The Charleston Literary Festival has announced that the College of Charleston is the exclusive academic partner for this year’s festival, which takes place Nov. 5-14, 2021. The internationally renowned Charleston Literary Festival will return following a year of entirely virtual sessions to offer audiences, authors and partners a renewed experience, with both virtual and in-person sessions in Charleston, South Carolina.

As the academic partner, the College of Charleston and its Alumni Association will provide financial, promotional and logistical support, including hosting several events on campus in the Sottile Theatre and the Rita Liddy Hollings Science Center.

“As a festival partner, our students, faculty and staff will have the unique opportunity to interact with these renowned professionals in ways they would not be able to otherwise,” says Elizabeth Meyer-Bernstein, dean of the College of Charleston Honors College. “We’re thrilled for our campus community, particularly our students, to engage with these writers and witness firsthand what it takes to be an author and how these types of events can impact the community and the world-at-large.”

The festival’s distinctive international ethos offers the opportunity to engage with prominent authors and contribute to conversations that include a wide range of topics from history, biographies, science, feminism, race relations, social justice, art, the human condition and much more. Audiences will have the ability to ask questions directly to their favorite authors in intimate and virtual settings, acquire signed copies of books and get inspired.

“Coming on the heels of an unprecedented year of isolation, the role that culture, art and literature continues to play in our society became completely clear. It also became clear how imperative it is that we find ways to continue to make it accessible,” says Wenda Harris Millard, board member, The Charleston Literary Festival.  “The impact that culture has on our communities cannot be understated. Working with CofC just further illustrates the passion that is still alive and well in the youth of today when it comes to literature, its creation and impact.”

Previous guest authors have included:

  • Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.
  • Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum
  • Columbia Professor of History and Art History Simon Schama
  • New York Times No.1 Slot Best-selling Author Brit Bennett
  • Winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020 Maggie O’Farrell

The full 2021 program line-up will be announced soon.