doors and welcome any and all people who care about books, stimulating conversation, and creative ideas. And it has taken on a life of its own.” Same could be said for the inaugural Charleston to Charleston Literary Festival happening this November. “It had a quirky sort of explosion of creativity,” explains Cleveland. “We were going to start very small with just some sessions on Saturday and then a half day Sunday.” But as interest grew, so too did the programming. Now the festival will run from Thursday, November 2 through Sunday the 5th.
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isten up you lovers of all things literary, if you haven’t heard of the Charleston Library Society, do yourself a favor and check it out. Not only is it the oldest cultural institution in the American South and the second oldest circulating library in the United States, but since executive director Anne Cleveland took over the reins in 2009, it has blossomed into a creative hub, hosting concerts, lectures by renowned authors, and offering events to scratch all your literary itches. Cleveland is a lifelong student of history and was a teacher for many years before taking over as executive director of the Library Society, which at the time was underutilized and suffering from significantly declining membership. “Once I got in, I discovered the treasures there were just extraordinary,” says Cleveland. “All that needed to happen to revitalize this gem was to open the
The Charleston to Charleston Festival is a partnership between the Library Society and the Charleston Festival in Sussex, England, which for almost three decades has been one of the premier literary festivals in all of Europe. A handful of Library Society members had the opportunity to attend the most recent Sussex festival in May. “Every single one of those people came back just avid, in fact, rabid fans of the Charleston Sussex Festival and plan to go many more years,” says Cleveland. She hopes the local festival can inspire a similar reaction. And there’s no reason it shouldn’t, with its compelling collection of speakers from the States and the UK alike, including author and screenwriter William Nicholson. You may not know his name, but you know his work. Nicholson has been nominated for two Academy Awards for his screenplays for Shadowlands and the blockbuster Gladiator (which Fall 2017 | 49