An authors event on Thursday at Burge Plantation in Mansfield will feature South Carolina authors Pat Conroy and his wife, Cassandra King.

The litary duo will stage a free reading at 7 p.m. at the plantation, 2659 Georgia Highway 142 in Mansfield.

The event is sponsored by The Writers Institute at Georgia Perimeter College, and is one of four featuring the authors.

They will also will be featured at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday on the Decatur Campus, with King serving as host; at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday at the Clarkston Campus, 555 North Indian Creek Road in the Cole Fine Arts Auditorium of the Fine Arts building; and at 11 a.m. Oct. Thursday at the Dunwoody Campus, 2101 Womack Road, in Building NC Room 1100.

Conroy is known for works including "The Prince of Tides" and "The Great Santini". His latest, "South of Broad," is a love note to his hometown, Charleston, S.C., and about the deep bonds of friendships that continue to grow through the years.

King also writes about the South. She is known for "The Sunday Wife."

Learn more by calling the Writers Institute at (678) 891-3275; or seewww.gpc.edu/writersinstitue. Send e-mail toDebra.Riggs@gpc.edu.