Seventh Annual March Forth

Our Conroy Center’s seventh annual March Forth will be held on Saturday, March 4, and Sunday, March 5, with a special preview event the evening of Friday, March 3. March Forth commemorates the anniversary of Pat Conroy’s passing on March 4, 2016, with programs on major themes of his writing and teaching life, including social justice, inclusivity, conservation, education, and storytelling. For events on Saturday and Sunday, March 4, and 5, at Penn Center, please register in advance by February 24 at https://marchforth2023.eventbrite.com.
(Registration opens on January 16.)

Our 2023 March Forth will include appearances by MacArthur Fellowship honoree, environmentalist, memoirist, and poet J. Drew Lanham; South Carolina Academy of Authors honoree, environmentalist, memoirist, poet, and novelist John Lane; New York Times bestselling novelists De’Shawn Charles Winslow and Megan Miranda; and former Charleston City Poet Laureate Marcus Amaker.

March Forth is presented in collaboration between the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center and Penn Center, NeverMore Books, the Storybook Shoppe, the Port Royal Farmers Market, Catering by Debbi Covington, and the DAYLO (Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization) chapters of Beaufort High School and Beaufort Academy, and sponsored in part by a grant from South Carolina Humanities, a nonprofit organization inspiring, engaging and enriching South Carolinians with programs on literature, history, culture and heritage.

FREE PREVIEW EVENT at NEVERMORE BOOKS on FRIDAY, MARCH 3
5:00-6:00 p.m. New York Times bestselling novelist De’Shawn Charles Winslow, author of newly released Decent People, in conversation with Jonathan Haupt. Free and open to the public, this book discussion and signing will be held at NeverMore Books (910 Port Republic St, Beaufort) on Friday, March 3, at 5:00 p.m. Seating is limited; please call 843-812-9460 to reserve in advance.

FREE TEDDY BEAR PICNIC READ-ALOUD at the PORT ROYAL FARMERS MARKET on SATURDAY, MARCH 4
9:00-Noon. High school students from the DAYLO (Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization) and National Honor Society chapters of Beaufort High School and Beaufort Academy will be reading children’s picture books to young readers and their families, with light snacks provided, in partnership with the Bluffton-based children’s bookstore, the Storybook Shoppe. This free event will be held near the gazebo at the Port Royal Farmers Market (1615 Ribaut Rd, Port Royal). No registration needed.

YORK W. BAILEY MUSEUM at PENN CENTER on SATURDAY, MARCH 4
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Museum admission: $7.00/adult, $5.00/child. Learn more at www.penncenter.com

DARRAH HALL (part of the RECONSTRUCTION ERA NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK) at PENN CENTER on SATURDAY, MARCH 4
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Free admission. Learn more at https://www.nps.gov/reer/planyourvisit/penn-center.htm

TICKETED MARCH FORTH EVENTS at PENN CENTER on SATURDAY, MARCH 4
(Register in advance by February 24.)

11:00-11:30 a.m. Attendee check-in.

11:30 to Noon. Catered lunch by Debbi Covington.

Noon to 1:00 p.m. A conversation with South Carolina Academy of Authors honoree, environmentalist, memoirist, poet, and novelist John Lane, author of Still Upright and Headed Downstream and Coming into Animal Presence.

1:00 to 1:20 p.m. Book signing break with NeverMore Books.

1:20 to 2:20 p.m. A conversation with New York Times bestselling nature-themed mystery novelist Megan Miranda, author of The Last to Vanish and (forthcoming) The Only Survivors.

2:20-2:40 p.m. Book signing break with NeverMore Books.

2:40-3:40 p.m. A poetry reading and discussion with former Charleston City Poet Laureate Marcus Amaker, editor of Colors Wash Over Me: Poems by Lowcountry Students and author of The Birth of All Things and (forthcoming) Hold What Makes You Whole. (Amaker will be assisted by student readers.)

3:40 to 4:00 p.m. Final book signing break with NeverMore Books.

TICKETED MARCH FORTH EVENT at PENN CENTER on SUNDAY, MARCH 5
(Register in advance by February 24.)

10:30-11:00 a.m. Attendee check-in.

11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Nature walk of Penn Center led by environmentalist J. Drew Lanham (a MacArthur Fellowship “genius grant” honoree and author of Sparrow Envy) and John Lane (a SC Academy of Authors honoree and author of Still Upright and Headed Downstream)

12:30 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Book signing.