Pat Conroy will announce the National Book Award finalists

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Bestselling author Pat Conroy will announce the National Book Award finalists at an Oct. 13 event in Savannah, Ga. The announcement will be made at Flannery O’Connor’s childhood home.

Although Conroy is known for books set in South Carolina -- “The Prince of Tides,” “The Lords of Discipline” and, most recently, “South of Broad” -- he is a Georgia native.

Conroy was born in Atlanta in 1945, although he didn’t stay there for long. His father, a military officer, moved the family many times as he was stationed across the South.

In his 20s, Conroy, now married and with a child of his own, returned to Georgia. There he wrote “The Great Santini,” a book that detailed the conflicted relationship he’d had with his abusive father. After its publication, he moved to Italy and later settled in South Carolina.

Conroy will be announcing five finalists in four National Book Awards categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry and young people’s literature.

-- Carolyn Kellogg

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