Ashley Hope Pérez

Now in its ninth year, the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center’s annual March Forth weekend will be held on Saturday, March 1, and Sunday, March 2, with educational programs in Beaufort, Port Royal, St. Helena Island, and online. This special event commemorates the anniversary of Pat Conroy’s passing on March 4, 2016, by engaging with major themes of Conroy’s writing and teaching life, including social justice, inclusivity, conservation, education, truth-telling, and storytelling.

Through a combination of both free and ticketed events, March Forth includes a guided nature walk at historic Penn Center, author conversations (in person and virtually), a history presentation, book signings, a catered lunch, a writing workshop, a community literacy read-aloud, and opportunities for tours.

The Conroy Center’s Ninth Annual March Forth will include appearances by:

• Ashley Hope Pérez: YA novelist, educator, advocate, author of Out of

Kimberly Brock

Darkness, and editor of Banned Together: Our Fight for Readers’ Rights

• Kimberly Brock: novelist, past Georgia Author of the Year, and author of The Fabled Earth, a finalist for the Townsend Prize for Fiction
• Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black, professor of history and director of the Dietrich College Humanities Center at Carnegie Mellon University, author of Combee: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War
• Katherine Freeman: National Park Service Ranger with the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park
• Jake Zadik: Brays Island naturalist, nature photographer, and cofounder of South Carolina Partners of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (SCPARC)
• Juliana Zadik: naturalist, educator, and Beaufort County Long-Range Environmental Planner
• Dana Ridenour: retired FBI undercover special agent, author of the Lexie Montgomery series
• Eugene A. Rugala: retired FBI agent and profiler, behavioral science consultant and author
• DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization

Edda Fields Black

Cohosted this year by Conroy Center executive director Jonathan Haupt and nationally recognized youth advocate Julia Garnett, March Forth is a community collaboration between the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, Penn Center, NeverMore Books, the Rhett House Inn, the Port Royal Farmers Market, the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park, and the students of DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization.

To learn more about March Forth and to register in advance, please visit the events calendar at www.patconroyliterarycenter.org or https://marchforth2025.eventbrite.com.