Author Talks:
May 19, 2025:
- International www.libraries4kids.org is pleased to announce an author talk featuring Estelle Ford-Williamson from 10:30 to 11:30 am at the Roasting Room, 1297 May River Road, Bluffton, SC. The event is free and open to the public; however, a $5 donation is suggested. Following the author’s talk, attendees are invited to join the author for an optional Dutch Treat lunch. This informal gathering offers a chance for further conversation in a relaxed atmosphere. Space is limited, so reservations are necessary, and early arrival is recommended. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Tamela Maxim at 843.683.4100 or tamelamaxim@gmail.com or tamela.maxim@libraries4kids.org. Featured Book: Rising Fawn
- About the Author: Estelle Ford-Williamson is a novelist and memoirist whose most recent book, set in Rising Fawn, GA, has won awards from the Sandhills Writers Conference and the Atlanta Writers Conference. Her previous books were Abbeville Farewell: A Novel of Early Atlanta and North Georgia, a nominee for the Townsend Fiction Prize, and Seed of South Sudan: Memoir of a Lost Boy Refugee, which was co-written with Majok Marier. She has received Poets and Writers Inc. grants for readings and workshops in Atlanta and New York, and has presented memoir workshops through the Pat Conroy Literary Center in Beaufort, SC, and for the Lou Walker Senior Center in DeKalb County, GA. A short story drawn from Rising Fawn was a finalist for the Short Story America Festival in 2017. Born in Chattanooga, TN, Ford-Williamson graduated from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN, and worked as a reporter for UPI in Atlanta, where she later worked as a management trainer and career specialist before writing her first novel. She moved to the Beaufort, SC area in 2016.
- About the Book: Clare is a professional life coach who tells others how to manage their lives and careers, but loses her home and family through credit card hijacking and a fraudulent loan that create conflict with her irate husband. He kicks her out of their comfortable north Atlanta home; Clare has no option but to flee to the northwest Georgia mountains. She claims a now-deserted trailer on the Alabama side of Lookout Mountain owned by her mother. A journey into family roots—Irish and Italian immigrants working coal and iron furnaces in the South’s bid to industrialize after the Civil War—turns up very surprising stories about Clare’s birth, shaking Clare’s sense of herself even more. She struggles for her true identity in the wildness of mountain ledges and waterfalls. The novel won top novel submission honors at Sand Hills Writers Conference and another prize at the Atlanta Writers Conference.
Annelore Harrell Upcoming Events:
- Et Cetera Y’all, Volume 1 by Annelore Harrell. Review by NYT Bestselling author Patti Callahan Henry: “Step into the enchanting world of Annelore Harrell and the coastal Lowcountry I love so dearly. With twenty-four years of remarkable newspaper columns, this collection is a treasure chest of insight, immersive experiences, and wisdom. From past to present, Annelore Harrell brings us on a journey to meet the forgotten heroes, see the locales of her experience, and encounter the allure of southern hospitality. A captivating storyteller with a keen and wise eye, Annelore Harrell’s prose transports us to the soul of the South. Free and no reservations needed for all of Annelore Harrell events.
- Wednesday, May 21, 2025, from 1:00-2:00 pm, Beaufort Library, 311 Scott St, Beaufort, SC. Book sales are not allowed in Beaufort County libraries. To have a book personalized, please place the order ahead of time and bring your book to the library. Go to www.anneloreharrell.com for information about how to order a copy. ($20 if you pick it up in Bluffton, $25 if you’d like it mailed).
- Saturday, May 31, 2025, from 2:00-3:30 pm, Pat Conroy Literary Center, 601 Bladen St, Beaufort, SC www.patconroyliterarycenter.org.
- Thursday, October 16, 2025, 12:30-2:00 Talk and Luncheon, Jewish Educational Alliance, 5111 Abercorn St, Savannah, GA www.savannahjea.org.
June 16, 2025:
- Author Kacey Kowars will discuss his book Chasing the Queen’s Gambit: A Literary Biography of Walter Tevis
July 21, 2025:
- Author Brenda Sutton Rose will discuss her book Dogwood Blues. www.authorbrendasuttonrose.com.
August 18, 2025:
- Author Mark O’Neill will discuss his book To Catch a Spy www.markoneill.com.
September 15, 2025:
- Author Pat Branning will discuss her subscription offering, The Diary of Southern Lifestyle Author Pat Branning www.patbranning.com.
October 20, 2025:
- Author Scott Gould will discuss his book Peace Like a River (release date August 2025). www.scottgouldwriter.com.
November 17, 2025:
- Authors Lynn and Cele Seldon will discuss their book, 100 Things to Do in the South Carolina Lowcountry Before You Die. www.seldonink.com.
December 15, 2025:
- Author Annelore Harrell will discuss her book Et Cetera Y’all, Volume 2 www.anneloreharrell.com.
January 19, 2026:
- Author Mary Martha Greene will discuss her book The Cheese Biscuit Queen Tells All: Southern Recipes, Sweet Remembrances, and a Little Rambunctious Behavior www.thecheesebiscuitqueen.com.
February 16, 2026:
- Author Laura Elizabeth will discuss All is Now Lost and A Special Kind of Heartache, books in her Island Mystery Series. www.theislandmysteries.com.
About Libraries for Kids:
Libraries for Kids, International is a 501(c)(3) organization providing leisure and reference books to schools in rural Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda for recreational and supplemental reading. Libraries for Kids works exclusively with schools with little or no electricity or internet access in communities facing significant environmental, climatic, and cultural challenges.
Contact Information:
- Tamela Maxim, Board Member, Libraries for Kids, International, tamela.maxim@libraries4kids.org
- 843.683.4100
- www.libraries4kids.org
