5th Annual Camp Conroy Open for Registration
Camp Conroy is a two-week day camp build-a-book experience for young writers and artists, ages 8 to 14. Participants will create independently and collaboratively as they research, write, illustrate, edit, design, and ultimately publish a book together. The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center’s 5th annual Camp Conroy will be held June 13 to 24, Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Drop-off and pick-up hours between 8:00-9:00 a.m. and 3:30-4:00 p.m.), with a closing reading to be held on Saturday, June 25. Presented in partnership with Beaufort Middle School, the camp will creatively explore this year’s theme, “The Journey,” through writing and artwork, under the guidance of experienced instructors and a rotating cast of guest presenters.
During the first week of the camp, we invite our campers to immerse themselves in creative exploration as they respond to our theme. In the second week, campers will refine their stories, essays, poems, artwork, and photography as they build their anthology together. Participants will also constructively critique one another’s work, forming thematic connections as they combine their selected works into a cohesive, collaborative publication.
The $300 registration fee for Camp Conroy includes two weeks of instruction, camp activities, and daily healthy snacks. Students must bring their own lunches and drinks each day. (This is a day camp; overnight lodging and meals are not included.) After the camp, participants will each receive a copy of their published anthology. Registration closes on May 31. Learn more at https://campconroy2022.eventbrite.com.
In the 2004 Pat Conroy Cookbook, Pat describes his “Bill Dufford Summer” spent between his junior and senior years on the campus of Beaufort High School (what is now Beaufort Middle School, the site of last year’s Camp Conroy). It was a transformative summer for Pat and for his principal, mentor, and surrogate father figure, Bill Dufford. As Pat writes at the end of his recollection, “I had everything—the best summer of my life.” That has been and remains the goal of Camp Conroy, to give campers the best summers of their lives.
Scholarships: A limited number of full and partial scholarships are available, including a scholarship established in memory of Maura Connelly, an instructor in our original Camp Conroy. To apply, interested students should submit a sample of their work (story, essay, poem, artwork, or photography) with a brief letter about their interest in the Camp Conroy experience by May 31, to the Pat Conroy Literary Center, Attention: Camp Conroy, 601 Bladen Street, Beaufort, SC 29902. Scholarship recipients will be contacted in early June.
Sponsorships: Tax-deductible donations to the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center are most welcome to sponsor student scholarships, camp counselors, or a visiting instructor for Camp Conroy. See the camp registration link for details.
Learn more about the Pat Conroy Literary Center online at www.patconroyliterarycenter.org or in person at 601 Bladen Street in Beaufort; open to the public noon to 4:00 p.m., Thursdays through Sundays.
