Writers Remember Pat Conroy at Flowertown Players on 11/23

Press Release

The award-winning anthology Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy brings together the remembrances of an international cast of 67 writers who were mentored, championed, and befriended by the acclaimed southern storyteller Pat Conroy (1945-2016).

On Saturday, November 23rd, at 5 pm, Flowertown Players theatre in Summerville will host a lively panel discussion by six of those writers: columnist and publisher Margaret Evans, Conroy Center director and volume coeditor Jonathan Haupt, bookseller and fiction writer Jonathan Sanchez, Judge Alex Sanders, writer and teacher Sean Scapellato, and travel journalist and novelist Lynn Seldon.

Earlier in the day, from 9:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., these touring “Scribes” will also teach a series of four writers workshops, with special guests literary agent and publicist MacKenzie Collier and travel writer Cele Seldon. Workshop topics range from big ideas like how to live a more literary life to pragmatic approaches to finding and working with agents and editors to interactive discussions of the writing craft.

This special event is presented in partnership between the Pat Conroy Literary Center, South Carolina Writers Association, Main Street Reads, and Flowertown Players. All day registration includes all four workshops and the panel discussion, with lunch on your own, for $50 for SCWA members and $70 for non-members. Tickets for the 5:00 p.m. panel discussion only (without workshops) are $10.00, available in advance or at the door. Register online at https://scribesday-summerville.bpt.me or through the event listing at www.patconroyliterarycenter.org.

The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center is located at 905 Port Republic Street in downtown Beaufort, South Carolina, and open to the public from noon to 4:00 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. The Conroy Center has been recognized as South Carolina’s first affiliate of the American Writers Museum, second American Library Association Literary Landmark, and TripAdvisor’s top-ranked destination in Beaufort. Learn more at www.patconroyliterarycenter.org

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

9:45 to 11 am: Connecting Writers & Reader | Jonathan Sanchez

Jonathan Sanchez is the owner of Blue Bicycle Books, director of the YALLFest YA book festival, and leader of writing workshops for children. His seminar will entail creative writing exercises based on writing by poets and authors like C.D. Wright, William Carlos Williams, Jonathan Miles, and others. We will also discuss the merits of self vs. traditional publishing from a bookseller’s perspective, as well as tips on hosting book release events.

11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.: Agenting 101; or How Do You Talk to an Agent? | MacKenzie Collier & Jonathan Haupt

Join publicity manager and former literary agent MacKenzie Fraser-Bub Collier in conversation with Conroy Center executive director and former publisher Jonathan Haupt for a candid and informed dialogue about what writers need to know about finding and working with an agent. This session will address resources and processes for researching and approaching agents appropriate for your writing, and overview of contracting for representation, and the rights and responsibilities of author, agent, and editor/publisher. Bring your questions and stories of your own experiences for what we expect will be a lively Q&A with workshop participants as well.

12:30 to 2:00 p.m.: Take a Lunch Break with Our Faculty

Want to learn more from the faculty members of a particular workshop? Join them for lunch at a local restaurant for a chance to continue a conversation or start a new one. (Lunch is on your own; not included in the registration fee.)

2:15 to 3:15 p.m.: Welcome to Travel Writing | Cele & Lynn Seldon

Have you ever wondered what its like to be a globetrotting travel journalist, or what it takes to become one? Travel journalists Cele and Lynn Seldon have the answers. With more than 45 years of experience between them, the Seldons travel the globe and average more than 100 feature articles annually for a wide variety of publications, including South Carolina Living, Cruise Travel, FoodNetwork.com, The Local Palate, Porthole, TrailBlazer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, various in-flight publications, and many AAA magazines. Come to their informative session (which includes a drawing for a copy of Lonely Planets How to be a Travel Writer) and learn what it takes to hit the road and get paid for it.

3:30 to 4:30 p.m.: Living Your Literary Life | Sean Scapellato & Margaret Evans

Did you know 53.9% of traditionally published writers report making less than $1,000 a year from their writing? 77% of self-published writers report the same. Obviously, the news isn’t good for writers trying to make a career of it. This means we must learn how to live a literary life inside the creases of full-time jobs, family, and friends. Join Sean Scapellato and Margaret Evans as they discuss different ways to lead a rewarding literary life. Sean will talk about how he has been able to write novels while teaching and practicing law full-time. He will share some of the secrets Carolyn See recommends in her seminal book Making a Literary Life. Margaret Evans will discuss her experience running Lowcountry Weekly, Beaufort’s singular arts and culture publication, and how she keeps the ideas fresh in crafting her bi-weekly columns. Bring a pen and journal because well conclude with an exercise that will start you down your own path of the literary lifestyle and the richness it can provide.

5:00 to 6:30 p.m.: Our Prince of Scribes panel discussion with Margaret Evans, Jonathan Haupt, Alex Sanders, Sean Scapellato, and Lynn Seldon. Join our faculty members for a heartfelt, hilarious, and inspiration conversation about the myriad ways in which acclaimed storyteller Pat Conroy inspired and championed his fellow writers as a lifelong teacher and mentor. Copies of Our Prince of Scribes and other titles by our panelists will be available for sale and signing after the discussion, thanks to Main Street Reads.

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