Beaufort Launch for Ahead of Her Time, by Nancy Thode

The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center is proud to host the Beaufort launch event for Ahead of Her Time: The Trailblazing Life and Literary Legacy of Ann Head, the highly anticipated new biography written by Head’s firstborn daughter Nancy Thode and published by Evening Post Books. This special event will be held in partnership with DAYLO: the Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization and the Beaufort County Historical Society.

Join us on Saturday, May 17, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at 711 Bladen Street (BCBCC, ground floor). Free and open to the public; advance registration is required by May 16 at https://aheadofhertimebeaufortlaunch.eventbrite.com

At 5:30 p.m., the launch event’s program will feature author Nancy Thode in conversation with Conroy Center executive director Jonathan Haupt and youth artivist Millie Bennett. The newest winner of the Ann Head Literary Prize for Short Story Fiction will also be recognized. A wine reception with catering by Magnolia Café will accompany the evening’s book signing, with copies of Ahead of Her Time available for sale and signing, with proceeds benefiting the nonprofit Conroy Center’s year-round educational mission.

ABOUT THE BOOK
A blue blood and a bohemian, author Ann Head was an essential voice of mid-century fiction, known for challenging societal norms and amplifying women’s struggles in an era that often silenced them. Now, for the first time, her mysterious personal life is unveiled through the lens of her eldest daughter, Nancy Thode. Through meticulous archival work and transcriptions of Head’s journals, Thode offers an intimate portrait of a writer whose life and fiction were deeply intertwined – one who influenced a generation of writers, including her student, the acclaimed Pat Conroy, who noted in his autobiography that “every time I sell a book, I put a rose on her grave.”

More than just a biography, this book is a celebration of Ann Head’s enduring legacy. Featuring a selection of her published stories, it invites readers to experience her boundary-pushing prose firsthand. It also includes never-before-seen letters from a young Pat Conroy, whose early poems and admiration for Head reveal her lasting impact on one of the South’s most celebrated literary voices. Perfect for longtime fans and new readers alike, this book is essential reading for anyone drawn to revolutionary women, literary history, and the inescapable connection between life and art.

“Ahead of Her Time, a highly readable biography of prolific and successful writer Ann Head, offers up a rich chronicle of experiences… This is a rare book you’ll want to share!”—Cassandra King, winner of the 2025 Harper Lee Award and bestselling author of Tell Me A Story: My Life with Pat Conroy

“Phenomenal is too small a word to fully capture what a gift this biography of Ann Head is for readers of women’s fiction, aficionados of Lowcountry lore, and devoted fans of Head’s beloved protégé Pat Conroy… Ahead of Her Time is destined to be read often, shared widely, and savored from the first page to the last.”—Jonathan Haupt, co-editor of Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy

“Nancy Thode has written a poignant and important biography of her mother, 20th century Beaufort author Ann Head. It is not only a portrait of a creative and beleaguered woman but also a revealing description of mid-twentieth century Beaufort….”—Larry Rowland, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, USC Beaufort

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A native of Beaufort, Nancy Head Thode is a graduate of Ashley Hall School, Towson State University, and the University of Maryland School of Social Work. An early advocate for family mediation, she was a founding board member of the Academy of Family Mediators and continues her work today as a practicing family psychotherapist. Later in life, she discovered a passion for community theater, starring in several productions and writing and producing one-woman shows. A strong believer in the power of fellowship, she now chairs the Gatherings Committee at Christ Church Greenwich in Connecticut.

In 2020, Nancy established the Ann Head Literary Award for Short Story Fiction at Beaufort High School, where her mother, Ann Head, once taught and mentored a young Pat Conroy. The mother of two and grandmother of five, Nancy currently divides her time between Stamford, Connecticut, and Fripp Island. Ahead of Her Time is her first book.

ABOUT THE INTERVIEWERS
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, a co-leader of the South Carolina chapter of Authors Against Book Bans, and a co-mentor to the student leaders of DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization.

Millie Bennett is a past intern of the Pat Conroy Literary Center and a past president of the Beaufort High School chapter of DAYLO. She is one of the student advocates highlighted in the feature-length documentary film Banned Together. A rising junior in the College of Charleston, Millie is majoring in studio arts and minoring in creative writing and Women’s and Gender Studies. She has also served a guest book reviewer for the Charleston Post and Courier and she provided editorial assistance for the stories by Ann Head reprinted in Ahead of Her Time.