CLOSING RECEPTION: Wrap Up Party
Wrap-up party with catering by Debbi Covington and featuring a musical performance by the Beaufort Mass Choir at the Pat Conroy Literary Center and adjacent Witness Tree Park.
AUTHOR EVENT: Kirsten Miller
New York Times bestselling for adults, young adults, and children Kirsten Miller (Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books and How to Lead a Life of Crime) in conversation with Pat Conroy Literary Center executive director Jonathan Haupt.
AUTHOR EVENT: Kwame Alexander
#1 New York Times bestselling for adults, young adults, and children Kwame Alexander (The Door of No Return and Black Star) in conversation with Cassie Owens Moore, middle school librarian and South Carolina Association of School Librarians Intellectual Freedom Committee chair.
WORKSHOP: Know Your Place: Setting as Character, led by Chad Rhoad
Led by an award-winning editor, writer and former journalist, Chad Rhoad, this workshop is for writers looking to capture the essence of their setting, for those writers whose setting says as much about their work as the story, and for those who see the attitude, history and personality of a place as vital. Let your setting hold the metaphorical presence that drives your work.
AUTHOR EVENT: Raj Haldar
#1 New York Times bestselling children’s author Raj Haldar (P Is for Pterodactyl and This Book Is Banned), who is also the rapper, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Lushlife, with a special performance of story and songs.
AUTHOR EVENT: Mysterious Women Panel
New York Times bestselling writer Cassandra King (Tell Me a Story) in conversation with a trio of Southern mystery authors, Agatha Award-winning and USA Today bestselling novelist Susan M. Boyer (The Liz Talbot Mysteries), Alicia Bessette (The Outer Banks Bookshop Mysteries), and Kristen Ness (At Loggerheads), with a special appearance by Gallery Books vice president and executive editor Carrie Feron.
READ-ALOUD: DAYLO Teddy Bear Picnic
The student volunteers of DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization will host their Teddy Bear Picnic read-aloud—a free monthly community literacy program for young readers and their families.
WORKSHOP: How Not to Get Published, led by John Warley and Sean Scapellato
Sean and John will share their journeys, from the high hopes that accompany submissions to the frustration of waiting for rejections that inevitably arrive (if at all) on the same day the car won't start or the youngest child needs braces. Such is the writing life, with some laughs along the way.
TRIBUTE TO LIBRARIANS and FILM SCREENING: Presented by Jonathan Haupt
Honoring our festival’s theme of “I Was Born to Be in a Library,” Pat Conroy Literary Center executive director Jonathan Haupt will present a brief tribute to the essential roles of librarians in the context of Pat Conroy’s legacy. Following that, the festival will present a private pre-screening (freely open to all festival attendees with advance registration) of the feature-length documentary film Banned Together.
FREEDOM TO READ PANEL: Moderated by Pat R. Scales
FREEDOM TO READ PANEL: Moderated by Pat R. Scales (award-winning retired librarian and author of Banned Books for Kids) in conversation with high school librarian Karen Gareis (featured on 60 Minutes), Julia Garnett (American Library Association Banned Books Week Honorary Youth Chair), and current and past student leaders of DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization (featured on Nick News and in Banned Together).
