Robert Gwaltney
“Storyteller” Takes Helm of Pat Conroy Literary Center
story by JEANNE REYNOLDS photos by PAUL NURNBERG
The memory is still vivid: a very young Robert Gwaltney, sitting next to his grandmother in her rocking chair, spellbound by a movie they were watching together about a young teacher sent to an isolated island to run a one-room schoolhouse for the Gullah community’s children. The movie was “Conrack,” based on “The Water is Wide,” the autobiographical novel by Lowcountry legend Pat Conroy about his year teaching on so-near-but-so-far Daufuskie Island.
It was Robert’s first exposure to Conroy’s storytelling genius, although he didn’t realize it at the time. Nor did he imagine the tremendous impact Conroy’s work would eventually have on his own career. Fast forward about half a century, and Robert is the new executive director of the Pat Conroy Literary Center in Beaufort. If that sounds like a too-tidy ending to the tale, don’t worry. Like any good story, there were a few plot twists along the way — and it’s far from over.
EARLY CHAPTERS
Robert grew up in the small south Georgia town of Cairo (named for the capital of Egypt but pronounced “kay-ro” like the syrup, hence one of its nicknames, “The Syrup City”) as the oldest of four boys. He also had a sister who died from complications of spina bifida at age two, which led his mother into active volunteer work with the March of Dimes. In fact, community involvement was a major theme in the Gwaltney household: His father returned to college after an Army career to earn a degree in electrical engineering and went on to serve as a city councilman. His mother, meanwhile, worked as a substitute teacher and ran a small nonprofit organization serving parents of newborns.
With the importance of higher education and service ingrained in his upbringing, Robert left Cairo after high school to earn bachelor’s degrees in political science and international affairs from Florida State University.
“Two worthless degrees,” he says with a laugh. “I was unaware of what I wanted to do. I considered broadcast journalism and law school, then began taking creative writing classes.”
That reawakened other childhood memories, including a visit by a local writer to his third-grade class.
“Until that point, I thought writers were like unicorns, not regular people,” he recalls. “But then I thought, ‘If she can do it, maybe I can, too.’ I didn’t always know I wanted to be a writer, but deep down I’m a storyteller. I liked to put a creative spin on the essays we had to write in school, and I got a positive response. I loved the feeling I was possibly good at something.”
The leap to becoming a writer wasn’t immediate (and after all, there are still bills to pay). Robert worked for seven years as human resources director for the Florida Lottery, then in HR for Florida State Hospital near Tallahassee, before his early exposure to the importance of nonprofit work led him to the Easter Seals of North Georgia.
“I had a fit of bravery and left my home, my friends and my career to move to Atlanta,” Robert says.
He spent 26 years with that organization, becoming vice president of operations for early education and care for one of Georgia’s largest nonprofit early childhood education and family service programs.
PULL OF THE PEN
Robert didn’t leave writing behind, though. He joined the Atlanta Writers Club and a critique club, and eventually began working on his first novel. “The Cicada Tree” was published in 2022 and won him acclaim as the Georgia Author of the Year for First Novel in 2023. It also led to an invitation from the Conroy Center to serve as writer in residence for a week during the center’s annual Pat Conroy Literary Festival, complete with a marsh-front cottage, a meet-the-author event at Nevermore Books, opportunities to meet and network with local people active in the literary community, and free time to focus on his own writing.
The event also included a screening of a film adaptation of “The Water is Wide,” triggering Robert’s memory of watching the movie with his grandmother — another reminder of the impact of Conroy on his own literary career.
Robert’s second novel, “Sing Down the Moon,” followed earlier this year, winning an Independent Publisher Book Award for Best Southeast Fiction. The Conroy Center hosted an event for him in April, strengthening his local connections at what turned out to be an ideal time while the center was searching for new leadership after the departure of longtime executive director Jonathan Haupt. Experiencing another “fit of bravery,” Robert again left his home, friends and long career to take on his new role last month.
PERFECT FIT
“If I were asked to write a description of the perfect position for me, this would be it,” Robert says. “It’s at the perfect intersection of my passions for nonprofit work and literary engagement.”
Being able to combine those passions at the Conroy Center is even more professionally significant and personally meaningful for Robert, who often cites Conroy as one of the writers who inspired his own literary journey.
“No one could write a sentence like Pat Conroy could about universal truths, sense of place, family and resilience,” he says. “He understood that stories can change the way we see ourselves, our communities, and one another.”
Cassandra King, the center’s honorary board chair, says Robert’s decades of nonprofit work and literary background uniquely qualify him for the center’s new era of leadership.
“He’s a writer himself, so he understands writers’ specific needs, and he’s an avid reader who knows what people are reading and how reading can enhance our daily lives,” she says. “He also came to us with a vision for the center. He’d done his research and knew the center’s past and its mission. He’s going to be ideal.”
Robert explains that vision includes preserving Conroy’s legacy while expanding its reach and deepening its impact on writers, readers, students and teachers.
“We can do all those things through the power of storytelling,” he continues. “I want the center to continue to be a place where readers and writers feel welcome, where young people discover the power of their own voices, and where Pat’s enduring belief in empathy, courage and the power of storytelling remains at the heart of everything we do.”
ABOUT THE PAT CONROY LITERARY CENTER
The Pat Conroy Literary Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and advancing the legacy of author Pat Conroy while fostering a vibrant literary community. Through author events, educational programs, writing workshops, outreach initiatives, the annual Pat Conroy Literary Festival, and support for emerging and established writers, the center celebrates the power of books and storytelling to connect, educate and inspire. Founded in his hometown of Beaufort, the center continues Conroy’s commitment to literature, education and the importance of sharing our stories.
The center is open to the public for docent-led tours from noon to 4 p.m., Thursday– Sunday. Learn more about its programs and events at https://patconroyliterarycenter.org.
FOR ALL AGES
• 11th Annual Pat Conroy Literary Festival Oct. 22–25 — Celebrating the 50th anniversary of publication of “The Great Santini” with author discussions, writers workshops, screening of a film adaptation of one of Conroy’s beloved novels, book signings and more.
• Little Lowcountry Libraries — Free books in a “take a book, leave a book” model at the center, the Depot Road Trailhead on the Spanish Moss Trail, local laundromats and a food pantry.
• Fields Trips and School Visits — Student field trips and school visits to discuss the writing and teaching legacy of Pat Conroy, educational visits by adult lifelong learning groups, and guest presentations for Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes, travel groups, book clubs, newcomers clubs and others.
For adults
• Writers Workshops — In-person and virtual workshops for writers addressing aspects of the craft of writing and avenues for publication and professionalization, offering opportunities for burgeoning writers to take first steps, for more experienced writers to improve skills, and for everyone to forge new connections to a supportive community of fellow creatives. The Lowcountry Writers Workshop, a chapter of the South Carolina Writers Association, also holds its critique group meetings at the center.
• Writers Residency — Week-long writers retreat during the annual Pat Conroy Literary Festival as an opportunity to write in the isolation and beauty of the Lowcountry that inspired Pat Conroy.
• FIWC The Water Is Wide Scholarship — Annual scholarships for nontraditional students advancing their education or seeking professional certifications through local higher education institutions.
• Beaufort Human Library — Promotes empathy and understanding across communities by offering opportunities to “check out” more than a dozen volunteer “human books” who share personal stories of facing challenges and striving for acceptance. Dialogues on topics including education, military service, health care, gender, race, addiction, abuse and advocacy focus on building person-to-person bridges of understanding through storytelling.
FOR YOUTH
• Camp Conroy — Annual book-building camp for writers and artists ages 9–16 resulting in a published anthology of individual and collaborative work with opportunities for self-expression, teamwork and critical thinking as they write, illustrate, edit, design and publish a book together.
• Storybuilders — Adult volunteers working with third-grade students at a local Title 1 elementary school to inspire their creative thinking and writing skills, spark their imaginations, and help them explore and appreciate their Lowcountry environment while producing a booklet of students’ work.
• Lowcountry Children’s Book Fair — Celebration of the many children’s book authors and artists who live and create in the Lowcountry, including signings and activities with local children’s book creators, read-alouds and special guest appearances by headlining authors or artists.
• Future Educator Scholarship — $5,000 award for an exceptional Beaufort County student with a declared intention to pursue a degree in education or an education-related field.
• River of Words — Opportunity for public elementary and middle school students to submit poetry and artwork for publication, with in-person creative writing workshops for students and recorded poetry workshops featuring representative writers from across South Carolina.
• Ann Head Literary Prize for Short Story — Honors Beaufort High School’s best short story writer each year with a cash award and publication. The prize is established, judged and sponsored by the family of Beaufort-born novelist and short story writer Ann Head, who was also Pat Conroy’s first creative writing mentor.
• South Carolina High School Writing Contest — Student writing competition that asks state high school juniors and seniors to respond creatively to the question of what they would do to improve South Carolina, with a cash prize and online publication for winners.
• School Supplies Drive — Annual drive to benefit students of a local Title 1 elementary school.
