Jennifer Bartell Boykin

The 8th annual Pat Conroy Literary Festival will be held this Thursday through Sunday, October 26-29, featuring discussions with bestselling visiting authors, book signings, writers workshops, a film screening of The Lords of Discipline, a musical performance by the Beaufort Mass Choir, and a closing reception. Learn more and register in advance at https://patconroyliteraryfestival2023.eventbrite.com.

One of this year’s festival sessions, Why Poetry Matters, will feature Pat Conroy’s brother Tim Conroy in one of

Jacquelyn Markham

his first public appearances for his second book of poetry, No True Route. Tim will be joined in readings and conversation by Columbia City Poet Laureate Jennifer Bartell Boykin (author of the forthcoming collection Traveling Mercy), local poet and multi-talented artist Jacquelyn Markham (author of the recently published chapbook Rainbow Warrior), and, as panel moderator, USC Beaufort writer-in-residence Ellen Malphrus (author of Untying the Moon).

The poetry panel will be held at the USC Beaufort Center for the Arts, 805 Carteret Street, in downtown Beaufort on Saturday, October 28, at 3:30-4:30 p.m., with books available for sale and signing after the program. Registration is $10/person, or included in the festival’s weekend pass of $100.

Learn more about the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center at www.patconroyliterarycenter.org.