Best-selling author Lott returns to C of C after 3 years in Louisiana

Landing the editorship of The Southern Review was the opportunity of a lifetime, or so Bret Lott thought when he took the job three years ago.

When the offer came, the author of 11 books had been teaching creative writing at the College of Charleston for 18 years. One of his books, "Jewel," was chosen in 1999 for Oprah Winfrey's book club, a move that launched Lott into immediate and lucrative literary fame.

But Lott didn't last long in his new world on Louisiana State University's campus.

He has returned to the College of Charleston, where he'll talk to new students about his best-seller at the school's convocation today. Freshmen and new transfer students were assigned to read "Jewel" over the summer.

Of his return to the Palmetto State, Lott said he had a realization one day while he was sitting in his beautiful office at The Southern Review after working there for two years: "I'd rather be teaching students, and I'd rather be doing that in Charleston, South Carolina."

He'd been reasonably successful in his new job, he said. He increased circulation and spruced up the Web site. The publication also had won a prestigious award. "But I realized that what I was doing was rejecting people all day long," he said. He had to tell 99 out of 100 anonymous people who submitted material, " This ain't gonna happen."

When he was teaching, he said, he had a group of about 20 students who he would work with, mold and encourage.

That and writing are what he's called to do in this life, he said. He's cer t a in about that now.

So he and his wife Melanie have returned to the Lowcountry, the beauty of which grew on him.

Lott grew up in California, he said, so he was accustomed to mountains and bolder, more striking nature.

He'd lived in Charleston for some time when one day, while sitting on the grass near Alhambra Hall in Mount Pleasant watching his 5-year-old son ride a bike without training wheels for the first time, he looked out at the harbor. The sun was setting. A shrimp boat was passing by and dolphins were following it, arching in and out of the water. It was then that the subtle beauty resonated with him, he said.

Now, it's what inspires him. " This is where I've always written," he said of Charleston.

Lott wrote his 12th book, "Ancient Highway," which will be released in July, while he was in Louisiana.

It took him three years to finish it, longer than any other book, because "I was in an alien land," he said.

The new book, he said, is about a family. " It's a novel about how what one generation does affects the next. It's what I always write about," he said.

"Jewel" is the story of a mother living in the backwoods of Mississippi whose child is born with Down syndrome.

Lott has answered many questions about "Jewel" since it became a best-seller. Today, he'll relate the answers to some of those questions - the most frequently asked is "What's Oprah like?" - to incoming students.

It's been eight years since the Oprah-fueled popularity landed Lott on the best-seller list. In the long run, he said, the recognition "means I no longer have to worry about my vocation." After writing an " instant classic," editors take him seriously. It would be easy to slack off a bit now, he said.

" There's a temptation not to write as well, but I won't give in to it," he said. "I want every book to be better than the one before."

Reach Diane Knich at 937-5491 or dknich@postandcourier.com.