Save the Dates: Pat Conroy Literary Festival (Oct 26-29)

The Pat Conroy Literary Festival began as Pat Conroy’s 70th birthday celebration in October 2015 and now continues as an annual signature event of the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center. The 8th Annual Conroy Festival will be held on Thursday, October 26, through Sunday, October 29, as a series of free and ticketed events in Beaufort, SC, featuring author discussions, writers workshops, a poetry reading, a screening of the film The Lords of Discipline, and a musical performance by the Beaufort Mass Choir.

Presenting writers, poets, and instructors include bestselling authors Ron Rash (The Caretaker), Mary Alice Monroe (The Summer of Lost and Found), Mary Kay Andrews (Bright Lights, Big Christmas), Victoria Benton Frank (My Magnolia Summer), Cassandra King (Tell Me a Story), Homeira Quaderi (Dancing in the Mosque), and Mitchell Zuckoff (The Secret Gate); screenwriter Thomas Pope (The Lords of Discipline); Galley Books executive editor Carrie Feron; poets Jennifer Bartell Boykin (Traveling Mercy), Freya Manfred (When I Was Young and Old), and Tim Conroy (No True Route); English professors and literary scholars Valerie Sayers, Sean Heuston, and Ellen Malphrus; and many more.

The 8th Annual Pat Conroy Literary Festival is made possible by the generous support and collaboration of the Robert S. Handler Charitable Trust, the South Carolina Arts Commission, The Cunningham Team – Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, Bank of America, Oyster Cay Collection, Eugene A. Rugala & Associates, Hahn Family Wines, Lowcountry Real Estate, Bay Street Jewelers, Grayco, AlphaGraphics, NeverMore Books, the Rhett House Inn, Lucius and Darryl Laffitte, Rebecca Bruff, Patricia A. Denkler, Mike McFee, Marly Rusoff and Mihai Radulescu, and others.

Please register in advance at https://patconroyliteraryfestival2023.eventbrite.com. If a festival event is not sold out beforehand, tickets will also be available for sale at the door on the day of. There is no cost or advance registration needed for students to attend author presentations events.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (subject to change)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26

Noon -4:00 p.m. TOURS: Pat Conroy Literary Center open to the public for guided tours. Free. (601 Bladen St., Beaufort)

2:00-4:00 p.m. WORKSHOP: Say What? A Playful Dialogue Workshop, Led by Valerie Sayers. Ticketed, $45. (Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen St., Beaufort) https://saywhatdialogueworkshop.eventbrite.com

6:30-7:30 p.m. BOOK CLUB: My Losing Season book club discussion led by Charlene Spearen and Jonathan Haupt, part of the monthly Pat Conroy Book Club at the Rhett House Inn. Ticketed, $10. (1009 Craven St., Beaufort) https://patconroybookclubatrhetthouseinn.eventbrite.com

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27

9:00-10:30 a.m. WORKSHOP: From Bad to Good to Unputdownable: Workshop Led by Sean A. Scapellato. Ticketed, $45. (Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen St., Beaufort) https://frombadtogoodtounputdownable.eventbrite.com

11:00 a.m.-Noon AUTHOR EVENT: New York Times best-selling author Ron Rash will discuss his new Korean War-era novel The Caretaker in conversation with USC Beaufort writer in residence Ellen Malphrus. Ticketed, $10. Book signing afterwards. (USC Beaufort Center for the Arts, 805 Carteret St., Beaufort) https://patconroyliteraryfestival2023.eventbrite.com

Noon-4:00 p.m. TOURS: Pat Conroy Literary Center open to the public for guided tours. Free. (601 Bladen St., Beaufort)

12:30-2:00 p.m. WORKSHOP: The Gift of Family: Sharing Memories in Poetry, Prose, or Memoir, Workshop Led by Freya Manfred. Ticketed, $45. (Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen St., Beaufort) https://thegiftoffamilyworkshop.eventbrite.com

2:00-3:15 p.m. AUTHOR EVENT: Leading Ladies in Southern Fiction: A Conversation with Bestselling Authors Mary Kay Andrews, Victoria Frank, and Mary Alice Monroe, moderated by Cassandra King, with special guest, fiction editor Carrie Feron. Ticketed, $10. Book signing afterwards. (USC Beaufort Center for the Arts, 805 Carteret St., Beaufort) https://patconroyliteraryfestival2023.eventbrite.com

4:00-5:00 p.m. FILM PANEL: Panel discussion of The Lords of Discipline with screenwriter Thomas Pope, Citadel English professor Sean Hueston, and Pat Conroy’s classmate and fellow author John Warley. Ticketed, $10. (USC Beaufort Center for the Arts, 805 Carteret St., Beaufort) https://patconroyliteraryfestival2023.eventbrite.com

5:00-6:00 p.m. Intermission with refreshments.

6:00-8:00 p.m. FILM SCREENING: The Lords of Discipline. Ticketed, $10. (USC Beaufort Center for the Arts, 805 Carteret St., Beaufort) https://patconroyliteraryfestival2023.eventbrite.com

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28

10:00-11:00 a.m. FILM DISCUSSION: The Lords of Discipline screenwriter Thomas Pope in conversation with Ron Tucker, executive director of the Beaufort International Film Festival, on the making of the film. Ticketed, $10. (USC Beaufort Center for the Arts, 805 Carteret St., Beaufort) https://patconroyliteraryfestival2023.eventbrite.com

10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. WORKSHOP: Excavating Memory into Poetry, Led by Jennifer Bartell Boykin. Ticketed, $45. (Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen St., Beaufort) https://excavatingmemoryintopoetry.eventbrite.com

11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. AUTHOR EVENT: The Secret Gate: A True Story of Courage and Sacrifice During the Collapse of Afghanistan by New York Times bestselling author Mitchell Zuckoff, with former U.S. State Department Special Agent and diplomat Sam Aronson, in conversation with Landon K. Thorne . Ticketed, $10. Book signing afterwards. (USC Beaufort Center for the Arts, 805 Carteret St., Beaufort) https://patconroyliteraryfestival2023.eventbrite.com

Noon-4:00 p.m. TOURS: Pat Conroy Literary Center open to the public for guided tours. Free. (601 Bladen St., Beaufort)

2:00-3:00 p.m. AUTHOR EVENT: Writer and human rights advocate Homeira Qaderi, author of Dancing in the Mosque: An Afghan Mother’s Letter to Her Son, in conversation with author Valerie Sayers. Ticketed, $10. Book signing afterwards. (USC Beaufort Center for the Arts, 805 Carteret St., Beaufort) https://patconroyliteraryfestival2023.eventbrite.com

3:30-4:30 p.m. POETRY PANEL: Why Poetry Matters, panel discussion with poets Ron Rash (Poems: New and Selected), Jennifer Bartell Boykin (Traveling Mercy), Freya Manfred (When I Was Young and Old), and Tim Conroy (No True Route), moderated by Ellen Malphrus. Ticketed, $10. Book signing afterwards. (USC Beaufort Center for the Arts, 805 Carteret St., Beaufort) https://patconroyliteraryfestival2023.eventbrite.com

3:30-5:00 p.m. WORKSHOP: Writing a Great Fiction Query Letter, Workshop Led by Carrie Feron. Ticketed, $100. (Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen St., Beaufort) https://writingagreatfictionqueryletter.eventbrite.com

7:00-9:00 p.m. RECEPTION: Wrap Party at the Pat Conroy Literary Center and preview of the Witness Tree Park, with guest MCs Jeanne Meserve and Jeffrey Blount, with a musical performance by the Beaufort Mass Choir. Refreshments. Ticketed, $35. (Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen St., Beaufort) https://patconroyliteraryfestival2023.eventbrite.com

SUNDAY, 0CT0BER 29

Noon-4:00 p.m. TOURS: Pat Conroy Literary Center open to the public for guided tours. Free. (601 Bladen St., Beaufort)