FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Page & Palette will welcome renowned author Pat Conroy to Fairhope on Saturday, Nov. 14.

The New York Times bestselling author will speak in Centennial Hall on Faulkner State Community College’s Fairhope campus, beginning at 4 p.m.

Tickets for the event are $35 each, and will include a signed copy of his latest novel “South of Broad.”

Tickets are available now from the bookstore, located at 32 S. Section St. in Fairhope, by phoning 928-5295 or through their Web site, www.pageandpalette.com.

After graduation from the Citadel Military Academy in Charleston, S.C., Conroy taught English in Beaufort, and then accepted a job teaching underprivileged children in a one-room schoolhouse on Daufuskie Island off the South Carolina shore.

After a year, Conroy was fired for his unconventional teaching practices — such as his refusal to allow corporal punishment of his students — and for his personal differences with the school’s administration.

Conroy evened the score by exposing the racism and appalling conditions his students endured with the publication of “The Water is Wide” in 1972. The book won Conroy a humanitarian award from the National Education Association, and was made into the feature film “Conrack,” starring Jon Voight.

Then Conroy wrote his novel, “The Great Santini,” published in 1976. This autobiographical work, later made into a film starring Robert Duvall, explored the conflicts of the author’s childhood, particularly his ambivalent love for an abusive and often dangerous father.

The Citadel became the subject of his next novel, “The Lords of Discipline,” published in 1980. The novel exposed the school’s harsh military discipline, racism, and sexism. This book, too, was made into a feature film.

After a move from Atlanta to Rome, he began writing “The Prince of Tides,” which, when published in 1986, became his most successful book.

Reviewers immediately acknowledged Conroy as a master storyteller and a poetic and gifted prose stylist.

This novel has become one of the most beloved novels of modern time; with over five million copies in print, it has earned Conroy an international reputation.

“The Prince of Tides” was made into a highly successful feature film directed by and starring Barbra Streisand, as well as actor Nick Nolte, whose brilliant performance won him an Oscar nomination.

“Beach Music” (1995), Conroy’s sixth book has been tremendous international bestseller, too.

While Conroy was on tour for “Beach Music,” members of his Citadel basketball team began appearing, one by one, at his book signings around the country.

He began reconstructing his senior year, his last year as an athlete, and the 21 basketball games that changed his life. The result of these recollections, along with flashbacks of his childhood and insights into his early aspirations as a writer, became “My Losing Season,” Conroy’s seventh book and his first work of nonfiction since “The Water is Wide.”

“South of Broad,” Conroy’s fifth novel and ninth book, presents readers with a Conroy first: a totally lovable father for Leo Bloom King, the story’s central figure. The book is not only a love letter to the city of Charleston; it is a celebration of lifelong friendship.

Conroy currently lives on Fripp Island, S.C. with his wife, the novelist Cassandra King.

For more information, call (251) 928-5295.