Previously called the "Master Classes in Writing," the Writing Workshops offered at the 2013 ^SCBook Festival will bring writers together with authors, publicists, publishers, and other industry professionals to learn about best practices in writing and publishing.

Five Writing Workshop classes are being offered on Friday, May 17, 2013, and three are being offered on Sunday, May 19, 2013. The Writing Workshop Classes on Friday, May 17, 2013 are ticketed and require registration, which can be done HERE. The classes on Sunday, May 19, 2013 are free and open to the public, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Volunteers are crucial to the success of the festival. Without a group of dedicated volunteers to help with everything from pre-festival office work to post-festival clean-up, the ^SCBook Festival would not be possible.

So if you love books or love to volunteer your time, please sign up to help at the 2013 ^SCBook Festival, May 17- 19, 2013  We need you!  To volunteer, please click here to register online, or volunteer forms are available for download by clicking here.

This annual event to kick-off the ^SCBook Festival is a reception with heavy hors d'oeuvres and bar, featuring ^SCBook Festival authors and presenters mingling alongside book enthusiasts. Tickets are $65 per person and can be purchased online or by checks made out to The Humanities Council^SC. Held at the Ernest F. Hollings Special Collection Library at the Thomas Cooper Library  on Friday, May 17th, 2013 from 7 - 10 PM.

Want to find out how much one of your books is worth? The Antiquarian Book Dealers’ Association of SC (ABDASC) is hosting a three-day Book Appraisal at the 17th annual ^SCBook Festival at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.  For $10 (cash or check), you may have up to three books appraised by an on-site antiquarian book dealer.  ABDASC is an organization that fosters the appreciation and sales of antiquarian books, prints, and manuscripts and promotes professional and ethical standards for its members.  You can visit members of ABDASC on the Antiquarian Book Fair Aisle in the Exhibit Hall during the festival.

Appraisal Desk Hours:
1:30  – 3:30 p.m., Friday, May 17 (Lower Level Concourse)
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Saturday, May 18 (Exhibit Hall, Antiquarian Book Fair aisle)
1:00 – 3:00 p.m., Sunday, May 19 (Exhibit Hall, Antiquarian Book Fair aisle)

In 2012, the South Carolina Book Festival has produced its first chapbook. The festival has published an illustrated, signed and limited edition of “Ashes,” the first story in Julia Peterkin's story collection Green Thursday. Julia Peterkin is one of South Carolina’s most respected authors and the only one to win a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

“Ashes” is illustrated by the distinguished South Carolina Artist Stephen Chesley. There are only 150 signed and numbered chapbooks and 15 signed and lettered chapbooks available. Find out more!

Purchase one of these rare and beautiful chapbooks! Call 803-771-2477.

Artwork by Stephen Chesley, 2012

Ron Rash will appear on Saturday, May 18 and on Sunday, May 19, 2013 at the ^SCBook Festival.

Saturday, May 18
Richland Meeting Room A & B
"Literary Dogs"
10:00 - 10:50 am

Saturday, May 18
Richland Meeting Room A & B
"Nothing Gold Can Stay: Stories"
12:40 - 1:30 pm

Saturday, May 18
Richland Meeting Room A & B
"Grit Lit"
3:20 - 4:10 p.m.

Sunday, May 19
Richland Meeting Room A & B
"The Complete Poems of James Dickey"
2:20 - 3:10 p.m.

Ron Rash is the author of the 2009 PEN/Faulkner Finalist and New York Times bestselling novel, Serena, in addition to three other prizewinning novels, One Foot in Eden, Saints at the River, and The World Made Straight; three collections of poems; and four collections of stories, among them Burning Bright, which won the 2010 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, and Chemistry and Other Stories, which was a finalist for the 2007 PEN/Faulkner Award. Twice the recipient of the O.Henry Prize, he teaches at Western Carolina University.

Photo credited to Mark Haskett

Pat Conroy will appear at the ^SCBook Festival on Saturday, May 18, 2013.

Saturday, May 18
Lexington Meeting Room
"USC Press Presents State of the Heart"
11:20 am - 12:10 pm

Saturday, May 18
Richland Meeting Room A & B
"Pat Conroy Presents Maggie Schein"
2:00 - 2:50 pm

The ^SCBook Festival is grateful to a long list of libraries, bookstores, and other cultural organizations who are helping promote the 2013 event by displaying posters in their facilities, handing out bookmarks, and mentioning us on social media.

Special thanks to:

Booklovers Bookstore, Aiken, http://www.bookloversbookstore.com/

Cowpens Branch of the Spartanburg County Public Library, Cowpens, http://www.infodepot.org/

Fairfield County Library, Winnsboro, http://www.fairfield.lib.sc.us/

Pacolet Branch of the Spartanburg County Public Library, Pacolet, http://www.infodepot.org/

Royall Hardware, Inc., Mt. Pleasant, http://www.royallhardware.com/

Salkehatchie Arts Center, Allendale, https://www.facebook.com/SalkehatchieArtsCenter

South Carolina Center for Children's Books and Literacy, Reading Rooster Recommends: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3ZmTMvGIHM

Would you like to have your organization's name listed here? Let us know that you are displaying the 2013 ^SCBook Festival poster or promoting the event in other creative ways! Contact tjwallace@schumanities.org

Mary Kay Andrews and Patti Callahan Henry will appear at the ^SCBook Festival on Saturday, May 18, 2013.

Saturday, May 18
Richland Meeting Room A, B, & C
"Page Turners: A Conversation with Mary Kay Andrews and Patti Callahan Henry"
11:20 am - 12:10 pm

Mary Kay Andrews is the author of the New York Times bestselling Summer Rental, The Fixer Upper, Savannah Breeze and Blue Christmas, as well as Deep Dish, Hissy Fit, Little Bitty Lies, Savannah Blues, Spring Fever, and the forthcoming Ladies' Night (June 4, 2013).

New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan Henry has published nine novels: Losing the Moon, Where the River Runs, When Light Breaks, Between the Tides, The Art of Keeping Secrets, Driftwood Summer, The Perfect Love Song, Coming up for Air and the upcoming And Then I Found You—which was released by St. Martin’s Press in April 2013.

During the festival, the Exhibit Hall will be packed with Exhibitors representing the very best of local, regional, and national book dealers, antiquarians, publishers, independent presses, writer’s collectives, educational groups, individual writers, and non-profit organizations. Book lovers’ treats can be found everywhere, from your favorite author’s new book to that special and rare literary find. You may even find yourself inspired by local writers, non-profits, and publishers present who are always willing to engage book festival participants. You can literally shop until you drop!

Check out our 2013 Exhibitors!

Don't miss a great evening of wine, beer, food, authors and entertainment as the Richland Library Friends host The Literary Vine from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 18!

Sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Colonial Life and several other supporters, this ticketed wine and beer tasting event will showcase the architecturally stunning Main location of the Richland Library at the corner of Assembly and Hampton Streets and will feature several ^SCBook Festival authors. THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT!

The schedule of events for the 2013 ^SCBook Festival is up on the website! Find out when your favorite authors and presenters are speaking, and plan your visit to the festival!

2013 Schedule

Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart will appear at the SCBook Festival on Sunday, May 19, 2013.

Sunday, May 19
Lexington Meeting Room B
"Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking"
12:00 - 12:50 p.m.

Nathalie Dupree is the author of twelve cookbooks, including two James Beard Award winners: Nathalie Dupree’s Southern Memories and Nathalie Dupree’s Comfortable Entertaining. Her latest books include Shrimp and Grits and Southern Biscuits. 

Cynthia Stevens Graubart is co-author of Southern Biscuits with Nathalie Dupree and author of The One- Armed Cook, called the culinary version of What to Expect When You’re Expecting.

Richard Paul Evans will appear at the ^SCBook Festival on Saturday, May 18, 2013.

Saturday, May 18
Richland Meeting Room A & B
"A Step of Faith"
4:20 - 5:10 p.m.
**Signing to follow immediately after his presentation outside of Richland Meeting Room A & B.

Richard Paul Evans is the #1 bestselling author of The Christmas Box. Each of his more than twenty novels has been a New York Times bestseller. There are more than seventeen million copies of his books in print worldwide, translated into more than twenty-four languages. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the American Mothers Book Award, the Romantic Times Best Women’s Novel of the Year Award, the German Audience Gold Award for Romance, three Religion Communicators Council Wilbur Awards, the Washington Times Humanitarian of the Century Award, and the Volunteers of America National Empathy Award. Evans lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with his wife, Keri, and their five children. 

Photo credited to Debra MacFarlane 

Jonathan Green will appear at the ^SCBook Festival on Saturday, May 18, 2013.

Saturday, May 18
Carolina Meeting Room A
"Seeking: Poetry and Prose Inspired by the Art of Jonathan Green"
2:00 - 2:50 p.m.

Jonathan Green was born in Gardens Corner, South Carolina and graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He also holds an honorary doctoral degree from the University of South Carolina. In his art Green draws upon his own intimate personal experiences, steeped in the traditions of family, community and life in the Southern United States. Each of his paintings is a testament to the motivating power of place.

George Singleton will appear on Saturday, May 18 and on Sunday, May 19, 2013 at the ^SCBook Festival.

Saturday, May 18
Richland Meeting Room A & B
"Literary Dogs"
10:00 - 10:50 am

Saturday, May 18
Richland Meeting Room A & B
"Grit Lit"
3:20 - 4:10 p.m.

Sunday, May 19
Lexington Meeting Room A
"Southern Revivals"
12:00 - 12:50 p.m.

George Singleton is the author of two novels—Novel and Work Shirts for Madmen—four short story collections—These People Are Us, The Half-Mammals of Dixie, Drowning in Gruel, and Stray Decorum—and a nonfiction guide for writers. Singleton is a 2009 Guggenheim Fellow and a 2011 winner of the Hillsdale Award for Fiction from the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He currently teaches writing at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. His fiction has appeared in a wide range of magazines, including the Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, Playboy, Esquire, Zoetrope, the Georgia Review, the Southern Review, and many others. 

Cassandra King will appear on Sunday, May 19, 2013 at the ^SCBook Festival.

Sunday, May 19
Richland Meeting Room C
"Humor and Heart: Women's Fiction"
1:15 - 2:05 p.m.

Cassandra King is the author of The Sunday Wife, The Same Sweet Girls, Making Waves, and Queen of Broken Hearts. A native of Lower Alabama, she  lives in the Low Country of South Carolina with her husband, novelist Pat Conroy.

Leo Twiggs will appear on Saturday, May 18 at the ^SCBook Festival.

Saturday, May 18
Carolina Meeting Room A
"Spirit and Culture Captured in Art"
12:40 - 1:30 p.m.

Leo Twiggs is a professor emeritus at S.C. State University where he was chair of the Art Department and director of the museum. Presently, he is a Distinguished Artist-in-Residence at Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina. 

Kate Hartson, Senior Editor for the Center Street Imprint of Hachette Book Group, will appear at the ^SCBook Festival on Saturday, May 18, 2013.

Saturday, May 18
Carolina Meeting Room B
"Writing a Book? Insider Publishing Tips: Negotiating Your Publishing Contract"
4:20 - 5:10 p.m.

As senior editor for the Center Street imprint based in the New York office of the Hachette Book Group, Kate Hartson’s mandate is to acquire commercial fiction and nonfiction for the heartland. It’s a well-rounded list, including bestselling novelists, celebrities, sports icons, business experts, dog lovers, politicians and pundits. Hartson especially enjoys acquiring conservative political books and working with New York Times bestselling authors Jim DeMint, Senator Rand Paul and Mallory Factor along with media pundits including Hugh Hewitt. Hartson is always on the search for more bestselling conservative titles. On the fiction list she is excited to publish Nelson DeMille’s The Quest, his first full length novel that he’s revised thirty five years later! Also, in suspense fiction, Center Street publishes bestselling author Ted Dekker and bestselling legal thriller writer James Sheehan. Her goal is to continue to build the Center Street program with strong titles and authors who entertain, inspire, motivate, teach and sell.

Janis Owens will appear on Saturday, May 18, 2013 at the ^SCBook Festival.

Saturday, May 18
Carolina Meeting Room B
"Historical Fiction & Narrative"
10:00 - 10:50 a.m.

Janis Owens was born in Marianna, Florida in 1960. As a child, she lived in Louisiana and Mississippi, but her heart and literary roots can be traced to West Florida. Owens is a former student of Harry Crew's Creative Writing Workshop at the University of Florida, where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in English. She is the award-winning author of four novels: My Brother Michael, which won the Chautauqua Award for the Best Novel in 2000, Myra Sims, and The Schooling of Claybird Catts. She is also the author of a memoir cookbook, The Cracker Kitchen: A Cookbook in Celebration of Cornbread-Fed, Down Home Family Stories and Cuisine. Her latest novel is American Ghost, which won the Silver Medal in fiction at the Florida Book Awards.

James Sheehan will appear at the ^SCBook Festival on Saturday, May 18, 2013.

Saturday, May 18
Lexington Meeting Room A
"Beyond Whodunnit: Mysteries with a Twist"
2:00 - 2:50 p.m.

Born and raised in New York City, Sheehan moved to St. Petersburg, Florida to attend Stetson Law School and was a practicing trial attorney in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area for 30 years. He is now the Director of the Tampa Law Center at Stetson University College of Law and is also a Visiting Professor of Law. Sheehan’s first two acclaimed legal thrillers were the bestselling The Mayor of Lexington Avenue and The Law of Second Chances.