Jennifer is a USA TODAY bestselling author of five novels, including The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds, The Magic All Around, and the Mystic Water series. She has also written a collection of folklore retellings and Strawberry Shortcake children’s books.

Her latest novel, The Charmed Library—is a heartfelt love letter to libraries, beloved childhood stories, and readers who never stopped falling for fictional heroes.

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Seating is limited; registration is encouraged via Eventbrite

St. Simons Casino Theater

Author website –Jennifer Moorman

Keith Rushing is a former newspaper reporter who worked in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and California before becoming a communications strategist for an environmental nonprofit. His writing has also appeared in outlets such as The Huffington Post and Ebony.com. A native of Queens, New York, he now lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and two children.

In his powerful debut, Descended, Rushing traces his family’s history beginning with a single remembered name—Sancho. His search leads to the Gullah-Geechee communities of the South Carolina and Georgia Sea Islands, where he uncovers the story of an ancestor born into slavery on Hilton Head Island who later fought for his own freedom and became a landowner. Part personal journey, part history, Descended is both a family chronicle and a vivid portrait of Hilton Head’s transformation, exploring themes of memory, identity, and belonging.

Books will be available for sale at the event, with a signing session to follow.

Free for members; $10 for non-members.

Seating is limited; registration is encouraged via Eventbrite

St. Simons Casino Theater

Bennett Parten, assistant professor of history at Georgia Southern University and a Distinguished Lecturer of the Organization of American Historians, is a Civil War scholar whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and The Civil War Monitor. A Georgia native with a PhD from Yale, he now lives in Savannah.

His book, Somewhere Toward Freedom, has been hailed as one of the most innovative studies of American emancipation. Reframing Sherman’s March to the Sea through the eyes of the enslaved, Parten reveals how tens of thousands of people transformed the campaign into the largest liberation event in American history. Blending military, social, and cultural history, he illuminates not only the march itself but also the fragile beginnings of Reconstruction that followed.

Books will be available for sale at the event, with a signing session to follow.

Free for members; $10 for non-members.

Seating is limited; registration is encouraged via Eventbrite

St. Simons Casino Theater

Mismatched cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the odd couple's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.

129 minutes

Rated R

Watch the trailer – A Real Pain

$5 – pay at the door

Closed-Captioning will be turned on

Living in the slum of Katwe in Kampala, Uganda, is a constant struggle for 10-year-old Phiona (Madina Nalwanga) and her family. Her world changes one day when she meets Robert Katende (David Oyelowo), a missionary who teaches children how to play chess.

2 hours 4 minutes

Rated PG

Watch the trailer – Queen of Katwe

$5 – pay at the door

Closed-Captioning will be turned on

Beth is a widely recognized artist and photographer whose evocative depictions of historic homes and Southern landmarks appear on Substack, Southern Voice. She travels the backroads of the South, documenting remarkable architecture and the stories behind the places we love.

She joins us to discuss her newest book, The Grassroots Guide to Saving What Matters—a practical, accessible roadmap for anyone interested in preserving historic buildings. Beth offers clear guidance, insider insights, and actionable tips for advocates, community members, and anyone who wants to make a difference in protecting the places that matter most.

Free for members; $10 for non-members. (Annual Membership is $15)

Seating is limited; registration is suggested via Eventbrite

St. Simons Casino – Room 108

The true story of the Taj Hotel terrorist attack in Mumbai. Hotel staff risk their lives to keep everyone safe as people make unthinkable sacrifices to protect themselves and their families.

120 minutes; Rated R

Watch the trailer – Hotel Mumbai

$5 – pay at the door

Closed-Captioning will be turned on

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of America’s independence, Authentic America: 250 Distinctly American Places to Explore (release date 1/8/2026) captures the spirit of a nation shaped by bold ideas, creativity, and innovation. Through more than 100 photographs and maps, the book highlights 250 places and moments across the United States that reveal America’s story—told through food, sports, architecture, invention, entertainment, and everyday culture. It’s a vivid journey through the landscapes, traditions, and ideals that continue to define the American experience.

Free for members; $10 for non-members. (Annual Membership is $15)

Seating is limited; registration is encouraged via Eventbrite

St. Simons Casino Theater

David is an emeritus philosophy professor and former associate dean who came late to publishing and hasn’t slowed down since. His recent nonfiction, poetry, and children’s work appear in numerous literary journals and anthologies, including Best New True Crime Stories, The 3rd Act, Better Than Starbucks, and The Parliament.

Author website — David Blumenfeld

Shutta is an award-winning poet and acclaimed author for children and teens.. A longtime favorite at schools, libraries, and writing conferences, she’s been publishing poetry since the 1970s. Her chapbook When You Get Here won a Gold Royal Palm Literary Award.

Author website – Shutta Crum

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The Cicada Tree is a Southern Gothic novel set in 1956 rural Georgia, focusing on the friendship between two young girls, Analeise and Etta Mae, whose lives become entangled with a wealthy, mysterious family, the Mayfields, during a massive cicada emergence that unearths dark secrets, obsessions, and supernatural events.

Author website — Robert Gwaltney

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Seating is limited; registration is encouraged via Eventbrite

St. Simons Casino Theater

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, Gillian Grable, MSW, from The Center for Human Development and Disability at the Ratston Institute, UGA, will discuss her book, Until We Meet Again: The Life of Jennie Raffield Williams, a historical fiction based on the true story of a woman who lived at the Central State Hospital in Milledgeville for over 50 years. Troubling and moving, it exposes the decades-long failure of the state, the public, and mental health professionals to provide appropriate care to Jennie and other patients with mental and intellectual disabilities. Joining in the discussion is Katina Atmore, State Citizen Advocacy Coordinator, Georgia Advocacy Office.

Free for members; $10 for non-members. (Annual Membership is $15)

Seating is limited; registration is encouraged via Eventbrite

St. Simons Casino — Room 108

Virginia McGee Richards discusses The Inner Passage: An Untold Story of Black Resistance Along a Southern Waterway, to be published on April 7, 2026. A photojournalist, attorney, and environmental advocate, Richards documents the remnants of a 300-year-old coastal waterway built and maintained by enslaved people in South Carolina and Georgia. Her work traces both the physical landscape and the hidden history of resistance embedded within it. A 2021 Photojournalism Fellow at Anderson Ranch and a Thomas J. Watson Fellow, Richards’ Inner Passage project was featured in Smithsonian Magazine in 2022.

Please note the 3:00 PM start time

Author website – Virginia McGee Richard

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Seating is limitedd; registration is encouraged via Eventbrite

St. Simons Casino Theater

Matt Cashion is the author of the new collection of short stories — How We Do Things Here (releasing on 2/17/26) and several award-winning works of fiction. He grew up on St. Simons Island and in Brunswick, Georgia—places that continue to shape his writing.

Cashion is also the author of Last Words of the Holy Ghost, which he discussed during a visit to the Literary Guild in June 2016. Currently, Matt is a professor of English at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, and lives in western Wisconsin with his partner, Heather, and a lively mix of animals.

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Seating is limited; registration is encouraged via Eventbrite

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Author website – Matt Cashion

Sheryl McCollum is a crime scene investigator with the Metro Atlanta police department and the founder of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, which partners with colleges and universities nationwide. She has worked thousands of cold cases, including high-profile investigations such as the Boston Strangler, Natalee Holloway, Tupac Shakur, and the Moore’s Ford Bridge lynching. Her work earned an Emmy for CSI: Atlanta. Sheryl also hosts the investigative podcast Zone 7. In her book, Swans Don’t Swim in a Sewer (release date May 12, 2026), she explores a chilling question: what happens when a serial killer is used as bait to catch another killer?

Free for members; $10 for non-members. (Annual Membership is $15)

Seating is limited; registration is encouraged via Eventbrite

St. Simons Casino Theater