Novelist Pat Conroy announced today that he will miss his two BEA appearances this year.

According to Publishers Lunch, the author of "The Prince of Tides" recently had surgery and had to cancel. Publishers Weekly reports that Mary Karr and Richard Russo will replace the author in his two scheduled events.

The Lunch article included this statement from his agent, Marly Rusoff: "Conroy communicates that he is recovering from surgery, and 'otherwise he would be at BEA, which he has always loved attending. He especially regrets being unable to sign with his daughter, Melissa Conroy, who has her first book out, in which he is a character.'"