Charleston Literary Festival

Schedule:

12:00 p.m
Dock Street Theatre - $30
Lottie Hazell With Emmeline Clein
Piglet
As Piglet takes on the task of preparing an elaborate dessert for her wedding day, she is face with the fact that, just days before the ceremony, her fiancé confesses to a terrible secret. Lottie Hazell joins us to discuss her stunning, delicious début Piglet with literary critic Emmeline Clein. The pair will dive into the luscious world of Piglet and tease out the commentary that the novel has on our relationships with food, diet culture, and questions about what women are allowed to have an appetite for.

2:00 p.m
Dock Street Theatre - $30
Deesha Philyaw With Dr. Jeannelle Perkins
The Secret Lives Of Church Ladies
Deesha Philyaw joins us to discuss her acclaimed story collection, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies. These nine stories explore the inner lives of Black women - often caught between their religious upbringing and their personal desires. The collection highlights perceived tensions between tradition and freedom, creating a powerful and nuanced exploration of Black womanhood and spirituality. Deesha Philyaw will be in conversation with Jeannelle Perkins, a psychotherapist and licensed family therapist who specializes in intimacy in Black relationships.

4:00 p.m
Dock Street Theatre - Free
You Must Register To Attend This Event
Ilyon Woo With Kim Cliett Long
Master Slave Husband Wife
Winner Of The 2024 Pulitzer Prize For Biography
This event is our 3rd annual Charleston Reads program: a city-wide reading initiative run in tandem with the Mayor’s Book Club. This year’s Festival will see Ilyon Woo appear in conversation about her novel Master Slave Husband Wife - winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Biography - in a historic location with deep significance, The Dock Street Theatre. Woo's book is the true story of Ellen and William Craft who pulled off one of the most dramatic escapes in US history by performing, in broad daylight, as master and slave. In 1848, the couple fled in the early hours of the morning by train from Macon to Savannah, where they boarded a steamship bound for Charleston, South Carolina. In Charleston, they stayed the night at the Planter’s Hotel, which today is the Dock Street Theatre. So, we will listen to the couple’s story in the exact building where they were hiding in plain sight 176 years ago.

6:30 p.m
Dock Street Theatre - $45
All The Beauty In The World
Live Theater Performance
Second Performance
Starring Patrick Bringley
Directed by Dominic Dromgoole
Experience the monologue play All The Beauty In The World by Patrick Bringley. Directed by Dominic Dromgoole, Former Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, 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. Prepare to be moved, enthralled, entertained, and enlightened. Say you saw it at the Charleston Literary Festival first, as we hope it will tour the world, like Dominic Dromgoole’s production of Hamlet.