Conroy to attend fundraiser

Pat Conroy will appear at a fundraiser for the Charleston Library Society and Gibbes Museum of Art. Two events, a reception at the Library Society, followed by a speech at the Gibbes, are planned.

--When: Dec. 10 (time TBA).

--Tickets: On sale Oct. 15, through the Library Society and the Gibbes. Prices have not been set.

--For more information: www.charlestonlibrarysociety.org, www.gibbesmuseum.org.

When Anne Cleveland found a reference to the Charleston Library Society in Pat Conroy's new novel, "South of Broad," (page 413) it gave her an idea.

In the book, one of Conroy's characters mentions holding a publication party at the Library Society. What, she thought, are the chances that Conroy would agree to hold his own book party at the oldest cultural institution in the South?

So Cleveland, who took over as executive director of the Charleston Library Society in August, wrote a letter to the best-selling author. In it, she mentioned, among other things, a long-ago plan to actually locate the Library Society South of Broad, instead of its current location just slightly north. She wasn't sure what, if anything, to expect.

The call came in not long after that.

"I answered the phone and he said, 'Anne, it's Pat Conroy. I loved your letter,'" Cleveland said. "I talked to him for 35 minutes."

Conroy, perhaps Charleston's most famous honorary citizen, said he was willing to do anything for the Library Society, which he used while researching his best-known work, "The Prince of Tides."

The result of Cleveland's letter comes Dec. 10, when Conroy will appear at a reception at the Library Society followed by a talk from the Lowcountry raconteur at the Gibbes Museum of Art. Tickets to both events go on sale Oct. 15.

Angela Mack, executive director of the Gibbes, said she was particularly excited to hold the event. After all, the Gibbes shows up in the book twice (pages 364 and 366).

"It's a great opportunity for the Charleston Library Society and the Gibbes to work together," Mack said. "It just made sense."

There will be roughly 200 tickets available for Conroy's talk at the museum. Slightly fewer will be available for the reception, which will allow folks more than an hour to mingle with the author and take in appetizers from Slightly North of Broad. Prices for the tickets have not been set yet.

Right now, there are plans to allow attendees to order signed books ahead of time.

Details will come soon on the Web site of the Library Society (www.charlestonlibrarysociety.org) and the Gibbes (www.gibbesmuseum.org).

Tickets to the lecture will be available first to those in the museum's membership program.

Cleveland said the fundraiser will help the Library Society, a 261-year-old institution open to anyone. In a time when the relevance of books has been called into question by technology, she said, it's good to have support for the preservation of the written word from someone of Conroy's stature.

"It is extraordinarily generous of Pat to make an offer like this," Cleveland said. "He and his wife love books -- they love preserving our literary heritage."

Reach Brian Hicks at 937-5561 or bhicks@postandcourier.com.