THREE QUESTIONS WITH the CO-HOST OF SEERSUCKER LIVE, L.C. Killingsworth

So, about a year ago (two years? what is time), I pitched a “random” writer, Acree Graham Macam, an essay collection that I thought she might love, based purely on one publication and vibes. And since then, we’ve discovered that we grew up in the same neighborhood, we’ve hung out in multiple locations, we’ve taken many-a walk & talk, and although I’m normally the matchmaker of bookish friends, Acree with her literary wand has introduced me to so many folks, including L.C. Killingsworth who co-hosts Seersucker Live in Savannah, Georgia. I’m giving y’all Acree’s full details because I am privy to her powerful writing and you’ll want to be on the look out for her future books. (And if you’re an editor, you should reach out to see what she’s working on 👀).

With further adieu, here is L.C. talking Seersucker Live (which you can apply to at the link at the bottom of these here three questions!).

The tagline really does say it all. We’re “part literary event” in that every show brings together a diverse, exciting group of authors to read excerpts from their latest works. We’re “part talk show” in that the readings are interspersed with interviews and live music, along with lots of goofy gags, giveaways, and games. And we’re “part cocktail party” because every show kicks off with a pre-show happy hour with plenty of drinks, food, and community. My co-host, Chris Berinato, calls us “a lowbrow event for highbrow people,” which I also like quite a lot.

Seersucker Live was started in 2011 by Chris and another co-founder, the author Zach Powers. They wanted to create a place for the Savannah literary community to have fun together while celebrating books, so they brainstormed ways to add playfulness and community to literary gatherings. Originally, they hosted the show in a series of local bars, though we now partner with a great local theater, Front Porch Improv. Over the years, it’s grown into a really incredible community.

These days, we host three shows a year, and they tend to sell out our 120-seat theater. Each show has its own theme (our next one is “The Friends Episode”) and features three or four authors, along with original music written by Chris, plus interviews, games, and more. A local bookseller, the Book Lady, sells our featured authors’ books at the event. We get to bring in a lot of big names—we’ve had writers like Michael Ian Black, Kristin Arnett, and Patricia Lockwood recently—but we also love shining a spotlight on interesting authors who aren’t as well known yet.

The biggest thing that sets us apart is that we don’t think of ourselves as a “reading series”—we think of ourselves as a show! And that leads us to do all sorts of things differently. For example, our events take place in a blackbox theater with a bar, which puts the audience in a very different mood than a lecture hall or a bookstore might.

We also put a lot of thought into the run of show and interstitial elements like games, interviews, and music. For example, we start every show with what we’ve come to think of as the “ka-POW!” or a quick, high-energy opening that gets the audience in the right frame of mind. We might give the audience glowsticks and have them sing along to “We Will Rock You” (“The Rock Episode”), or get everyone cheering and waving pom-poms (“The Homecoming Episode”), or do a big New Year’s countdown with confetti balloons (“The Resolutions Episode”). It sets the expectation right off the bat that this is not going to be a stuffy, serious event.

It helps, too, that we keep the pacing tight. Most segments are ten minutes or less, including the readings, so even when our shows last an hour and a half, they feel very fast. The effect is that the audience leaves wanting more—and so they buy the books! Which is exactly what we all want.

In the end, we want the audience to leave feeling like they had a hell of a good time and carrying a stack of books they’re excited to read. As for authors, we want them to leave feeling like a) their work has been celebrated and well promoted, b) they’ve met some amazing people, and c) they absolutely have to come back to Savannah again soon because it’s just so much fun.

One of Seersucker Live’s earliest shows, back before I was hosting, was headlined by Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snickett). Seersucker used to do a bit where all the authors wrote a short piece inspired by the same drawing. This time, the drawing had a dog in it, and all I remember is Daniel Handler yapping maniacally into the microphone for what felt like ten straight minutes: “YAP! YAP! YAP! YAPYAPYAP!” Every time I thought he was done, he just took another breath and kept on yapping. His face turned this molten red. Spittle was flying everywhere. It was incredible; total commitment. One of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.

That was also Patricia Lockwood’s first show with us—her first reading ever, actually—and she read this insane poem called “The Whole World Gets Together and Gangbangs a Deer”, also with total commitment, and I remember thinking, wow, this woman is so completely wild and arresting and unique, and I feel so lucky to be seeing this. And now she’s one of the biggest names in contemporary literature.

We love variety, so we’re open to authors of every genre and topic. We particularly encourage authors from underrepresented backgrounds to reach out. Because we’re a live show that partners with an independent bookseller to sell our readers’ books, we’re looking for writers who:

• Have an engaging reading style

• Are willing to have a little fun

• Are (or will be) actively promoting a book

For anyone who thinks they’d be a good fit for our next season, we encourage them to get in touch by May 1st!

L.C. Killingsworth is a memoirist and screenwriter who likes to write about sad things that are funny and funny things that are sad. Her essays can be found in publications like River Teeth, and her screenplays have earned various awards and recognitions, including the NRDC Climate Storytelling Fellowship, the Carbon Copy Pitch Competition, and the Blacklist Quarterly Top List. She is the co-host of Seersucker Live, a literary reading series based in Savannah, GA.