Lowcountry Book Club Convention, September 23 & 24

In Partnership with the Culinary Institute of the South

Publisher, podcaster, and author of the new memoir Bookends, Zibby Owens has been called “New York’s most powerful book influencer” by New York Magazine. Beloved Gullah chef and now bestselling author of Gullah Geechie Home Cooking, Emily Meggett is renowned locally as the “Matriarch of Edisto Island.” Both will be appearing at the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center’s 6th annual Lowcountry Book Club Convention on September 23 and 24.

Owens and Meggett will be joined by fellow authors Lauren Marino, editorial director of Hachette Books and author of Bookish Broads; Mary Martha Green, author of The Cheese Biscuit Queen Tells All: Southern Recipes, Sweet Remembrances, and a Little Rambunctious Behavior; Mount Pleasant-based mystery novelist Dorothy St. James, author of A Book Club to Die For, the third book in her Beloved Bookroom Mysteries; and debut young adult novelist and Emory University senior Laila Sabreen, author of You Truly Assumed.

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 by the Conroy Center in partnership with NeverMore Books of Beaufort and the Technical College of the Lowcountry’s newly opened Culinary Institute of the South in Bluffton, and made possible by the generous support of the Pulpwood Queens Books Club, the largest book club in the U.S.

The event begins on Friday, September 23, at 6:00 p.m. with a free virtual visit with Zibby Owens, creator of Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books and author of Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature, in conversation with Lauren Marino. The conversation is accessible on Zoom with advance registration, and it will also be live-streamed on the Pat Conroy Literary Center’s Facebook page.

On Saturday, September 24, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the new Culinary Institute of the South at 1 Venture Drive in Bluffton, the Lowcountry Book Club Convention will feature three in-person author conversations with Dorothy St. James, Emily Meggett, Mary Martha Green, and Laila Sabreen; an optional catered lunch by Debbi Covington; and tours of the school’s facilities. Registration costs range from $15 to $40. Register in advance by September 16 for the three lunch options. Books by presenting authors will be available for sale and signing, in partnership with NeverMore Books.

For a full schedule of events, presenter biographies, and registration details, please visit https://lowcountrybookclubconvention2022.eventbrite.com or www.patconroyliterarycenter.org.
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center is located at 601 Bladen Street in downtown Beaufort. The Conroy Center is open to the public for guided tours from noon to 4:00 p.m. Thursday through Sunday and other times by appointment.