Come one, come all to the inaugural Summerville Book Festival February 15th!!! The information below will help you plan your day as downtown Summerville becomes THE hub for all things books…

FESTIVAL MAP/SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE

CLICK on the image to download/print this map and schedule for the big day:


MEET YOUR AUTHORS!

The Summerville Book Festival stages include our Bestsellers Stage at the Flowertown Theatre (paid programming includes books signed by our keynote authors); a free Children’s Stage (Saturday am) and Lowcountry Stars Stage (Saturday pm) on Hutchinson Square; a “Writing for Stage & Screen (ticketed) workshop in the Backbox Studio behind the Flowertown Players Theatre; an Active Voice Novel Writing Panel at the Timrod Library; Poetry Bookmark making at Public Works Arts Center; and a tour of the Summerville Journal Scene offices and archives on Journal Alley!

BESTSELLERS STAGE AT FLOWERTOWN THEATRE

Bestsellers Stage Programming takes place at the Flowertown Players Theatre. Doors open at noon and the first keynote begins at 1 pm. The final keynote ends at 5:30 pm, followed by signing/reception. Your VIP TICKET includes:

  • ALL programming at the Flowertown Players Theatre (two keynotes and three themed panels shown below).
  • A signed copy of each of the keynote speakers’ featured titles; including one The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan AND one Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix. (Additional copies for sale/signing at the theatre and at Main Street Reads.)
  • PLUS: VIP ticket holders enjoy 10% off the purchase of any panel author’s book in the theatre bookstore or at Main Street Reads.
  • PLUS, VIP ticket holders will have exclusive admission to the Authors/Sponsors/VIP Reception at Main Street Reads at 5:30 p.m., following the festival (apps/drinks included).
  • (A general admission ticket is also available without reception or discounts included, but does include your choice of just one of the keynote speakers’ books.)
  • Buy your tickets now – the Bestsellers Stage WILL sell out before February 15th. Tickets are available only via the link below or in-store at Main Street Reads.

BESTSELLERS STAGE: OPENING & CLOSING KEYNOTES

Kate Fagan: The Three Lives of Cate Kay
(Opening Keynote 1:00 pm)

Grady Hendrix: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
(Closing Keynote 4:30 pm)

BESTSELLERS STAGE: A FAB FANTASY PANEL 2:00 PM

Dorothy McFalls

Winnefred Tataw

E.M. Etheridge

Denise Lee

BESTSELLERS STAGE: KISS & TELL ROMANCE PANEL 2:45 PM

Christina Sinisi

Rhonda McKnight

Nadine Theiss

Rebecca Wrights

Elaine Reed

BESTSELLERS STAGE: THRILL IN THE ‘VILLE PANEL 3:30 PM

Yasmin Angoe

Stacy Willingham

Penny Goetjen

Connie Froman Davis


ACTIVE VOICE: AUTHORS TALK WRITING AT THE TIMROD

This ticketed event features a moderated authors panel and light breakfast at the historic Timrod Library. Running from 9 a.m. until noon, you’ll meet well-known authors talking about their craft and the writing life. Each participant also gets a Timrod Library tote bag with writerly gifts tucked inside. Grab your tickets at the Timrod Library or on their website. Tickets are $50 member/$75 non-member. Proceeds benefit the Timrod. CLICK HERE for more and to get your tix. Space IS limited! FACULTY include NYT bestseller Cassandra King, Post & Courier‘s Brian Hicks, and thriller stars Yasmin Angoe and Caroline Cleveland!

CASSANDRA KING
BRIAN HICKS
CAROLINE CLEVELAND
YASMIN ANGOE

WRITING FOR STAGE & SCREEN: STUDIO WORKSHOP

Thomas & Judy Heath

Join Thomas and Judy Heath, and South Porch Artists’ Brad Erickson in a two-hour stage and screen workshop! Space is limited to 50 participants. Doors open at 9 a.m. to enjoy coffee and continental breakfast; workshop 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
This is a TICKETED EVENT

Brad Erickson


STORIED SUMMERVILLE WALKING TOUR

From 10 a.m. – Noon, you can join award-winning storyteller and author Tim Lowry on a 1.5 mile stroll around Summerville’s beautiful historic district as he regales you with stories drawn from books found in the historic Timrod Library. The tour will include a little history, a few ghost stories, and more! And all can be discovered on the shelves of Summerville’s oldest book depository. Tim’s Southern Fried Circus will be for sale as well. This memoir of a southern showman is full of colorful characters, touching tributes, and hilarious asides that will make you laugh out loud, feel all the feels, and wish to stay on the road with this seersuckered raconteur. Tickets: $20 for Timrod members & $25 for non-members. Ltd. to 30. (Begins at the Timrod Library and concludes at Hutchinson Square.

MAKE A BOOKMARK AT PUBLIC WORKS! 10 am – 1 pm

Summerville’s Public Works Arts Center is offering up a fun activity during the festival. From 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. you can make your own poetry collage bookmarks with studio artist Hanna Vann! Learn more about Hanna and her work HERE.


CHILDREN’S STAGE ON HUTCHINSON SQUARE (FREE):

STORIES ON THE SQUARE KIDS STAGE: 9:30 am – NOON FREE AND OPEN TO ALL!

Martha Jawarowski

Jewel Sweeney

Marybeth Wishart

Peter Cotton

Price Sumner Sigal

Auntie Leslie


LOWCOUNTRY STARS STAGE ON THE SQUARE:

FREE TO ALL – MEET AUTHORS AND THEIR BOOKS ALL AFTERNOON FROM 1:00 – 5:00 pm

Timrod Library board chair Leslie Koller will emcee an afternoon of amazing books and authors in a mix of fiction and non-fiction, historical and contemporary. Books will be for sale at the Main Street Reads tent near the stage and in-store. All Hutchinson Square programming is free and open to all.

Kristen Ness

T.I. Lowe: Lowcountry Lost

Leigh Jones Handal

Roger Newman

D. Michael Thomas

Rhonda McKnight

Misty Jae Ogert

Marissa Hale

Julius Parker

Kathryn Smith

A.F. Winter

Regina Williams

Syril Levin Kline

Maria Cruz

Dennis & Karen Vinar

Donna Lynn Lito

Sherman E. Pyatt

Eliza Wilson Ingle

**We have a limited number of chairs at the outdoor stage; feel free to bring a lawn chair. While you’re there, enjoy Summerville’s local eateries and all the creative food and craft vendors at the festival!


MEET YOUR VENDORS!

Shop for books, bookish-themed crafts, food, AND learn about Summerville’s awesome arts programs!

THE “WHY SUMMERVILLE” CREATIVE WRITING COMPETITION

Cash prizes for winners, who will be introduced on Hutchinson Square at the festival, immediately following the Stories on the Square Children’s Stage programming. You can then also meet the winners at the Summerville Journal Scene building, as well as tour the newspaper offices and view their archives!


MEET OUR PARTNERS

It takes a village: When we all work together, it’s a win for you, for us, and for our entire community…

DREAM works with small businesses, orgs and specialty vendors around town to encourage economic vitality, entertainment, and community outreach, including the Farmers Market, Sweet Tea Festival, Third Thursdays, Christmas Parade and now the Summerville Book Festival! DREAM celebrates the shop local approach. Community Partners are recognized as trusted advisors who embrace “I am because we are” — together we all succeed.

The Mission of The Flowertown Players, Inc. is to produce and present quality community theatre, to encourage and promote educational and literary performing arts projects for all segments of the tri-county population, and to provide a venue for thespians, artists, techs, writers and other creatives to practice their crafts. Through the arts, we help provide an enriching experience in our Summervlle community.

We bring the news of each community to the readers of our print editions with a strong emphasis on local content and local writers. Our newspapers are an integral part of the communities they represent. The Summerville Journal Scene, founded in 1940, is published every Wednesday and delivered weekly to nearly 25,000 households in Dorchester County and parts of Berkeley County. For more info, call 843-873-9424.

The Timrod Library began in 1897, when a group of young Summerville women, inspired by the Chautauqua literary movement, formed a reading circle. In 1908, it was chartered as the Timrod Literary and Library Association. The Timrod continues to serve as a hub of literary events. Board members, employees, and volunteers continue their literary mission: serving the community and caring for the historic building.

HOST HOTEL: HILTON GARDEN INN

The official hotel of the Summerville Book Festival is the Hilton Garden Inn (406 Sigma Dr, Summerville, SC 29486). CLICK HERE for the special rate OR call (843) 832-1304 and press “0” to speak with a guest service agent on property. You must reference the group code “907“. Reservations need to be made by February 7th, 2025 to receive the group rate of $139.