Brooke McKinney
In partnership with the South Carolina Writers Association, the Conroy Center’s monthly Open Mic Night will be held at the Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce (711 Bladen St., Beaufort) on Thursday, October 12, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Our featured writer is Brooke McKinney, author of the debut poetry collection The Distance Between Birds. She will be joined by local writers in many genres reading from their individual works for 3-5 minutes each, culminating in the readings from the featured writers. This event is free and open to the public.
Writers interested in reading during open mic can sign up in advance by emailing contact@patconroyliterarycenter.org.
About the Featured Writer
Brooke McKinney is a poet and writer from South Georgia where she grew up on a farm and was raised by bulldogs. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from Valdosta State University and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Hollins University. Brooke’s work was a finalist in the Key West Emerging Writer’s Contest and the World’s the Best Short-Short Story. Her nonfiction has received scholarships to the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, Looking Glass Rock Writers’ Conference, and Writers in Paradise. Her poetry collection, The Distance Between Birds, is forthcoming October 2023. She is the recipient of two Academy of American Poets Awards and most recently, her poetry was shortlisted for the Montreal International Poetry Prize. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Florida Review, Copper Nickel, New South, Salt Hill Journal, Potomac Review, The Southeast Review, Columbia Poetry Review, RHINO Poetry, Artemis, and Kestrel.
