Ep 497: The magic of bringing book lovers together

Oct 7, 2025

Join Sarah Moriarty, Executive Director of the Charleston Literary Festival, as she shares insights on curating an engaging literary festival. Discover how Charleston's rich storytelling culture enhances the experience and why the single-stage format fosters intimacy. Sarah reveals her three-point tips for maximizing your festival attendance, highlights the return of in-person events, and encourages attendees to embrace unexpected literary discoveries. Plus, learn how her role has broadened her reading habits, sparking a love for diverse genres.

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INSIGHT

Festival Rooted In Place And History

Charleston Literary Festival grew from a 3-day UK-origin event into a 10-day, single-venue festival in Charleston.
The festival's history and Dock Street Theatre location shape its intimate, place-driven atmosphere.

INSIGHT

City Atmosphere Fuels Festival Intimacy

Charleston's walkable, historic downtown creates frequent, informal interactions between authors and attendees.
That proximity cultivates intimacy and ongoing conversation beyond staged events.

ADVICE

Choose A Single-Stage Festival Experience

Relax: the festival uses one stage and no counter-programming to simplify choices for attendees.
Sit back and attend consecutive events without competing sessions to juggle.

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Book events and festivals are always a favorite around here. Today's conversation dives deep into the art and craft of creating an engaging literary festival as Anne welcomes Sarah Moriarty, the Executive Director of the Charleston Literary Festival, to the show.

They talk about what goes into curating such a festival, what you may be glad to know before attending a literary festival yourself, and what makes a particularly satisfying in-person gathering. Especially when it comes to a good conversation about the books we love, or the books we didn't even know about before but are so glad we discovered.

Sarah also shares her three-point recommendation for getting the most out of your festival experience. She tells us more about how she came to be in this position and shares details about this November's event, which is welcoming more than 70 writers and thinkers from around the globe, including more than a few names you have heard on this show before.

Whether you've got this specific festival or a future one on your wish list, you'll hear great tips in today's conversation. Please share your suggestions or favorite festival moments by leaving a comment over on our show notes page, where you'll also find the list of titles discussed today. That's at whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com/497.

As we get ready to mark our 500th episode, we want to take a moment to thank our Patreon community and the members there that help support the show's creation each week. If you're not yet a member of this community, it's a wonderful time to consider joining us. Each month we share bonus episodes on a rotating theme, including Industry Insights deep-dives, One Great Book episodes, Mini-Matchmaking sessions, Dear Book Therapist responses, and team member features like our Starter Guides.

On top of all of the bonus episodes, our community members also enjoy full access to all our Summer Reading Guides and seasonal book previews, as well as our upcoming Team Best Books of the Year feature. Get the details and join us at patreon.com/whatshouldireadnext.

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