“Life was good, but it was hard; we would prepare to meet it head on, but we would enjoy the preparation.”―Pat Conroy, The Water Is Wide

First published in 1972 and twice adapted for film, Pat Conroy’s The Water Is Wide recounts his inspiring year of teaching on remote Daufuskie Island in Beaufort County. Join Jonathan Haupt, the executive director of the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, to revisit Conroy’s storied year in the context of the events that shaped his arrival and departure from the […]

Silent Book Club Beaufort, a unique take on the traditional book club, will meet on Saturday, November 22, 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 […]

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, […]

On Sunday, January 25, at 3:00-5:00 p.m., at Village Social of Habersham, Pat Conroy Literary Center executive director Jonathan Haupt and poet Tim Conroy will discuss the nature writing of Pat Conroy, the bestselling author of The Water Is Wide, The Great Santini, The Prince of Tides, and more. From his obscure boyhood poetry to his beloved lyrical adult prose, Conroy wrote about the beauty of our natural world as both wondrous and perilous, using the lowcountry not only as a setting but as the […]

Best-selling writer Pat Conroy (1945–2016) inspired a worldwide legion of devoted fans numbering in the millions, but none are more loyal to him and more committed to sustaining his literary legacy than the many writers he nurtured over the course of his fifty-year writing life. In sharing their stories, his fellow writers honor his memory and advance our shared understanding of his lasting impact on literary life in and well beyond the American South. Winner of 17 book awards, the anthology Our Prince of Scribes: […]

The Pat Conroy Literary Center’s monthly Open Mic Night will be held at the Conroy Center (601 Bladen St.) on Thursday, December 11, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Our featured poet will be Emily Rosko, author of Weather Inventions. Open Mic will also include 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
Emily Rosko’s books include: Weather Inventions; Prop Rockery, winner of the 2011 Akron […]

On Monday, January 26, at 6:00-8:00 p.m., at Village Social of Habersham, Pat Conroy Literary Center executive director Jonathan Haupt and poet Tim Conroy will discuss the nature writing of Pat Conroy, the bestselling author of The Water Is Wide, The Great Santini, The Prince of Tides, and more. From his obscure boyhood poetry to his beloved lyrical adult prose, Conroy wrote about the beauty of our natural world as both wondrous and perilous, using the lowcountry not only as a setting but as the […]

Best-selling writer Pat Conroy (1945–2016) inspired a worldwide legion of devoted fans numbering in the millions, but none are more loyal to him and more committed to sustaining his literary legacy than the many writers he nurtured over the course of his fifty-year writing life. In sharing their stories, his fellow writers honor his memory and advance our shared understanding of his lasting impact on literary life in and well beyond the American South. Winner of 17 book awards, the anthology Our Prince of Scribes: […]