Pat Conroy Literary Festival : Foundations of Faith, Family & Friendship

The third annual Pat Conroy Literary Festival will be held in Conroy’s beloved Beaufort, South Carolina, this November 1–4. This year’s festival theme will address a trio of foundations central to Conroy’s writing life, and indeed to all of southern literature and culture: Faith, Family & Friendship.
In his timeless fiction and memoirs, Conroy’s evolving sense of self was interwoven in his questioning of religion, his conflicted familial entanglements, and his stalwart belief in the fellowship of his tribe of friends. In multifaceted exploration of this three-pronged theme, the Conroy Festival will once again offer an immersive, enticing mixture of author discussions and readings, book signings, original scholarship, performances, workshops, tours, receptions, and gatherings—highlighted this year by the release of the new anthology Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy.
The Pat Conroy Literary Festival is presented in partnership between the Pat Conroy Literary Center and the USCB Center for the Arts, with generous support from a pantheon of sponsors, partners, presenters, and our amazing attendees. We look forward to seeing all of you in beautiful Beaufort by the sea this November 1-4.
This year’s schedule of events:
Thursday November 1st
Pat Conroy Literary Center Open House (November 1)
November 1 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Pat Conroy Literary Center (Free)
Beaufort Tours Presents: Pat Conroy’s Beaufort ( November 1)
November 1 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Beaufort Tours ($30)
Daufuskie Island Field Trip
November 1 @ 11:00 am – 4:30 pm
Bluffton Oyster Factory Park ($189)
Workshop: Welcome to Travel Writing
November 1 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
USC Beaufort Center for the Arts ($30)
Workshop: Write into Your Heart – Look Within and Grow
November 1 @ 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
USC Beaufort Center for the Arts ($30)
Beaufort Tours Presents: Pat Conroy’s Beaufort ( November 1)
November 1 @ 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Beaufort Tours ($30)
November 1 @ 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Workshop: Creative Organization for Writers
USC Beaufort Center for the Arts ($30)
Patti Callahan in Conversation with Pastor Jonathan Riddle
November 1 @ 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Bluffton Rotary Club at Oscar Frazier Park (Free)
Friday 2nd
Workshop: More than One Write Way – Independent Publishing
November 2 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
USC Beaufort Center for the Arts($30)
Pat Conroy Literary Center Open House (November 2)
November 2 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Pat Conroy Literary Center (Free)
Beaufort Tours Presents: Pat Conroy’s Beaufort ( November 2)
November 2 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Beaufort Tours ($30)
Workshop: Celebrating Southern Cooking – Demo and Luncheon
November 2 @ 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
USC Beaufort Center for the Arts ($45)
Screening of Three Short Films
November 2 @ 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
USC Beaufort Center for the Arts ($10)
Workshop: Life Stories – Approaches to Memoir Writing, Part 1
USC Beaufort Center for the Arts
November 2 @ 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm ($50)
Beaufort Tours Presents: Pat Conroy’s Beaufort ( November 2)
November 2 @ 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Beaufort Tours ($30)
Workshop: Introduction to Screenwriting
November 2 @ 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
USC Beaufort Center for the Arts ($30)
Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy
November 2 @ 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Tabby Place ($75)
Saturday November 3rd
In Good Faith: Religion in the Work of Pat Conroy
November 3 @ 9:30 am – 11:00 am
USC Beaufort Center for the Arts (Free)
Workshop: Tiny Cracks – Writing for Character Development
November 3 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am
USC Beaufort Center for the Arts ($30)
Pat Conroy Literary Center Open House (November 3)
November 3 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Pat Conroy Literary Center (Free)
Joseph Monte in Conversation with Catherine Seltzer
November 3 @ 10:15 am – 12:00 pm
USC Beaufort Center for the Arts ($10)
Beaufort Tours Presents: Pat Conroy’s Beaufort ( November 3)
November 3 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Beaufort Tours ($30)
Workshop: Thanksgiving Survival Tips for Novices and Experienced Cooks
November 3 @ 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
USC Beaufort Center for the Arts ($45)
Thrilling Fiction of Families and Friendships
November 3 @ 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
USC Beaufort Center for the Arts ($10)
Workshop: Pat Conroy – The Book Collector
November 3 @ 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
USC Beaufort Center for the Arts ($30)
Workshop: Life Stories – Approaches to Memoir Writing, Part 2
November 3 @ 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
USC Beaufort Center for the Arts ($50)
Poetry Reading
November 3 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
USC Beaufort Center for the Arts ($10)
Beaufort Tours Presents: Pat Conroy’s Beaufort ( November 3)
November 3 @ 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Beaufort Tours ($30)
Pulitzer Prize Winner Rick Bragg in Conversation with Walter Edgar
November 3 @ 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
USC Beaufort Center for the Arts ($30)
The Red Clay Ramblers
November 3 @ 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
USC Beaufort Center for the Arts ($45)
Sunday November 4th
Pat Conroy Literary Center Open House (November 4)
November 4 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Pat Conroy Literary Center (Free)
Beaufort Tours Presents: Pat Conroy’s Beaufort ( November 4)
November 4 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Beaufort Tours ($30)
Sandra Brown in Conversation with Cassandra King Conroy
November 4 @ 11:00 am – 1:30 pm
Dataw Island Club ($50)
Beaufort Tours Presents: Pat Conroy’s Beaufort ( November 4)
November 4 @ 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Beaufort Tours ($30)
Down by the Riverside – Spirituals Performance by Ron Daise
November 4 @ 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Grace Chapel AME Church ($10)