The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host the 7th annual Lowcountry Book Club Convention on Saturday, September 30, 2023, at the Culinary Institute of the South at the Technical College of the Lowcountry in Bluffton, SC. Featured presenters include bestselling novelist Brendan Slocumb, chef and cookbook author Johnathon Scott Barrett, and youth advocate Sidney Keys III with Books N Bros. SC Humanities supported this program with a Mini Grant.
The Lowcountry Book Club Convention includes presentations by noted authors and literary advocates, book signings, a lunch, and a tour of the Culinary Institute of the South. Organizers say that the event is “ideal for book club members, those interested in joining a book club, or anyone who simply loves the joy of reading.”
This year’s presenters include musician, educator, and bestselling novelist Brendan Slocumb, author of The Violin Conspiracy (A Good Morning America Book Club Selection) and Symphony of Secrets; master entertainer and chef Johnathon Scott Barrett, author of Cook & Celebrate: A Collection of Southern Holiday & Party Culinary Traditions; and teenage entrepreneur Sidney Keys III, creator of the Books N Bros Book Club (featured in Forbes Magazine). The Convention will begin this year with a panel discussion highlighting five lowcountry novelists with new or recently released books: Donna Keel Armer (The Red Starfish), Laura Elizabeth (All Is Now Lost), Nancy Ritter (Slack Tide), Lynn Seldon (Carolina’s Ring), and John Warley (Jury of One).
Tickets range from $15 for all sessions without lunch or $40 for all sessions with a gourmet boxed lunch. Purchase tickets here.
The full schedule is below:
9:00-9:30 a.m. Check-in Begins
9:30-10:30 a.m. Lowcountry Novelists Panel Discussion, featuring Donna Keel Armer (The Red Starfish), Laura Elizabeth (All Is Now Lost), Nancy Ritter (Slack Tide), Lynn Seldon (Carolina’s Ring), and John Warley (Jury of One), moderated by Pat Conroy Literary Center executive director Jonathan Haupt
10:30-11:00 a.m. Book signing break
11:00-12:00 p.m. As featured in the Good Morning America Book Club — musician, educator, and novelist Brendan Slocumb (The Violin Conspiracy and Symphony of Secrets) in conversation with Jonathan Haupt
12:00-12:45 p.m. Book signing break & lunch: Gourmet box lunches by Catering by Debbi Covington. (Register by September 20 for lunch)
12:45-1:45 p.m. Master entertainer and chef Johnathon Scott Barrett, (Cook & Celebrate: A Collection of Southern Holiday & Party Culinary Traditions) in conversation with Mary Martha Greene (The Cheese Biscuit Queen Tells All)
1:45-2:15 p.m. Book signing break
2:15-3:15 p.m. As featured in Forbes Magazine — Sidney Keys III, author of Books N Bros and founder of the Books N Bros book club, in conversation with local students.
3:15-3:45 p.m. Final book signing break and tour of the Culinary Institute of the South.
The Pat Conroy Literary Center cultivates a passionate and inclusive reading and writing community in honor of Pat Conroy, who dedicated his life to spreading his love for literature and writing to future generations.For more information about the Pat Conroy Literary Center, visit the website at https://patconroyliterarycenter.org/.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c)3 organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos, and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually. South Carolina Humanities receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as corporate, foundation and individual donors. The National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
