Charleston to Charleston Literary Festival

Regina Marler, Sarah Milroy with Virginia Nicholson | Vanessa Bell was a pivotal figure in the 20th Century British art world. In this session, Regina Marler - editor of The Selected Letters of Vanessa Bell - and Sarah Milroy - curator of a recent Vanessa Bell exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery in London, discussed the painter with her granddaughter, Virginia Nicholson.

Lionel Shriver, Philip K. Howard with Geoffrey Harpham | In her latest novel, Lionel Shriver introduced us to a dark, dystopian future most of us would rather not encounter in real life. Philip K. Howard, however, has a more hopeful view of the future and its ultimate potential. Were either of them able to convince the attendees their way is the right way? The only way?

Rebecca Makkai with Bill Goldstein | Rebecca Makkai took Bill Goldstein and their audience on a journey back to 1980s Chicago, when the AIDS epidemic was reaching its height and an entire generation of gay men was dying. But while the topic was heady, Rebecca Makkai’s spunk and sass kept things from getting too dark, and there were even laughs to be found while exploring her Pulitzer Prize runner up novel.

Bart van Es and Belinda Gergel | In what would prove to be perhaps the most poignant moment of the 2019 Charleston to Charleston Literary Festival, Bart van Es read aloud the letter written by a mother to her daughter, moments before the mother was deported to a Nazi concentration camp. As he recounted the journey he took to find out the history of a little girl his family sheltered during the Holocaust, we all learned a thing or two about the endurance of family and, especially, love.

Joyce Carol Oates with Geoffrey Harpham | Joyce Carol Oates took the stage before a sold-out crowd at the historic Dock Street Theatre, and a hush fell over the audience. Of course it did. That is the only response to seeing one of the world’s most prolific and lauded authors in a rare talk about books, writing, and, of course, boxing. We never knew Joyce Carol Oates cared so much about boxing!

David W. Blight with Judge Richard Gergel | “The only power, the only real weapon, Douglass ever had were his words.” So says David W. Blight, historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Prophet of Freedom, a deep dive into the life of Frederick Douglass, one of America’s greatest orators and civil rights champions. In this revealing discussion, David Blight talks with Judge Richard Gergel about slavery, emancipation, and ultimately human rights and the hope for a better tomorrow.

Carl Zimmer with Melissa Hughes | Modern-day genetics study has come a long way from the simple Punnett Squares we all learned in middle school. Today we know there are layers of complicating factors that determine who we are, what we look like, and how we interact with the world. In this conversation with NY Times science writer Carl Zimmer, audience members were treated to a hilariously insightful look at the world of genetics today, and why we might all have our mothers’ laugh.

Karen Kukil with Regina Marler | Karen Kukil is an archivist at Smith College and has spent her career immersed in the private papers of Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf. In this conversation with Bloomsbury expert Regina Marler, Karen Kukil treated audience members to remarkable insights into the lives of two of the early 20th Centuries most fascinating female creators.

Jill Abramson, Richard Wolffe with William Nicholson | Is the media system completely broken? That was the question posed to media icon Jill Abramson and journalist Richard Wolffe, and it sparked a lively debate. From print newspapers to the 24/7 news overload we face today, the discussion was wide-ranging and fascinating.

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah with Bill Goldstein | There was a moment when Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah began reading from his story “The Finkelstein 5” in which he realized he set the story in South Carolina, and the audience erupted into laughter. That was a Charleston to Charleston moment in a nutshell: funny, charming, and wholly surprising. Listen to Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s full talk with Bill Goldstein for more Charleston to Charleston moments and a lot of inspiring conversation.

Deborah Eisenberg and Lionel Shriver with Anne Blessing Short stories are often overlooked as exciting, contemporary fiction…at least by those of us who have long since graduated high school or completed our English Literature degrees. Yet the readings and conversations by two masters of the craft, Deborah Eisenberg and Lionel Shriver, will make you take a second (or third, or fourth) look at short fiction in this laugh out loud conversation.

Virginia Nicholson and Frye Gaillard with Regina Marler What happens when two notable social historians get together to discuss one of the most formative decades of the 20th Century? Lots of laughter, for one, but also numerous insights into the differences and similarities between the United States and the United Kingdom during the 1960s. Were they, truly, swingin’? Listen to find out.

Nathaniel Kahn with Stuart Bennett, Angela Mack and Debo Gage In his documentary The Price of Everything, Nathaniel Kahn introduces us to an art world which seems to know “the price of everything but the value of nothing.” The panel discussion following the screening of his film included art experts from around the world: Stuart Bennett, Angela Mack, and Deborah Gage. The lively discussion was full of insights and laughter.

Nigel Hamilton with James M. Scott Nigel Hamilton’s epic trilogy follows the life of the most influential American President of the 20th Century, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. For an engaging take on Roosevelt’s final years, as well as the path that Nigel Hamilton took to write this story, listen to War and Peace.

Jung Chang with Lei Jin From Jung Chang’s childhood in Communist China through her journey to becoming a giant in the literary world, the conversation spanned decades and the globe. With a focus on Chang’s latest book, Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Three Women at the Heart of Twentieth-Century China, this was an afternoon no one will forget.

This is The Charleston to Charleston Literary Festival - Welcome to our Podcast!