Charleston’s Gilded Gathering

Charleston has never been shy about showing off its charm — pastel façades, moss-draped oaks, oysters on the half shell — but each November the city adds another jewel to its crown: the Charleston Literary Festival.

Charleston Literary Festival

This year’s line-up is anything but quiet reading in the corner. Think Reese Witherspoon swapping stories with thriller king Harlan Coben, Joyce Carol Oates stirring the pot as only she can, and Michael Cunningham (yes, The HoursMichael Cunningham) reminding us why Charleston is the place to be when the leaves turn.

The program reads like a cultural fantasy draft:

• Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer winner and master of identity and exile.

• Colum McCann, who never fails to weave a tale with equal parts grit and grace.

• Katie Kitamura and Patricia Lockwood, bringing razor-sharp prose and poetry that’ll have you rethinking your group chat.

• Bill McKibben, the conscience of climate.

• Max Boot, Stephen Greenblatt, Adam Haslett — because what’s a salon without a little intellectual sparring?

• And voices like Glory Edim, Maggie Smith, David Szalay, Chris Pavone, and Aria Aber to keep the conversation deliciously unpredictable.

What makes it all work is scale: Charleston Literary Festival is still boutique enough that you might literally bump into your favorite author in line for coffee (and in Charleston, there will be good coffee). It’s not about distance and velvet ropes, but intimacy — panels in historic theaters, discussions where the questions sting as much as they sparkle, and nights that feel more salon than symposium.

So yes, Charleston’s historic streets will hum with a little extra brilliance this November. Because while the food scene may keep your belly full, it’s the festival that keeps Charleston firmly on the cultural map — a place where ideas, like champagne, are best served bubbling over.

November 7, 2025 - November 16, 2025

The Dock Street Theatre 135 Church Street Charleston, SC 29403