"We are really excited for what promises to be our most ambitious year yet," said Executive Director Sarah Moriarty, "Bringing this prestigious line-up of international and national authors together to explore big ideas with audiences in Charleston is a real privilege for us."

• Claire Keegan: Celebrated for her unique storytelling and powerful economic use of prose, Keegan, shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize, will discuss her novel Small Things Like These, an exploration of community, secrecy, and abuses of power.
• Lorrie Moore: Esteemed American author and Vanderbilt University Professor Moore will introduce her novel I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home, a post-modern take on love and death that challenges readers’ perceptions. Her narrative distinctiveness earned her acclaim in the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
• Paul Harding: Pulitzer Prize-winning Harding offers an engrossing narrative technique in his novel This Other Eden, recounting a forgotten era of American history.
• Richard Ford: Pulitzer Prize-winning Ford brings Be Mine, the closing chapter to his Frank Bascombe series, to the Festival. The novel, a study on mortality and happiness, is a testament to Ford's ability to convey life's complexities through profound storytelling.

• Patrick Bringley: A former guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bringley shares his memoir All the Beauty in the World, reflecting on his journey through grief using art as a healing touchstone.
• Safiya Sinclair: Celebrated Jamaican-born author Sinclair offers How to Say Babylon, a memoir that intertwines personal history and displacement.

• Jonathan Eig: Acclaimed author Eig presents his latest biography, King: A Life, revealing fresh perspectives on Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and pursuit of justice. Offering detailed insights based on newly released FBI documents, the book demonstrates Eig's prowess as a biographer, complementing his 2018 PEN America Literary Award-winning Ali: A Life.
• LGBTQ+ Histories: Harlan Greene and Jamie Kirchick: Greene and Kirchick reveal uncharted LGBTQ+ histories in Charleston and Washington D.C. through their respective works, The Real Rainbow Row and Secret City. Greene uncovers centuries of suppressed LGBTQ+ contributions to Charleston, while Kirchick navigates Gay Washington's hidden sagas from the New Deal to the Cold War.

• Is Charleston in Peril? Panelists Jeff Goodell, Faith Rivers James, Susan Crawford, and Henry Smythe discuss the potential vulnerability of coastal regions like Charleston to climate change consequences. They will explore strategies for a sustainable future for humanity and nature in an era of weather extremities.
• Artificial Intelligence: Friend or Foe? Panelists André Aciman, James Barrat, and Karl Bakeman delve into the rapid advancements in Artificial Intelligence and its ramifications on authors, translators, and the publishing industry. They examine the exciting yet daunting prospects that AI proposes, from creative opportunities to threats like plagiarism to programming paradoxes.
• Are We In a Reading Crisis? A.O. Scott, former New York Times film critic turned Critic-at-Large for The New York Times Book Review, discusses the perceived decline in reading. Scott will converse with Wenda Harris Millard, Charleston Literary Festival Board member, highlighting his thoughts on the cultural importance of reading and the factors threatening its existence.

• Book Ends: Catch the festival on both or one of our weekends.
• Short Story: Dip in for a few sessions or just one.
• The Full Monty: A limited number of all-access passes are still available for sale. These tickets allow you to immerse yourself in the Festival experience with access to all sessions, including a ticket to the opening night party.

• Circular Congregational Church was established in 1681 and has been inextricably attached to the history of the city around it.  
• Dock Street Theatre opened in 1736, an iconic landmark with the profound historical significance of being the first structure in America built expressly for theatrical performance.