The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center and historic Anchorage 1770 Inn are hosting another exclusive writers retreat weekend in the heart of beautiful Beaufort by the sea—to be held on September 6-8. Participating writers will immerse themselves in a collaborative experience designed to inspire and enlighten. 

Jessica Handler learned creative writing from the late Pat Conroy when he served as a guest instructor at the Paideia School in Atlanta, just prior to the publication of his first novel, The Great Santini. Handler, the author of two memoirs, published her debut novel The Magnetic Girl in April of this year. The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center (905 Port Republic Street, Beaufort) will host Handler for a reading and discussion of her novel on Tuesday, August 6, at 5:30 p.m. Free and open to the public, the discussion will be followed by a book signing.

Head of the Pat Conroy Literary Center Inspired by Friendship to Search for His Own Defining Time

 By Mindy Lucas

On a recent weekday morning, Pat Conroy Literary Center Executive Director Jonathan Haupt found himself trying to access the roof of the building where the center and all of its trappings – from Conroy’s Fripp Island writing desk to the Great Santini’s flight jacket – are housed.

As Haupt and an air conditioner repairman poked around the Port Republic Street property in downtown Beaufort, they realized there was no obvious scuttle hole or hatch. Then it dawned on Haupt. The former bank building, built in the early ‘70s, had been designed to be impenetrable.