

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 Tayler Simon, Author of Phases and Love & Other Forms of Heartbreak
2025-02-13 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, February 13, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Our featured author is Tayler Simon, founder of Liberation Is Lit and author of Phases and Love and Other Forms of Heartbreak. 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 Author
Tayler Simon (she/her) is a writer, social worker, and the owner of the bookstore Liberation is Lit. She has self-published three books: Phases: Poems, Writing Our Truths: A Guide to Self-Publishing for BIPOC Writers, and Love and Other Forms of Heartbreak. Tayler is passionate about promoting social liberation through the power of transformative stories.
As part of her visit to the Conroy Center, Taylor will also be teaching a writing workshop earlier that afternoon from 4:00 to 5:30: Writing Our Truths: The Power of Autobiographical Poetry & Self-Publishing Your Own Chapbook. Learn more at https://writingourtruths.eventbrite.com.

An Evening with contributing writers to The Heartbeat of Quiet Streets
2025-02-21 17:00 - 18:30 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Friday, February 21, 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 a discussion by a panel of contributing writers to the anthology The Heartbeat of Quiet Streets, all members of the Chapin/Irmo Chapter of the South Carolina Writers Association, on Friday, February 21, at 5:00 p.m. Panelists will discuss both the content of the book as well as its publication.
This event is free and open to the public. Copies of the anthology as well as other books by the contributing writers will be available for sale and signing. To reserve a seat in advance, please call 843-379-7025.
ABOUT THE ANTHOLOGY AND CONTRIBUTORS
“The Heartbeat of Quiet Streets is an outstanding collection of polished work from authors who know their canvas. The South, small towns and mid-century summers collide in verse with quiet tension and churning drama.”–Kasie Whitener, PhD, University of South Carolina, Darla Moore School of Business
“The Heartbeat of Quiet Streets is an amazing title for a quality compilation of writing pieces. I chose one or two at a time to read, to best enjoy them, sinking into each, basking in the unique world each had to offer. Kudos not only to the writers, but to the editor who made the pieces an admirable whole.”–C. Hope Clark, award-winning author of The Carolina Slade Mysteries, the Edisto Island Mysteries, and the Craven County Mysteries
Glen Bramlitt, an artist and engineer in South Carolina, blends the boundless possibilities of ‘what-if’ with a vivid imagination. His current genre is dystopian fiction. Glen is an accomplished wood-working artist who carved charcuterie boards as a thank you to our guest testimonials.
Sue Cryer served on the South Carolina Writer’s Association Board of Directors and co-edited Catfish Stew, SCWA member’s anthology, The Quill newsletter, and The Petigru Review, now an international publication. She also served on The State Newspaper’s Community Advisory Board and runs a home business. She recently completed a fictional memoir, Surviving Riversedge.
By day, Laura Lanni teaches organic chemistry and oversees her undergraduate research laboratory. When not teaching or writing, she can be found working with writers in her critique group, running, hugging her grandchildren, riding a jet-ski, blogging, and baking.
Carolyn Hartley is a six times #1 best-selling author. She has been in publishing for more than thirty years as an author, publicist, speaker, and publisher for Fortune 500 companies. Her historical fiction trilogy, The Buried Sunshine series, won the International Book Impact Award in 2024 in the Historical Fiction category.
Terresa Cooper Haskew’s poetry and prose has appeared in more than fifty printed journal and anthology issues (Atlanta Review, American Journal of Nursing, The Main Street Rag). Her story, “Living the Dream,” was showcased in 2013 as a short film by Ron Hagell and Shirley Smith. Her first novel, Winston’s Book of Souls is forthcoming in Spring 2025.

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 the Contributing Writers of The Heartbeat of Quiet Streets
2025-02-21 17:00 - 18:30 | 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, United States, South Carolina 29902
The Pat Conroy Literary Center will host a discussion by a panel of contributing writers to the anthology The Hearbeat of Quiet Streets, all members of the Chapin/Irmo Chapter of the South Carolina Writers Association, on Friday, February 21, at 5:00 p.m. Panelists will discuss both the content of the book as well as its publication. This event is free and open to the public. Copies of the anthology as well as other books by the contributing writers will be available for sale and signing. To reserve a seat in advance, please call 843-379-7025.
“The Heartbeat of Quiet Streets is an outstanding collection of polished work from authors who know their canvas. The South, small towns and mid-century summers collide in verse with quiet tension and churning drama.”–Kasie Whitener, PhD, University of South Carolina, Darla Moore School of Business
“The Heartbeat of Quiet Streets is an amazing title for a quality compilation of writing pieces. I chose one or two at a time to read, to best enjoy them, sinking into each, basking in the unique world each had to offer. Kudos not only to the writers, but to the editor who made the pieces an admirable whole.”–C. Hope Clark, award-winning author of The Carolina Slade Mysteries, the Edisto Island Mysteries, and the Craven County Mysteries
Glen Bramlitt, an artist and engineer in South Carolina, blends the boundless possibilities of ‘what-if’ with a vivid imagination. His current genre is dystopian fiction. Glen is an accomplished wood-working artist who carved charcuterie boards as a thank you to our guest testimonials.
Sue Cryer served on the South Carolina Writer’s Association Board of Directors and co-edited Catfish Stew, SCWA member’s anthology, The Quill newsletter, and The Petigru Review, now an international publication. She also served on The State Newspaper’s Community Advisory Board and runs a home business. She recently completed a fictional memoir, Surviving Riversedge.
By day, Laura Lanni teaches organic chemistry and oversees her undergraduate research laboratory. When not teaching or writing, she can be found working with writers in her critique group, running, hugging her grandchildren, riding a jet-ski, blogging, and baking.
Carolyn Hartley is a six times #1 best-selling author. She has been in publishing for more than thirty years as an author, publicist, speaker, and publisher for Fortune 500 companies. Her historical fiction trilogy, The Buried Sunshine series, won the International Book Impact Award in 2024 in the Historical Fiction category.
Terresa Cooper Haskew’s poetry and prose has appeared in more than fifty printed journal and anthology issues (Atlanta Review, American Journal of Nursing, The Main Street Rag). Her story, “Living the Dream,” was showcased in 2013 as a short film by Ron Hagell and Shirley Smith. Her first novel, Winston’s Book of Souls is forthcoming in Spring 2025.

Silent Book Club Feb 22 2025
2025-02-22 16:30 - 18:30 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
When: Saturday, February 22, 2025 at 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM EDT
Price: Free · Duration: 2 hrs
Where: Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen St., Beaufort, SC
Silent Book Club Beaufort, a unique take on the traditional book club, will hold its second meetup on Saturday, February 22, from 4:30pm-6:30pm at the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen St. Designed to offer 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), bringing together two organizations dedicated to fostering community connections and celebrating the love of literature.
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 soon via the SBCB Instagram page at www.instagram.com/silentbookclubbeaufort. Come embrace the joy of reading at Silent Book Club Beaufort!
Event Facebook 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.

Silent Book Club Beaufort
2025-02-22 16:30 - 18:30 | 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, United States, South Carolina 29902
Silent Book Club Beaufort, a unique take on the traditional book club, will hold its second meetup on Saturday, February 22, from 4:30pm-6:30pm at the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen St. Designed to offer 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), bringing together two organizations dedicated to fostering community connections and celebrating the love of literature.
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 soon via the SBCB Instagram page at www.instagram.com/silentbookclubbeaufort. Come embrace the joy of reading at Silent Book Club Beaufort!

An Evening with novelist Jen Marie Wiggins, author of The Good Bride
2025-02-27 17:00 - 18:30 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Thursday, February 27, 2025 – 5:00-6:30 PM EDT (Rescheduled from December)
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 Jen Marie Wiggins, author of The Good Bride, on Thursday, February 27, 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 Good Bride
The Wedding of the Year turns disastrous in this twisty family drama full of lies and betrayals, perfect for fans of Laura Dave, Lucy Foley, and Ruth Ware.
One year after a devastating hurricane, bride-to-be Ruth Bancroft is marrying her perfect groom in a quaint fishing village on the Gulf Coast. The weekend is carefully curated, with the displays of pomp and social media magic meant to promote an area still struggling to rebuild as well as bring Ruth’s estranged family back together.
Yet as good intentions often go, this road to wed is hell and paved in complications. With tensions rising between the family and the bridal party, long-buried secrets come to light, and accusations start flying. Things officially spiral out of control when the oceanfront rehearsal dinner is rocked by a series of gunshots, and a high-profile guest goes missing. As the investigation gets underway, it turns out that everyone has something to hide.
Big Little Lies meets The Guest List in this gripping page turner that asks the big questions about messy family liaisons, modern media, and the lies we tell the world.
About the Author
Jen Marie Wiggins’s first book, the gifty nonfiction title Married AF: A Funny Guide for the Newlywed or Bride, was published with Sourcebooks in 2022.
She has a background in advertising and public relations, and her writing has appeared in Southern Coastal Weddings, Savannah Magazine, Savannah Homes, and elsewhere. The Good Bride draws much of its inspiration from the devastation and rebuilding struggles of Mexico Beach, Florida, a place near and dear to Jen’s heart.

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 Jen Marie Wiggins, Author of The Good Bride
2025-02-27 17:00 - 18:30 | 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, United States, South Carolina 29902
{Rescheduled from December 19}
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host an evening with novelist Jen Marie Wiggins, author of The Good Bride, on Thursday, February 27, 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:
One of People Magazine’s Recommended Suspense Reads for 2025
The Wedding of the Year turns disastrous in this twisty family drama full of lies and betrayals, perfect for fans of Laura Dave, Lucy Foley, and Ruth Ware.
One year after a devastating hurricane, bride-to-be Ruth Bancroft is marrying her perfect groom in a quaint fishing village on the Gulf Coast. The weekend is carefully curated, with the displays of pomp and social media magic meant to promote an area still struggling to rebuild as well as bring Ruth’s estranged family back together.
Yet as good intentions often go, this road to wed is hell and paved in complications. With tensions rising between the family and the bridal party, long-buried secrets come to light, and accusations start flying. Things officially spiral out of control when the oceanfront rehearsal dinner is rocked by a series of gunshots, and a high-profile guest goes missing. As the investigation gets underway, it turns out that everyone has something to hide.
Big Little Lies meets The Guest List in this gripping page turner that asks the big questions about messy family liaisons, modern media, and the lies we tell the world.
Jen Marie Wiggins’s first book, the gifty nonfiction title Married AF: A Funny Guide for the Newlywed or Bride, was published with Sourcebooks in 2022. She has a background in advertising and public relations, and her writing has appeared in Southern Coastal Weddings, Savannah Magazine, Savannah Homes, and elsewhere. The Good Bride draws much of its inspiration from the devastation and rebuilding struggles of Mexico Beach, Florida, a place near and dear to Jen’s heart.

Pat Conroy: An Introduction to a Lowcountry Legend
2025-02-27 18:00 - 19:00 | Charleston County Public Library, 68 Calhoun Street, Charleston, SC, 29401, United States
Thursday, February 27, 2025 – 6:00-7:00 PM EDT
Price: Free
Venue: Charleston County Public Library (68 Calhoun St. Charleston, SC)
Website: Facebook Event Page
On Thursday, February 27, at 6:00-7:00 p.m. the Charleston County Public Library will host Pat Conroy: An Introduction to a Lowcountry Legend. Presented by Jonathan Haupt, executive director of the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, this free literary program will be held at the Main Library at 68 Calhoun St. in historic downtown Charleston.
Internationally acclaimed writer Pat Conroy (1945-2016) is best remembered as the author of The Water Is Wide, The Great Santini, The Lords of Discipline, and The Prince of Tides, each also adapted for film. Conroy has become as synonymous with his adopted lowcountry as pluff mud or Spanish Moss.
Join the Conroy Center executive director—and one of Pat’s many protégés—for an engaging hour of stories, photos, and videos introducing Conroy’s writing and teaching life and exploring some of the major themes of his work, as well as how the nonprofit literary center established in his memory now continues his legacy.
About the Presenter
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 Pulitzer Prize-winning Charleston Post and Courier. In 2020, he was honored with the Doug Marlette Literacy Leadership Award, a lifetime achievement recognition presented by the Pulpwood Queens, the largest read-and-meet book club in the U.S. Under Jonathan’s leadership, the Conroy Center has been recognized as an American Library Association Literary Landmark, an affiliate of the American Writers Museum, and winner of the Civitas Award for Tourism Leadership.
With Claire Bennett, Jonathan also serves as co-mentor to the student leaders of DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization, who in turn have been recognized with a national commendation from the American Association of School Librarians, the South Carolina Education Association’s Richard W. Riley Award for Human and Civil Rights, and an honorable mention for the South Carolina Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Award.

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: An Introduction to a Lowcountry Legend
2025-02-27 18:00 - 19:00 | Charleston County Public Library (Main Library)
Rescheduled from January 23
—
On Thursday, February 27, at 6:00-7:00 p.m. the Charleston County Public Library will host Pat Conroy: An Introduction to a Lowcountry Legend. Presented by Jonathan Haupt, executive director of the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, this free literary program will be held at the Main Library at 68 Calhoun St. in historic downtown Charleston.
Internationally acclaimed writer Pat Conroy (1945-2016) is best remembered as the author of The Water Is Wide, The Great Santini, The Lords of Discipline, and The Prince of Tides, each also adapted for film. Conroy has become as synonymous with his adopted lowcountry as pluff mud or Spanish Moss. Join the Conroy Center executive director—and one of Pat’s many protégés—for an engaging hour of stories, photos, and videos introducing Conroy’s writing and teaching life and exploring some of the major themes of his work, as well as how the nonprofit literary center established in his memory now continues his legacy.
About Our Presenter:
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 Pulitzer Prize-winning Charleston Post and Courier. In 2020, he was honored with the Doug Marlette Literacy Leadership Award, a lifetime achievement recognition presented by the Pulpwood Queens, the largest read-and-meet book club in the U.S. Under Jonathan’s leadership, the Conroy Center has been recognized as an American Library Association Literary Landmark, an affiliate of the American Writers Museum, and winner of the Civitas Award for Tourism Leadership. With Claire Bennett, Jonathan also serves as co-mentor to the student leaders of DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization, who in turn have been recognized with a national commendation from the American Association of School Librarians, the South Carolina Education Association’s Richard W. Riley Award for Human and Civil Rights, and an honorable mention for the South Carolina Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Award.

9th Annual March Forth
2025-03-01 - 2025-03-02
Ninth Annual March Forth to Be Held on March 1 & 2 in Port Royal, Beaufort, and St. Helena Island
Our Conroy Center’s ninth annual March Forth will be held on Saturday, March 1, and Sunday, March 2, with educational programs in Beaufort, Port Royal, St. Helena Island, and online. This special event commemorates the anniversary of Pat Conroy’s passing on March 4, 2016, by engaging with major themes of his writing and teaching life, including social justice, inclusivity, conservation, education, truth-telling, and storytelling.
Learn more and register in advance at Eventbrite
March Forth will include appearances by:

Ashley Hope Pérez: YA novelist, educator, advocate, and editor of Banned Together: Our Fight for Readers’ Rights
Kimberly Brock: novelist, past Georgia Author of the Year, and author of The Fabled Earth, a finalist for the Townsend Prize for Fiction
Edda L. Fields-Black: professor of history and director of the Dietrich College Humanities Center at Carnegie Mellon University, author of Combee: Harriet Tubman, The Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom During the Civil War
Katherine Freeman: National Park Service Ranger with the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park
Jake Zadik: Brays Island naturalist, nature photographer, and cofounder of South Carolina Partners of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (SCPARC)
Juliana Zadik: naturalist, educator, and Beaufort County Long-Range Environmental Planner
Dana Ridenour: retired FBI undercover special agent, author of the Lexie Montgomery series
Eugene A. Rugala: retired FBI “profiler,” behavioral science consultant and author
DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization

This year, March Forth is hosted by Conroy Center executive director Jonathan Haupt and nationally recognized youth advocate Julia Garnett.
March Forth is presented in collaboration between the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, Penn Center, NeverMore Books, the Port Royal Farmers Market, the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park, and DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization.
~EVENTS FOR SATURDAY MARCH 1~
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.: Reconstruction Era National Historic Park ToursExplore the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park locations in Beaufort, Port Royal, and St. Helena. Free. See Details Here.
9:30 a.m. to Noon: Read with a Ranger and Teddy Bear Picnic at the Port Royal Farmers MarketStudent volunteers from DAYLO (Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization) 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.
10:00 a.m. to Noon: Demythologizing the FBI: What Writers Get Wrong, Workshop Led by Dana Ridenour and Eugene A. RugalaJoin retired FBI undercover special agent turned novelist Dana Ridenour and retired FBI “profiler” turned consultant Eugene A. Rugala for a workshop for writers (and interested readers) about what FBI work is really like–and what novels and films get wrong. $60/person, limited to 20 attendees. Held at the Conroy Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort). Register in advance at Eventbrite.
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Penn Center’s York W. Bailey Museum ToursExplore Penn Center and the York W. Bailey Museum (16 Penn Center Circle West, St. Helena Island). Docent-led tours available. $15-$20/person.
Noon to 4:00 p.m.: Pat Conroy Literary Center ToursThe nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort) is open for free public tours, guided by volunteer docents.
5:00 to 6:00 p.m.: Facebook Live Interview with Ashley Hope Pérez, Editor of Banned Together, in Conversation with Jonathan Haupt and Julia Garnett
Ashley Hope Pérez’s 2015 YA novel Out of Darkness won a Printz Honor and the Tomás Rivera Book Award—and it as one of the top ten most banned books of 2021. Pérez will discuss her new anthology Banned Together: The Fight for Reader’s Rights (to be published on March 4) in conversation with Pat Conroy Literary Center executive director Jonathan Haupt and Banned Books Week Honorary Youth Chair Julia Garnett. This free virtual event will be live-streamed to the Conroy Center’s Facebook page and available to watch through Monday, March 3, at 6:00 p.m. No registration required.
~EVENTS FOR SUNDAY MARCH 2~
All Sunday events are ticketed (Eventbrite)and held at Penn Center’s Frissell Hall, 16 Penn Center Circle West, St. Helena Island. Nature walk: $10/person. Catered lunch + two author presentations: $30.

9:30-10:00 a.m.: Attendee check-in.
10:00-11:30 a.m.: Birding and nature walk of Penn Center led by husband and wife naturalists Jake and Juliana Zadik. Approximately 1 mile. $10/person; limited to 40 participants.
11:30 to Noon. Catered lunch by Magnolia’s Cafe. Included in $30/person registration.
Noon to 1:00 p.m.: Presentation by Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black, professor of history and director of the Dietrich College Humanities Center at Carnegie Mellon University, author of Combee: Harriet Tubman, The Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom During the Civil War. Included in $30/person registration.
1:00 to 1:30 p.m.: Book signing break with NeverMore Books.
1:30 to 2:30 p.m.: Conversation with Kimberly Brock: novelist, past Georgia Author of the Year, and author of The Fabled Earth, a finalist for the Townsend Prize for Fiction–interviewed by Conroy Center executive director Jonathan Haupt and Banned Books Week Honorary Youth Chair Julia Garnett. Included in $30/person registration.
2:30-3:00 p.m.: Book signing break with NeverMore Books.
3:00 p.m.: Closing remarks

Ninth Annual March Forth Weekend
2025-03-01 09:30 - 2025-03-02 15:30 | Beaufort, South Carolina, Beaufort, SC, US
Our Conroy Center’s ninth annual March Forth will be held on Saturday, March 1, and Sunday, March 2, with educational programs in Beaufort, Port Royal, St. Helena Island, and online. This special event commemorates the anniversary of Pat Conroy’s passing on March 4, 2016, by engaging with major themes of his writing and teaching life, including social justice, inclusivity, conservation, education, truth-telling, and storytelling.
March Forth will include appearances by:
* Ashley Hope Pérez: YA novelist, educator, advocate, and editor of Banned Together: Our Fight for Readers’ Rights
* Kimberly Brock: novelist, past Georgia Author of the Year, and author of The Fabled Earth, a finalist for the Townsend Prize for Fiction
* Edda L. Fields-Black, professor of history and director of the Dietrich College Humanities Center at Carnegie Mellon University, author of Combee: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War
* Katherine Freeman: National Park Service Ranger with the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park
* Jake Zadik: Brays Island naturalist, nature photographer, and cofounder of South Carolina Partners of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (SCPARC)
* Juliana Zadik: naturalist, educator, and Beaufort County Long-Range Environmental Planner
* Dana Ridenour: retired FBI undercover special agent, author of the Lexie Montgomery series
* Eugene A. Rugala: retired FBI agent and “profiler,” behavioral science consultant and author
* DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization
This year, March Forth is hosted by Conroy Center executive director Jonathan Haupt and nationally recognized youth advocate Julia Garnett.
March Forth is presented in collaboration between the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, Penn Center, NeverMore Books, the Port Royal Farmers Market, the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park, and DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization.
Register in advance: https://marchforth2025.eventbrite.com
~EVENTS for SATURDAY, MARCH 1~
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.: Reconstruction Era National Historic Park Tours
Explore the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park locations in Beaufort, Port Royal, and St. Helena. Free. Details: https://www.nps.gov/reer/index.htm
9:30 a.m. to Noon: Read with a Ranger and Teddy Bear Picnic at the Port Royal Farmers Market
Student volunteers from DAYLO (Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization) 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.
10:00 a.m. to Noon: Demythologizing the FBI: What Writers Get Wrong, Workshop Led by Dana Ridenour and Eugene A. Rugala
Join retired FBI undercover special agent turned novelist Dana Ridenour and retired FBI “profiler” turned consultant Eugene A. Rugala for a workshop for writers (and interested readers) about what FBI work is really like–and what novels and films get wrong. $60/person, limited to 20 attendees. Held at the Conroy Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort). Register in advance at https://demythologizingthefbiworkshop.eventbrite.com
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Penn Center’s York W. Bailey Museum Tours
Explore Penn Center and the York W. Bailey Museum (16 Penn Center Circle West, St. Helena Island). Docent-led tours available. $15-$20/person.
Noon to 4:00 p.m.: Pat Conroy Literary Center Tours
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort) is open for free public tours, guided by volunteer docents.
6:00 to 7:00 p.m.: Facebook Live Interview with Ashley Hope Pérez, Editor of Banned Together, in Conversation with Jonathan Haupt and Julia Garnett
Ashley Hope Pérez’s 2015 YA novel Out of Darkness won a Printz Honor and the Tomás Rivera Book Award—and it as one of the top ten most banned books of 2021. Pérez will discuss her new anthology Banned Together: The Fight for Reader’s Rights (to be published on March 4) in conversation with Pat Conroy Literary Center executive director Jonathan Haupt and Banned Books Week Honorary Youth Chair Julia Garnett. This free virtual event will be live-streamed to the Conroy Center’s Fcebook page and available to watch through Monday, March 3, at 6:00 p.m. No registration required. https://www.facebook.com/patconroyliterarycenter
~EVENTS for SUNDAY, MARCH 2~
All Sunday events are ticketed and held at Penn Center’s Frissell Hall, 16 Penn Center Circle West, St. Helena Island. Nature walk: $10/person. Catered lunch + two author presentations: $30.
9:30-10:00 a.m.: Attendee check-in.
10:00-11:30 a.m.: Birding and nature walk of Penn Center led by husband and wife naturalists Jake and Juliana Zadik. Approximately 1 mile. $10/person; limited to 40 participants.
11:30 to Noon. Catered lunch by Magnolia’s Cafe. Included in $30/person registration.
Noon to 1:00 p.m.: Presentation by Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black, professor of history and director of the Dietrich College Humanities Center at Carnegie Mellon University, author of Combee: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War. . . Included in $30/person registration.
1:00 to 1:30 p.m.: Book signing break with NeverMore Books.
1:30 to 2:30 p.m.: Conversation with Kimberly Brock: novelist, past Georgia Author of the Year, and author of The Fabled Earth, a finalist for the Townsend Prize for Fiction–interviewed by Conroy Center executive director Jonathan Haupt and Banned Books Week Honorary Youth Chair Julia Garnett. Included in $30/person registration.
2:30-3:00 p.m.: Book signing break with NeverMore Books.
3:00 p.m.: Closing remarks
~ABOUT OUR PRESENTERS~
{Coming Soon}

Teddy Bear Picnic Read Aloud with Daylo March 2025
2025-03-01 09:30 - 12:00 | Port Royal Farmers Market, 1615 Ribault Rd, Port Royal, SC, 29935, United States
Saturday March 1, 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.

Workshop: Demythologizing the FBI: What Writers Get Wrong
2025-03-01 10:00 - 12:00 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Register: Register at EventBrite
Saturday, March 1, 2025 · 10:00 am – 12:00 noon EST
Cost: $60
Limited to 20 participants
Venue: Pat Conroy Literary Center | 601 Bladen St Beaufort, SC 29902
Demythologizing the FBI: What Writers Get Wrong
Led by Dana Ridenour and Eugene A. Rugala
Join retired FBI undercover special agent Dana Ridenour and a retired FBI profiler Eugene A. Rugala in this workshop for writers (and interested readers) as they dispel the myths and clichés perpetrated by television and movies regarding the FBI. Writers will learn how to avoid the common pitfalls of writing FBI characters. The discussion will give writers a peak into the daily life of an FBI agent focusing on the FBI undercover program, and the role of the FBI plays in terrorism and human trafficking investigations.
The presentation will also explore the myths and realities of what the Behavioral Analysis Unit does and doesn’t do, what is and what is not behavioral “profiling,” what types of cases utilize this technique, and what members of the BAU do on a daily basis. Participants will gain a better understanding of how to accurately portray FBI characters and investigations.
Time permitting, some participants may also be able to read brief excerpts from drafts for feedback from the instructors.
This is an in-person writers workshop, held at the Pat Conroy Literary Center (601 Bladen St.). Limited to 20 participants with advance registration required: $60/person.
Learn more and register at EventBrite
Website: Facebook Event Page
About our instructors:
Dana Ridenour is the award-winning author of the Lexie Montgomery FBI Series: Behind the Mask, Beyond the Cabin, and Below the Radar. She is a retired FBI special agent who spent most of her career as an undercover operative. Dana entered on duty with the FBI in November of 1995 and retired in April of 2016 after over twenty years of service. She was assigned to four different FBI Field Divisions and had the opportunity to work a wide variety of cases, to include multi-faceted narcotics investigations, domestic sex trafficking of minors, and violent crime. Over the years, Dana was a proud member of the FBI’s Evidence Response Team where she and her team traveled to New York City in response to the 9/11 World Trade Center attack.
The highlight of her career came in 2003 when she attended and passed the FBI’s prestigious undercover school, thus allowing her to work as an undercover FBI agent. This undercover certification opened the door for her to work a series of long term, deep cover cases focusing on domestic terrorism. Dana had the rare experience of working a long-term undercover investigation with her husband who was also an FBI agent. She now lives, writes, and teaches in the South Carolina lowcountry, where she also volunteers at the Pat Conroy Literary Center.
Eugene A. Rugala is principal of Eugene A. Rugala and Associates LLC, a behavioral science, consultation, training, and research firm based in Beaufort. One of the FBI’s “Profilers” in the unit made famous by the book and movie “The Silence of the Lambs” and the series “Criminal Minds” and “Mindhunter,” Gene specializes in the detailed behavioral analysis of violent crimes, including homicide, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, stalking, and workplace and school violence. He consults with many corporations and universities in developing and implementing procedures and protocols for the prevention of violence in the workplace and in schools to include threat assessment and management services.
He is also a national advisory board member of the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence, a group of Fortune 500 companies who raise awareness and suggest strategies for companies to deal with intimate partner violence and its impact. Gene has contributed to the content and participated in the video production of Shots Fired: Guidance for Surviving an Active Shooter Situation, Flashpoint: Recognizing and Preventing Violence in the Workplace, and Silent Storm: Intimate Partner Violence and Stalking and Its Impact on the Workplace. A version of these programs has been developed for university settings as well. Gene is a coauthor of the book Workplace Violence: Issues in Threat Management.

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.

Demythologizing the FBI: Writers Workshop Led by Dana Ridenour and Eugene A. Rugala
2025-03-01 10:00 - 12:00 | 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, United States, South Carolina 29902
Demythologizing the FBI: What Writers Get Wrong
Led by Dana Ridenour and Eugene A. Rugala
Join retired FBI undercover special agent Dana Ridenour and a retired FBI agent and profiler Eugene A. Rugala in this workshop for writers (and interested readers) as they dispel the myths and clichés perpetrated by television and movies regarding the FBI. Writers will learn how to avoid the common pitfalls of writing FBI characters. The discussion will give writers a peak into the daily life of an FBI agent focusing on the FBI undercover program, and the role of the FBI plays in terrorism and human trafficking investigations. The presentation will also explore the myths and realities of what the Behavioral Analysis Unit does and doesn’t do, what is and what is not behavioral “profiling,” what types of cases utilize this technique, and what members of the BAU do on a daily basis. Participants will gain a better understanding of how to accurately portray FBI characters and investigations.
Time permitting, some participants may also be able to read brief excerpts from drafts for feedback from the instructors.
This is an in-person writers workshop, held at the Pat Conroy Literary Center (601 Bladen St.). Limited to 20 participants with advance registration required: $60/person.
Register at https://demythologizingthefbiworkshop.eventbrite.com
About our instructors
Dana Ridenour is the award-winning author of the Lexie Montgomery FBI Series: Behind the Mask, Beyond the Cabin, and Below the Radar. She is a retired FBI special agent who spent most of her career as an undercover operative. Dana entered on duty with the FBI in November of 1995 and retired in April of 2016 after over twenty years of service. She was assigned to four different FBI Field Divisions and had the opportunity to work a wide variety of cases, to include multi-faceted narcotics investigations, domestic sex trafficking of minors, and violent crime. Over the years, Dana was a proud member of the FBI’s Evidence Response Team where she and her team traveled to New York City in response to the 9/11 World Trade Center attack. The highlight of her career came in 2003 when she attended and passed the FBI’s prestigious undercover school, thus allowing her to work as an undercover FBI agent. This undercover certification opened the door for her to work a series of long term, deep cover cases focusing on domestic terrorism. Dana had the rare experience of working a long-term undercover investigation with her husband who was also an FBI agent. She now lives, writes, and teaches in the South Carolina lowcountry, where she also volunteers at the Pat Conroy Literary Center.
Eugene A. Rugala is principal of Eugene A. Rugala and Associates LLC, a behavioral science, consultation, training, and research firm based in Beaufort. One of the FBI’s “Profilers” in the unit made famous by the book and movie “The Silence of the Lambs”and the series “Criminal Minds” and “Mindhunter,” Gene specializes in the detailed behavioral analysis of violent crimes, including homicide, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, stalking, and workplace and school violence. He consults with many corporations and universities in developing and implementing procedures and protocols for the prevention of violence in the workplace and in schools to include threat assessment and management services. He is also a national advisory board member of the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence, a group of Fortune 500 companies who raise awareness and suggest strategies for companies to deal with intimate partner violence and its impact. Gene has contributed to the content and participated in the video production of Shots Fired: Guidance for Surviving an Active Shooter Situation, Flashpoint: Recognizing and Preventing Violence in the Workplace, and Silent Storm: Intimate Partner Violence and Stalking and Its Impact on the Workplace. A version of these programs has been developed for university settings as well. Gene is a coauthor of the book Workplace Violence: Issues in Threat Management.

Workshop: Writing Believable Law Enforcement Characters
2025-03-08 10:00 - 12:00 | Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, 29902, United States
Register: Register at EventBrite
Saturday, March 8, 2025 · 10:00 am – 12:00 noon EST
Cost: $60
Limited to 20 participants
Venue: Pat Conroy Literary Center | 601 Bladen St Beaufort, SC 29902
Writing Believable Law Enforcement CharactersA Workshop for Writers Led by Dana Ridenour and Eugene A. Rugala
Law enforcement personnel are an integral part of crime fiction. Their roles range from those enforcing the law at street level up to the upper echelons of command. In this workshop retired FBI undercover special agent Dana Ridenour and a retired FBI agent and profiler Eugene A. Rugala will discuss the psychological toll of being a law enforcement officer, how to write realistic law enforcement characters and crime scenes, writing about firearms, understanding jurisdiction, writing realistic fight scenes, and turning your real-life experiences into fiction. The instructors will also delve into opportunities for research and their own experiences with research—one as a novelist and the other as a consultant for books, film, and television.
Time permitting, some participants may also be able to read brief excerpts from drafts for feedback from the instructors.
This is an in-person writers workshop, held at the Pat Conroy Literary Center (601 Bladen St.). Limited to 20 participants with advance registration required: $60/person.
Learn more and register at EventBrite
Website: Facebook Event Page
About our instructors:
Dana Ridenour is the award-winning author of the Lexie Montgomery FBI Series: Behind the Mask, Beyond the Cabin, and Below the Radar. She is a retired FBI special agent who spent most of her career as an undercover operative. Dana entered on duty with the FBI in November of 1995 and retired in April of 2016 after over twenty years of service. She was assigned to four different FBI Field Divisions and had the opportunity to work a wide variety of cases, to include multi-faceted narcotics investigations, domestic sex trafficking of minors, and violent crime. Over the years, Dana was a proud member of the FBI’s Evidence Response Team where she and her team traveled to New York City in response to the 9/11 World Trade Center attack.
The highlight of her career came in 2003 when she attended and passed the FBI’s prestigious undercover school, thus allowing her to work as an undercover FBI agent. This undercover certification opened the door for her to work a series of long term, deep cover cases focusing on domestic terrorism. Dana had the rare experience of working a long-term undercover investigation with her husband who was also an FBI agent. She now lives, writes, and teaches in the South Carolina lowcountry, where she also volunteers at the Pat Conroy Literary Center.
Eugene A. Rugala is principal of Eugene A. Rugala and Associates LLC, a behavioral science, consultation, training, and research firm based in Beaufort. One of the FBI’s “Profilers” in the unit made famous by the book and movie “The Silence of the Lambs” and the series “Criminal Minds” and “Mindhunter,” Gene specializes in the detailed behavioral analysis of violent crimes, including homicide, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, stalking, and workplace and school violence. He consults with many corporations and universities in developing and implementing procedures and protocols for the prevention of violence in the workplace and in schools to include threat assessment and management services.
He is also a national advisory board member of the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence, a group of Fortune 500 companies who raise awareness and suggest strategies for companies to deal with intimate partner violence and its impact. Gene has contributed to the content and participated in the video production of Shots Fired: Guidance for Surviving an Active Shooter Situation, Flashpoint: Recognizing and Preventing Violence in the Workplace, and Silent Storm: Intimate Partner Violence and Stalking and Its Impact on the Workplace. A version of these programs has been developed for university settings as well. Gene is a coauthor of the book Workplace Violence: Issues in Threat Management.

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.

Writing Believable Law Enforcement Characters: A Workshop Led by Dana Ridenour & Eugene A. Rugala
2025-03-08 10:00 - 12:00 | 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC, United States, South Carolina 29902
Writing Believable Law Enforcement Characters
A Workshop for Writers Led by Dana Ridenour and Eugene A. Rugala
Law enforcement personnel are an integral part of crime fiction. Their roles range from those enforcing the law at street level up to the upper echelons of command. In this workshop retired FBI undercover special agent Dana Ridenour and a retired FBI agent and profiler Eugene A. Rugala will discuss the psychological toll of being a law enforcement officer, how to write realistic law enforcement characters and crime scenes, writing about firearms, understanding jurisdiction, writing realistic fight scenes, and turning your real-life experiences into fiction. The instructors will also delve into opportunities for research and their own experiences with research—one as a novelist and the other as a consultant for books, film, and television.
Time permitting, some participants may also be able to read brief excerpts from drafts for feedback from the instructors.
This is an in-person writers workshop, held at the Pat Conroy Literary Center (601 Bladen St.). Limited to 20 participants with advance registration required: $60/person.
Register at: https://writinglawenforcement.eventbrite.com
About our instructors
Dana Ridenour is the award-winning author of the Lexie Montgomery FBI Series: Behind the Mask, Beyond the Cabin, and Below the Radar. She is a retired FBI special agent who spent most of her career as an undercover operative. Dana entered on duty with the FBI in November of 1995 and retired in April of 2016 after over twenty years of service. She was assigned to four different FBI Field Divisions and had the opportunity to work a wide variety of cases, to include multi-faceted narcotics investigations, domestic sex trafficking of minors, and violent crime. Over the years, Dana was a proud member of the FBI’s Evidence Response Team where she and her team traveled to New York City in response to the 9/11 World Trade Center attack. The highlight of her career came in 2003 when she attended and passed the FBI’s prestigious undercover school, thus allowing her to work as an undercover FBI agent. This undercover certification opened the door for her to work a series of long term, deep cover cases focusing on domestic terrorism. Dana had the rare experience of working a long-term undercover investigation with her husband who was also an FBI agent. She now lives, writes, and teaches in the South Carolina lowcountry, where she also volunteers at the Pat Conroy Literary Center.
Eugene A. Rugala is principal of Eugene A. Rugala and Associates LLC, a behavioral science, consultation, training, and research firm based in Beaufort. One of the FBI’s “Profilers” in the unit made famous by the book and movie “The Silence of the Lambs”and the series “Criminal Minds” and “Mindhunter,” Gene specializes in the detailed behavioral analysis of violent crimes, including homicide, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, stalking, and workplace and school violence. He consults with many corporations and universities in developing and implementing procedures and protocols for the prevention of violence in the workplace and in schools to include threat assessment and management services. He is also a national advisory board member of the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence, a group of Fortune 500 companies who raise awareness and suggest strategies for companies to deal with intimate partner violence and its impact. Gene has contributed to the content and participated in the video production of Shots Fired: Guidance for Surviving an Active Shooter Situation, Flashpoint: Recognizing and Preventing Violence in the Workplace, and Silent Storm: Intimate Partner Violence and Stalking and Its Impact on the Workplace. A version of these programs has been developed for university settings as well. Gene is a coauthor of the book Workplace Violence: Issues in Threat Management.

March 2025 Virtual Open Mic Night
2025-03-13 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, March 13, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Our featured presenter is multi-genre author Susan Tekulve, whose newest book is Bodies of Light, her first full-length poetry collection. Hosted by poet Melissa Whiteford St. Clair, Open Mic will also feature short readings of 3 to 5 minutes each by other writers in many genres.
When: Thursday, March 13, 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:
Susan Tekulve’s newest book Bodies of Light is her first full-length poetry collection. She is the author of Second Shift: Essays (Del Sol Press) and In the Garden of Stone (Hub City Press), winner of the South Carolina Novel Prize and a Gold IPPY Award. She’s also published two short story collections: Savage Pilgrims (Serving House Books) and My Mother’s War Stories (Winnow Press).
Her photo essay, “White Blossoms,” appeared in Issue 12 of the KYSO Flash Anthology. Her nonfiction, fiction, and poetry has appeared in journals such as Denver Quarterly, The Georgia Review, The Louisville Review, Puerto del Sol, New Letters, and Shenandoah. Her web chapbook, Wash Day, appears in the Web Del Sol International Chapbook Series, and her story collection, My Mother’s War Stories, received the 2004 Winnow Press fiction prize. She has received scholarships from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. She teaches in the BFA and MFA writing programs at Converse University.
“Susan Tekulve’s Bodies of Light both illuminates and enchants. In odes to body parts—teeth and thumbs, feet and hair—as well as bodies inside bodies (pregnancies), this poet delights in the corporal and spiritual. In elegies, Tekulve honors the bodies of her beloved dead and the magic of her garden. Hummingbirds, tarantulas, stinkbugs, spiders, and bees wearing ‘tiny yellow combat boots’ populate these terrific poems of wonder and dazzle.”–Denise Duhamel, author of Pink Lady, Scald, and Blowout
“It’s a kind of magic, the way Susan Tekulve’s forthright monosyllabic titles (Bonnet, Grief, Kimono, Son—the list goes on) blossom into poems so lush in vision, so voluptuous in vocabulary and song, they feel as bountiful as the planet we live on. Tekulve’s poems have their specific concerns of course (parenting, for example, and world travel) but ultimately she’s in love with existence itself, whether elegiac or celebratory, and her one-word titles (Relics, Geodes, Feathers: the list goes on) are keys to a lavish proof of that love’s great depth.”–Albert Goldbarth, author of History (and Pre-), Saving Lives, and Heaven and Earth: A Cosmology

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 Susan Tekulve, Author of Bodies of Light
2025-03-13 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, March 13, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Our featured presenter is multi-genre author Susan Tekulve, whose newest book is Bodies of Light, her first full-length poetry collection. Hosted by poet Melissa Whiteford St. Clair, 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:
Susan Tekulve’s newest book Bodies of Light is her first full-length poetry collection. She is the author of Second Shift: Essays (Del Sol Press) and In the Garden of Stone (Hub City Press), winner of the South Carolina Novel Prize and a Gold IPPY Award. She’s also published two short story collections: Savage Pilgrims (Serving House Books) and My Mother’s War Stories (Winnow Press). Her photo essay, “White Blossoms,” appeared in Issue 12 of the KYSO Flash Anthology. Her nonfiction, fiction, and poetry has appeared in journals such as Denver Quarterly, The Georgia Review, The Louisville Review, Puerto del Sol, New Letters, and Shenandoah. Her web chapbook, Wash Day, appears in the Web Del Sol International Chapbook Series, and her story collection, My Mother’s War Stories, received the 2004 Winnow Press fiction prize. She has received scholarships from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. She teaches in the BFA and MFA writing programs at Converse University.
“Susan Tekulve’s Bodies of Light both illuminates and enchants. In odes to body parts—teeth and thumbs, feet and hair—as well as bodies inside bodies (pregnancies), this poet delights in the corporal and spiritual. In elegies, Tekulve honors the bodies of her beloved dead and the magic of her garden. Hummingbirds, tarantulas, stinkbugs, spiders, and bees wearing ‘tiny yellow combat boots’ populate these terrific poems of wonder and dazzle.”–Denise Duhamel, author of Pink Lady, Scald, and Blowout
“It’s a kind of magic, the way Susan Tekulve’s forthright monosyllabic titles (Bonnet, Grief, Kimono, Son—the list goes on) blossom into poems so lush in vision, so voluptuous in vocabulary and song, they feel as bountiful as the planet we live on. Tekulve’s poems have their specific concerns of course (parenting, for example, and world travel) but ultimately she’s in love with existence itself, whether elegiac or celebratory, and her one-word titles (Relics, Geodes, Feathers: the list goes on) are keys to a lavish proof of that love’s great depth.”–Albert Goldbarth, author of History (and Pre-), Saving Lives, and Heaven and Earth: A Cosmology

An Evening with Dawn Major and Kim Poovey
2025-03-20 17:00 - 18:30 | 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.
