Charleston Literary Festival
2024 Program

with Michele Norris

GROWN WOMAN TALK

A leading expert on women’s health and advisor to Michelle Obama, Dr. Sharon Malone joins us to discuss Grown Woman Talk: part medical handbook, part memoir—it is filled with useful resources, real-life stories, and boasts its very own playlist! This New York Times bestseller is "a must-read for anyone who cares about their quality of life . . . Dr. Sharon Malone is the first person I turn to for a whole host of issues, especially my health." –Michelle Obama.

11AM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Edoardo Ballerini

ROMAN YEAR: A MEMOIR

Award-winning author of Call Me by Your Name, André Aciman returns to Charleston with a deeply romantic memoir of his time in Rome while on the cusp of adulthood. He will be in conversation with world-class audiobook narrator, Edoardo Ballerini. 

1PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Judith Thurman

THE ILIAD

Classicist Emily Wilson discusses her new “sparkling and buoyant” translation of The Iliad (New York Times). This effervescent version—a vivid retelling of Homer’s great war story for modern times—conveys the emotional impact of the timeless battlefield epic. 

3PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Bill Goldstein

THE BEE STING

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 BOOKER PRIZE. Paul Murray joins us to discuss The Bee Sting—a dazzling multi-generational family drama that touches on the passions of adolescence, the perils of secrecy, and the fallout of an economic downturn—all affected by concerns around global warming. 

5PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with David Adams

WHY WE REMEMBER

Neuroscientist and psychologist Charan Ranganath discusses groundbreaking new research that radically reframes how we think about memory and reveals the powerful role it plays in our lives; from recalling faces and names to learning, decision-making, and healing. 

12PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Kerri Forrest

OUR HIDDEN CONVERSATIONS

“Race. Your Thoughts. Six Words. Please Send.” Award-winning journalist Michele Norris discusses her transformative national project on race and identity—a unique, moving compilation of personal stories, essays, and photographs providing a window into real-life experiences of race in the United States.

2PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Georgina Godwin

THIS STRANGE EVENTFUL HISTORY

LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024. Claire Messud discusses her novel tracing three generations of an itinerant French family with roots in colonial Algeria. “One of those rare novels that a reader doesn’t merely read but lives through with the characters” (Yiyun Li).

4PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Dominic Dromgoole

THE PLAYBOOK

World-famous Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro joins us to discuss his brilliant and stirring account of a 1930s culture war over the place of theater in American society with Dominic Dromgoole, former Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.

6PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Joan Robinson Berry

WE ARE THE LEADERS WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR

Eddie S. Glaude Jr. discusses his new book—a politically astute, lyrical meditation on how ordinary people can break loose from their reliance on a small group of professional politicians and assume individual responsibility for a more just and perfect democracy.

12PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Bill Goldstein

CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD: INSIDE OUT

Born the heir to a crumbling English estate, Christopher Isherwood—the author of Goodbye to Berlin, inspiration for the musical Cabaret—died an icon of gay liberation in California. Join Katherine Bucknell as she discusses her revealing exploration of Isherwood’s lifelong search for authenticity.

2PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Richard Brodhead

YALE AND SLAVERY

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David W. Blight answers the call to investigate Yale University’s historical involvement with slavery, the slave trade, and abolition. He considers his findings and future implications with Richard Brodhead, former Dean of Yale College and former President of Duke University. 

4PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Adam Gopnik

ALFRED DREYFUS: THE MAN AT THE CENTER OF THE AFFAIR

In France, 1894, Captain Alfred Dreyfus’s treason charge—for passing secret documents to the enemy—divided the country and led to a campaign that eventually exonerated him. Maurice Samuels, Director of the Yale Program for the Study of Antisemitism, discusses his new research with Adam Gopnik.

6PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Marie Brenner

THE FRIDAY AFTERNOON CLUB

An instant New York Times bestseller, Griffin Dunne discusses his warm, dramatic, and moving family story—full of twists and turns growing up among larger-than-life characters in Hollywood and Manhattan. A family friend, journalist Marie Brenner, will join him in conversation.

8PM
Dock Street Theater
$30

with Tonya Matthews

A CONVERSATION WITH NIKKI GIOVANNI

Generation-defining poet, writer, and activist Nikki Giovanni—famous the world over for evocative works exploring themes of social justice, love, and the African American experience—will reflect on her life in poetry with IAAM CEO Dr. Tonya Matthews. 

In collaboration with the International African American Museum (IAAM)

12PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Marjory Wentworth

FORTUNATE TRAVELERS

Ghanaian poet, Kwame Dawes, current poet laureate of Jamaica, joins US poet Kimiko Hahn onstage in a conversation on poetry across the globe, moderated by former poet laureate to South Carolina, Marjory Wentworth. 

2PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Geoffrey Harpham

THE LAST DAYS OF ROGER FEDERER

“I define retirement as the phase of life in which I will do nothing but watch tennis” writes  Geoff Dyer in his meditation on endings. Join him as he muses on last performances and last works with plenty of lively detours along the way. 

4PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

LIVE THEATER PERFORMANCE
by the american vicarious

“Is the American Dream at the expense of the American Negro?” Experience a live staging, by the american vicarious, of the historic 1965 Cambridge Union debate between James Baldwin, leading literary voice of the civil rights movement, and William F. Buckley Jr., the US’s most influential conservative intellectual.

6PM
Dock Street Theatre
$35

with Bilal Qureshi

LATINOLAND

Peruvian-American author and Former Literary Director of the Library of Congress, Marie Arana discusses her sweeping book Latinoland and the revelations from hundreds of in-depth interviews and prodigious research into the fastest-growing minority group in the U.S. 

4PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Monica Langley

THE WOLVES OF K STREET

On K Street, a few blocks from The White House, sit the offices of the most powerful men in Washington. Join Brody and Luke Mullins as they discuss their dazzling, infuriating portrait of fifty years of corporate influence in the U.S. capital.

6PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK

British author Chris Whitaker discusses his runaway success All the Colors of the Dark—a gripping thriller that delves into the shadows of a small town, where secrets, betrayal, and haunting pasts converge in a tense, emotionally charged narrative of survival.

8PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Tamara Butler

GUIDE ME HOME

Award-winning author and screenwriter Attica Locke discusses the culmination of her Highway 59 trilogy: Detective Mathews investigates a black college student who goes missing from an all-white sorority—and finds a town that will stop at nothing to keep its secrets hidden​.

12PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Jennet Alterman

THE PATRIARCHS

For centuries, societies have treated male domination as a natural state. Join award-winning science journalist Angela Saini as she debunks this idea by exploring the roots of and various iterations of patriarchy and shows how more equal societies are structured and flourish. 

2PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

A KAFKA CENTENARY CELEBRATION

"A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us."–Kafka. Ross Benjamin, translator of The Diaries of Franz Kafka, and Mark Harman, translator of Kafka’s short stories, will discuss the surreal worlds and lasting impact of Kafka’s work. 

In collaboration with Kafka2024 (coordinated by the Adalbert Stifter Association and the Prague City Library) 

4PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Geoffrey Harpham

DEMOCRACY'S DISCONTENT

Join philosopher Michael Sandel as he explores themes from his works, Democracy's Discontent: A New Edition for Our Perilous Times and The Tyranny of Merit, analyzing the challenges to democracy and the pursuit of common good post the 2024 U.S. election. 

6PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Ann Close

NIGHT WATCH

WINNER OF THE 2024 PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION.

12PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Anne Blessing

THE SEQUEL

Jean Hanff Korelitz discusses her latest novel, The Sequel, a gripping follow-up to her bestselling book The Plot. Experience the psychological suspense and literary intrigue at the heart of this thrilling novel that explodes identities and explores the nature of storytelling. 

2PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Autumn Phillips

CREATION LAKE

LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024. Join Rachel Kushner as she discusses her wickedly funny and unnerving book, Creation Lake. A reimagination of the spy novel, it explores environmental destruction and the complexities of survival in a rapidly changing world. 

4PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

WORLD PREMIERE THEATER PERFORMANCE

STARRING PATRICK BRINGLEY
Directed by Dominic Dromgoole

Patrick Bringley performs a monologue play adapted from his book All The Beauty In The World. Directed by Dominic Dromgoole and produced by Charleston Literary Festival with the help of Spoleto Festival USA, the play is a story of grief, healing, and the power of art. 

6:30PM
Dock Street Theatre
$45

Directed by John Crowley

Brooklyn, adapted from Colm Tóibín’s novel, follows Eilis Lacey, an Irish immigrant in 1950s New York, as she navigates homesickness, love, and identity. Torn between two countries and two lives, she ultimately must choose one path forward.

9:30AM
Dock Street Theatre
$10

with Bilal Qureshi

LONG ISLAND

Celebrated author Colm Tóibín discusses his latest novel, Long Island, a sequel to his award-winning novel Brooklyn, which reunites the reader with Eilis Lacey in the 1970s, as she returns to Ireland and tries to reconcile lost love with current reality. 

12PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Patrick Bringley

GET THE PICTURE

Join Bianca Bosker as she delves into her compelling book, Get the Picture. This insightful exploration examines the intersection of photography, culture, and technology, offering a fresh perspective on how images shape our understanding of the world and ourselves.

2PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

SHAKESPEARE'S SISTERS

Ramie Targoff joins us to present her fascinating book, Shakespeare's Sisters. This illuminating work uncovers and celebrates the overlooked lives and contributions of women writers in Shakespeare’s era, offering fresh insights into their impact on literature and the challenges they faced.

4PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Regina Marler

BIOGRAPHY OF X

Biography of X, named one of The Great American Novels by The Atlantic, is an enchanting and provocative read, blending fiction and nonfiction. Catherine Lacey joins us to discuss her playful explorations of identity, history and legacy in an alternate America. 

6PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Emmeline Clein

PIGLET

Lottie Hazell discusses her stunning, delicious debut with literary critic Emmeline Clein. The pair will dive into the luscious world of Piglet and implications on food, diet culture, and what women are allowed to lust after.  

12PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

THE SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIES

Deesha Philyaw joins us to discuss her acclaimed story collection, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies. The stories reveal the hidden complexities of Black women’s lives within their faith communities, offering a poignant and often humorous exploration of identity, desire, and faith.

2PM
Dock Street Theatre
$30

with Kim Long

MASTER SLAVE HUSBAND WIFE

WINNER OF THE 2024 PULITZER PRIZE FOR BIOGRAPHY. Ilyon Woo presents her compelling book, Master Slave Husband Wife. This beautiful true story of an extraordinary couple’s flight from enslavement to freedom sheds light on issues of race, power, and love in 19th-century America.

This event is our 3rd annual CHARLESTON READS! program: a city-wide reading initiative run in tandem with the Mayor’s Book Club and Oakwood University. 

4PM
Dock Street Theatre
FREE
YOU MUST REGISTER TO ATTEND THIS EVENT

LIVE THEATER PERFORMANCE
Second Performance

STARRING PATRICK BRINGLEY
Directed by Dominic Dromgoole

Patrick Bringley performs a monologue play adapted from his book All The Beauty In The World. Directed by Dominic Dromgoole and produced by Charleston Literary Festival with the help of Spoleto Festival USA, the play is a story of grief, healing, and the power of art. 

6:30PM
Dock Street Theatre
$45