Read Up Greenville

Read Up Greenville is the Upstate of South Carolina’s only young adult and middle grades book festival. The 2017 festival, which will take place Saturday, October 21, 2017 at the Peace Center, will feature 26 authors from around the country who will meet with fans and discuss their works. And, except for two low-cost ticketed keynotes, a full day of panels and signings is free to attendees. SC Humanities supported this program with a Major Grant.

This year’s celebration of literacy will be highlighted by keynote speakers Kwame Alexander and Libba Bray. Alexander, who was recently awarded the Conroy Legacy Award, received acclaim for The Crossover, which won the 2015 Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award. Bray is a multiple-time New York Times bestseller for her Gemma Doyle Trilogy and Going Bovine won the 2010 Michael L. Printz Award for Young Adult Literature.

The 2017 Read Up’s theme is “One Festival. Many Stories,” and the stories at the festival will be truly diverse. The books feature tales of time-traveling thieves, teenage romances, and social justice; the authors’ personal journeys include a former musician turned attorney and young adult writer, an insightful woman who spent nine years writing for a self-harming teen she saw on the bus, and a first-time author who attended Read Up in 2016 as a self-proclaimed “fangirl” before attending in 2017 as a panelist. Additionally, the 2017 festival features six South Carolinians, 21 first-time attendees, and 26 artists who superbly craft stories that move us all.

Visit www.readupgreenville.com or find them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to learn more about Read Up Greenville 2017, the author lineup, and the upcoming festival schedule.

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 21-member Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and/or 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.