Pat Conroy leads panel of SC authors at Furman

Photo by Steve Leimberg – UnSeenImages.Com

New York Times-bestselling author Pat Conroy will host a discussion with South Carolina authors on the campus of Furman University Thursday, Sept. 10, at 6 p.m. in Younts Conference Center. A reception with light hors d’oeuvres at 6 p.m. is followed by the panel at 7 p.m.

Editor-at-large of series Story River Books, Conroy will lead the panel featuring authors Elizabeth Cox, John Lane, Mark Sibley-Jones, and Eric Morris. A book signing with the panelists will follow the conversation.

The event is free and open to the public. Limited seating is available, first-come, first-served. The program is sponsored by M. Judson booksellers & storytellers, Story River Books, Furman University, EMRYS, and Barnes & Noble at Furman. It is part of Furman’s Cultural Life Program.

Launched in 2013, Story River Books is a South Carolina-based original fiction series published by the University of South Carolina Press. Named for a small river which runs along Fripp Island, Story River Books includes 13 published titles thus far.

In an earlier interview, Conroy explains his commitment to up-and-coming writers in South Carolina, saying, “I want a direct role in keeping that splendid sense of literary momentum alive. South Carolina has given me a million stories and no writer who ever lived had such riches to choose from. This is the reason I offered to edit the Story River Books series for USC Press.”

Joni Tevis, Ph.D., Furman Bennette E. Geer Professor of Literature, says, “We are delighted to host Pat Conroy and authors who have contributed to Story River Books.”

A 2009 inductee in the S.C. Hall of Fame, Conroy is the author of several books including The Great Santini and The Prince of Tides, which were made into Oscar-nominated films. Other titles include The Water is Wide and Death of Santini, among others.

Conroy holds honorary doctorates from the University of South Carolina and The Citadel. His awards and honors include a 2010 Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award for the Arts, 2005 F. Scott Fitzgerald Award, 2003 Thomas Wolfe Prize, 2002 South Carolina Order of the Palmetto, 1994 S.C. Governor’s Award for the Humanities, 1981 Lilian Smith Award and 1974 National Endowment for the Arts Award for Achievement in Education.

Conroy lives in Beaufort, S.C., with his wife, novelist Cassandra King.

For more information, contact the Furman News and Media Relations office at (864) 294-3107, or visit www.mjudsonbooks.com. More information about Story River Books may be found at http://www.sc.edu/uscpress/microsites/storyriver/.