Pat Conroy

fiction and nonfiction writer
Born: 10/26/1945
Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia

Southern writer whose career was launched in 1972 withThe Water Is Wide, a nonfiction book about teaching black children in the south. The son of a Marine Corps pilot and a graduate of The Citadel, much of Conroy's fiction is based on autobiographical experiences of childhood abuse and military school. Several of his novels, includingThe Great Santini(1977) andThe Prince of Tides(1986), were made into major Hollywood movies. Conroy cowrote the screenplay forThe Prince of Tides(1992), which starredBarbra StreisandandNick Nolte.