Charleston Literary Festival Returns with Pulitzer Prize-Winning Authors and More

Charleston Literary Festival has announced the initial list of speakers and a sampling of events and sessions for this year’s event. Sessions include Pulitzer Prize winners, academics, international and local authors, as well as renowned writers whose books have been adapted for streaming platforms and movies such as HBO’s popular The Undoing by Jean Hanff Korelitz and the acclaimed Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman, who will present the film followed by a conversation with its celebrated director, James Ivory.

This year’s Charleston Literary Festival, which will be held from November 5th to 14th, will begin with a kick-off event that includes a performance by ETHEL, the resident string quartet ensemble at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Balcony Bar.  The group is also known for creating and touring rich, multimedia productions focused on community engagement.

There will be around 24 events altogether, a mixture of in-person and virtual sessions, on topics ranging from history, civil rights, feminism, science, biography, classical, and contemporary fiction, and more. Patrons will have the opportunity to address questions directly to their favorite authors, acquire signed copies of books, and engage with some of today’s most interesting and intriguing thought leaders, academics, and cultural movers and shakers. Sessions will go beyond just discussing the latest books.  For instance, Award-winning Chinese-American writer Yiyun Li, who led a free virtual book club in the early days of the pandemic where thousands of people read War and Peace together, will lead a session discussing this experiment.

“Each year, we strive to bring together the most varied, original, and thought-provoking group of artists, each with a unique flair that truly sets them apart,” said Diana Reich, Artistic Director of Charleston Literary Festival. “This year feels even more important as we emerge from challenging times and are all looking forward to experiencing the opportunities for engagement, stimulation, consolation, provocation, and entertainment that the arts provide and to celebrating their positive impact on our lives. And while we’re closely monitoring the safety and health concerns related to the Delta variant, we want to ensure the show will still go on, which is why it will be a hybrid of in-person and virtual sessions. Lovers of literature, the arts, and creativity won’t want to miss this event.”

To date, some of the authors, scholars, and academics speaking include:

• New York Times Matter Columnist and author of 14 books, Carl Zimmer
• Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of eleven books, George Saunders
• Tiya Miles, Professor of History at Harvard University
• Civil rights lawyer and Holocaust survivor, Armand Derfner
• Scholar, author, activist, educator, and the grandchild of slaves, Rebecca Hall, JD, PhD
• Two-time Pushcart Prize-winning and feminist writer Lisa Taddeo, whose recent book, ThreeWomen, is being adapted for television.
• Lauren Groff, author of Fates and Furies, recommended by President Obama, showcasing her new novel, Matrix.
• Edmund de Waal, bestselling author of The Hare with the Amber Eyes and renowned ceramicist, in conversation with Tristram Hunt, director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
• Louis Menand, Pulitzer Prize-winner and Harvard Professor, presenting his luminous new history of American art and ideas.

The full speaker list, schedule, and ticket sales information for Charleston Literary Festival sessions and kick-off event and performance by ETHEL will be available at http://www.charlestonliteraryfestival.com by the end of September.

About Charleston Literary Festival

Since its founding in 2017, the Charleston Literary Festival has become an integral part of the cultural landscape in the heart of historic Charleston, South Carolina. The festival is organized and presented by Charleston to Charleston, Inc., a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit corporation incorporated in the State of South Carolina.

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