7th Annual Lowcountry Book Club Convention (Road Trip!)

The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host the 7th annual Lowcountry Book Club Convention on Saturday, September 30, at the Culinary Institute of the South at the Technical College of the Lowcountry in Bluffton, SC. Ideal for book club members, those interested in joining a book club, or anyone who simply loves the joy of reading, the Lowcountry Book Club Convention is presented in partnership with NeverMore Books and the Technical College of the Lowcountry, and made possible by the generous support of the Pulpwood Queens Books Club, the largest book club in the U.S.

Tix are $40 with gourmet lunch or $15 w/out lunch. A group of readers and book clubbers from Main Street Reads will leave from the bookstore at 7 a.m. if you’d like to car share – come join the fun! We will ALSO have books at the store from below’s featured authors. If you’d like to get them in advance from us, you’ll get the 10% book club discount AND we’ll donate 10% of sales back to the Pat Conroy Literary Center.

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).

A gourmet box lunch will be provided by Catering by Debbi Covington. Books by presenting authors will be available for sale and signing. The Culinary Institute of the South will also be offering guided tours of their facility for the convention attendees. The registration fee includes all-day access to all three author events and a tour.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (Saturday, September 30)

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 byPat 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.