Film – The Ballad of Wallis Island
A quirky comedy about an eccentric lottery winner, living alone on a remote island, who tries to make his fantasies come true by inviting his favorite musicians to perform at his home.
1 hour and 40 minutes; Rated PG-13
$3 suggested donation
Closed-captioning will be turned on
Watch the trailer – Ballad of Wallis Island
Film – Sing Sing
A film based on the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts program in the Maximum Security Prison. It centers on a group of incarcerated men who are involved in creating theatrical stage shows through the program. It stars professional Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo, alongside many real-life formerly incarcerated men who were themselves alumni of the program during their incarceration.
107 minutes
Rated R
Watch the trailer – Sing Sing
$3 suggested donation
Closed-Captioning will be turned on
Author Talk & Book Signing – Ronda Rich
Join bestselling author and syndicated Southern columnist Ronda Rich as she shares her latest holiday tale, A Merry Chatty Christmas. In this heartwarming story, beloved characters Stella Bankwell and Chatty return for a Christmas like no other — filled with laughter, love, and a few surprises in the snowy North Georgia mountains. Rich, author of St. Simons Island and Sapelo Island, brings her signature Southern wit and warmth to this festive mystery full of charm and cheer.
Free for members; $10 for non-members.
Seating is limited; registration is encouraged via Eventbrite
St. Simons Casino Theater
Author website –Ronda Rich
Author Talk – Tommy Tomlinson
Join us for a morning with journalist and author Tommy Tomlinson as he shares stories from his latest book, Dogland: Passion, Glory, and Lots of Slobber at the Westminster Dog Show. Spending three years immersed in competitive dog shows, Tomlinson brings readers behind the scenes at over a hundred events, where he’s been licked, sniffed, and slobbered on by dogs of every shape and size. Striker is at the heart of the book, a champion Samoyed, and the team of breeders and handlers who chase glory with him all the way to Westminster.
A Brunswick native, Tomlinson is also the author of the acclaimed memoir The Elephant in the Room and spent 23 years at the Charlotte Observer, where he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist.
Free for members; $10 for non-members.
Seating is limited; registration is encouraged via Eventbrite
St. Simons Casino Theater
Author website ––Tommy Tomlinson
The Life and Films of Alfred Hitchcock—Part One—The English Years
Gary Olsen, film historian, will give a three-part presentation on Alfred Hitchcock.
Part One
English-born Alfred Hitchcock, the 'Master of Suspense,' directed over 50 films during his six decades in cinema. Hitchcock's influence has been cited as pivotal, shaping modern cinema with his stunning visuals and tightly edited sequences. In our introductory presentation, we'll look at Hitchcock's English upbringing and his first movies, which brought him to the attention of Hollywood studios. Among the films we'll examine are Britain's first talkie, 1929's Blackmail, his classic 1935's The 39 Steps, and 1936's Sabotage, among many others.
Free for members; $10 for non-members. (Annual Membership is $15)
Registration is required via Eventbrite
St. Simons Casino Theater
The Life and Films of Alfred Hitchcock—Part Two—The Middle Years
Gary Olsen, film historian, will give a three-part presentation on Alfred Hitchcock.
Part Two
The presentation on the 'Master of Suspense' continues as we follow director Hitchcock's early Hollywood movies, first under producer David O. Selznick, then in his independently produced films. Many critics cite these WW2 and post-war era movies as among his most memorable and engaging. We'll examine his only Best Picture Oscar winner, 1940 Rebecca, as well as his personal favorites, 1943's Shadow of a Doubt, Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman's 1946 Notorious, and 1951's Stranger on a Train.
Free for members; $10 for non-members. (Annual Membership is $15)
Registration is required via Eventbrite
St. Simons Casino Theater
The Life and Films of Alfred Hitchcock—Part Three—The Later Years
Gary Olsen, film historian, will give a three-part presentation on Alfred Hitchcock.
Part Three
Hitchcock's years of defining suspense and thriller movies culminated in his final stage of filmmaking, from the mid-1950s until his death in 1980. Each release of his films during this time was a national event, so excellent was his reputation. These mostly Technicolor achievements marked a peak in his ability to scare moviegoers out of their seats. Leading off with 1954's Rear Window, we'll examine his most popular years, including 1958's Vertigo, 1959's North by Northwest, 1960's Psycho, and 1961's The Birds. We'll also show every cameo appearance by Hitchcock, some of which are seen in the most unlikely of places.
Free for members; $10 for non-members. (Annual Membership is $15)
Registration is required via Eventbrite
St. Simons Casino Theater
Author Talk & Book Signing – Keith Rushing
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
Author Talk & Book Signing – Bennett Parten
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
Author Talk – H. S. Cross
The author was born in Michigan and lives in Savannah. Her latest book is Amanda— set against the upheaval of post–Great War England, this sweeping novel follows Marion, an Irishwoman scarred by violence, and Jamie, a haunted veteran, as they find refuge—and danger—in each other’s arms. Their love, fierce and consuming, becomes both salvation and risk in a world still reeling from loss.
Free for members; $10 for non-members.
Seating is limited; registration is encouraged via Eventbrite
St. Simons Casino Theater
Author website – H.S. Cross
Film – The Friend
Adapted from the bestselling novel, The Friend by Sigrid Nunez. Iris (Naomi Watts) finds her comfortable New York life upended when her mentor and friend, Walter (Bill Murray), leaves her his Great Dane, Apollo. Despite a small apartment and threats of eviction, she forms a bond with the regal beast and begins to cope with her past in this story of healing, love, and friendship.
120 minutes; Rated R
$3 suggested donation
Watch the trailer – The Friend
R. William Johnstone with Wyche Fowler
In this author event, R. William Johnstone discusses his new book Wyche Fowler: A Political Life in Georgia, Congress, and Abroad. Joined on stage by Senator Wyche Fowler, who will share his own reflections on the people, policies, and pivotal moments that shaped his career.
Books will be sold at the event, with a signing to follow.
Free for members; $10 for non-members.
Seating is limited; registration is encouraged via Eventbrite
St. Simons Casino Theater
Writing Retreat
Unlike many such events that are so intent on offering value that they overwhelm participants with activities, leaving no time for creative output, the AWC-GWM-SSIW retreat is designed to give you ample networking and learning opportunities while also providing long stretches where you can further develop your work-in-process, get inspired to start something new, or just rest and rediscover your muse.
St. Simons Island, Georgia, is the perfect place to do this. Write with innumerable island views to delight you or explore its iconic lighthouse and pier, long shorelines, plentiful dining and shopping, miles of bike paths, and nature trails galore while you contemplate your next chapter or next book!
Details and registration – Unlike many such events that are so intent on offering value that they overwhelm participants with activities, leaving no time for creative output, the AWC-GWM-SSIW retreat is designed to give you ample networking and learning opportunities while also providing long stretches where you can further develop your work-in-process, get inspired to start something new, or just rest and rediscover your muse.
Details and registration – Writers Retreat
Author Talk & Book Signing – Carolyn Newton Curry
Carolyn visits to discuss her latest book – TRUDY’S AWAKENING (publication date 9/2/25)— a historical novel set in late 19th-century Georgia, following three women—Gertrude Thomas, born to wealth; Amanda “Mae” and her mother, once enslaved; and Lizzie Jeter, an aspiring artist—as they confront societal barriers to freedom, rights, and success. Inspired by Carolyn Curry’s award-winning biography Suffer and Grow Strong, their intertwined journeys reveal resilience, friendship, and the fight for progress.
Free for members; $10 for non-members.
Seating is limited; registration is encouraged via Eventbrite
St. Simons Casino Theater
Author website –Carolyn Curry
Author Talk & Book Signing – Madeline Martin
Madeline is a New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction and historical romance with books that have been translated into over twenty-five different languages (including "The Keeper of Hidden Books" and "The Last Bookshop in London"). She visits to talk about her latest, ‘The Secret Book Society” (releasing on 8/26/25) — set in Victorian London, about a forbidden book club, dangerous secrets, and the women who dare to break free.
Free for members; $10 for non-members.
Seating is limited; registration is encouraged via Eventbrite
St. Simons Casino — Room 108
Author Website – Madeline Martin
Film – Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
In 2002, cable news producer Kim Barker (Tina Fey) decides to shake up her routine by taking a daring new assignment in Kabul, Afghanistan. Dislodged from her comfortable American lifestyle, Barker finds herself in the middle of an out-of-control war zone. Luckily, she meets Tanya Vanderpoel (Margot Robbie), a fellow journalist who takes the shellshocked reporter under her wing. Amid the militants, warlords, and nighttime partying, Barker discovers the key to becoming a successful correspondent.
110 minutes; Rated R
$3 suggested donation
Watch the trailer – Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Author Talk & Book Signing – Joshua Sharpe
Award-winning journalist Joshua Sharpe joins us to talk about his fascinating book —The Man No One Believed: The Untold Story of the Georgia Church Murders —a riveting story of two murders in Camden County, a long-overdue investigation, and the fight to exonerate an innocent man.
Free for members; $10 for non-members.
Seating is limited; registration is encouraged via Eventbrite
St. Simons Casino Theater
Author website –Joshua Sharpe
Author Talk – Pamela Bauer Mueller
Pamela visits to talk about her latest novel – The Wheelman's Daughter . A tale of Robert Smalls, who, in 1862, navigated a Confederate naval vessel past Fort Sumter, delivering the ship into the hands of the Union, and gaining freedom from slavery for his family. This maneuver made Robert a prominent figure in South Carolina, and it also made a lasting impression on his four-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Smalls Bampfield, who grew up to become a pivotal figure in the Black community, promoting freedom through education.
Free for members; $10 for non-members.
Seating is limited; registration is encouraged via Eventbrite
St. Simons Casino Theater