CONROY CENTER WELCOMES NEW STUDENT INTERNS
HOSTS VIRTUAL VISIT WITH KALYNN BAYRON DURING BLUFFTON BOOK FESTIVAL – NOVEMBER 18
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center is proud to welcome two new student interns from Pat Conroy’s alma mater, Beaufort High School, senior Alisha Arora and junior Emily “Millie” Bennett. The Conroy Center’s internship program was created by BHS student Holland Perryman, when she was fourteen. Conroy Center interns are mentored by executive director Jonathan Haupt and assist in both in-person and virtual public educational programming for writers, readers, students, and teachers, while learning about writing, literature, marketing, and arts leadership.
Arora and Bennett are both members of BHS’s Interact Club and also DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization, a student service club founded by Perryman, inspired by her experiences with social justice and inclusivity-themed programs of the Conroy Center’s annual March Forth, including a conversation earlier this year with bestselling Young Adult novelist Kalynn Bayron about her debut book Cinderella Is Dead.
Bayron returns (virtually) to the Conroy Center on Thursday, November 18, at 5:00 p.m., to discuss her new novel This Poison Heart in conversation with Holland Perryman, Alisha Arora, and Millie Bennett, as part of the 6th annual Bluffton Book Festival. The students will be joined by their mentor Jonathan Haupt. This free virtual event is presented in collaboration with the Conroy Center and DAYLO. Registration is now open at https://aneveningwithkalynnbayron.eventbrite.com.
About This Poison Heart and Kalynn Bayron
Briseis has a gift: with a single touch she can grow plants from tiny seeds to rich blooms. When Briseis’s aunt dies and wills her a dilapidated estate in rural New York, Bri and her parents hope that surrounded by plants and flowers, she will finally learn to control her gift. But their new home is sinister in ways they never expected―it comes with a mysterious set of instructions, a walled garden filled with the deadliest botanicals in the world, and generations of secrets. There is more to Bri’s sudden inheritance than she could have imagined, and she is determined to uncover it. From the bestselling author of Cinderella Is Dead comes an enchanting story about a young woman with the power to conquer the dark forces descending around her.
“Bayron weaves science and Greek mythology into a captivating lore that lends weight to this fantastical contemporary story. She conjures entertaining and realistic dialogue and attentive characterization, while incisive descriptions and sumptuous prose evoke a wonderfully gothic atmosphere.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“ masterfully weaves a unique story grounded in the depths of Greek mythology and Black girlhood, ideal for lovers of folklore or those who enjoy the thrill of a well-paced and unanticipated adventure.”—Booklist, starred review Author Kalynn Bayron is also a classically trained vocalist, and when she’s not writing you can find her listening to Ella Fitzgerald on loop, attending the theater, watching scary movies, and spending time with her kids. She lives in San Antonio, Texas with her family.
About the Student Interviewers
The first student intern of both the Pat Conroy Literary Center and the Friends of South Carolina Libraries, Beaufort High School senior and student body president Holland Perryman is captain of the Girls Varsity Lacrosse Team, founder of DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization, winner of the Ann Head Literary Prize for Short Story, and a book reviewer and author interviewer for the Charleston Post and Courier, the Beaufort Lowcountry Weekly, and the Southern Review of Books. Perryman is the first writer of any age to be twice featured in the Lowcountry Poets Corner segment of ETV’s TELLY Award-winning author interview series By the River.
Senior Alisha Arora is a competitive dancer, captain of the BHS Girls Varsity Tennis Team, and vice president of the BHS chapter of the National Honor Society. An accomplished AP and Honors student in numerous STEM courses, with an emphasis on the biological sciences, she is the recipient of Academic Excellent Awards. Arora also volunteers her time with Beaufort County Library System and teaches younger peers in summer tennis camps and at her dance studio.
BHS junior Millie Bennett is a writer, visual artist, singer, and actress. A student in the AP Capstone Program, she is also a founding member of the BHS chapter of Letters for Rose, dedicated to reducing loneliness in nursing homes and assisted living residents during the pandemic. In 2020, Millie was selected for the SC Governor’s School for the Arts & Humanities Summer Program for Visual Arts, and in 2021, she participated in the SCAD Summer Sessions for Visual Art, Animation, and Character Development.
