Category Archives: Events

Mostly Tuesdays, 11 AM-1 PM, Mostly $30*

Luncheons with exciting authors, artists, musicians & historians at area eateries
For 25 years, the Moveable Feast, founded and managed by Linda Ketron, has been held at local restaurants throughout the year on Fridays (and some Tuesdays). Going forward, Moveable Feasts are scheduled for mostly Tuesday unless the presenter or the preferred venue is unavailable. In addition to authors, the Moveable Feasts will feature artists and musicians, historians and folks of interest! The presentation precedes the meal. For each Feast, the chef prepares a special menu, typically unavailable during the restaurant’s public hours. Food allergies are accommodated with advance notice; vegetarian option always available. Individuals, couples, friends, book clubs, and other small groups are assigned table seating. We will call to confirm your reservation 10 days prior to the event. *Each Feast is $30 unless additional expenses dictate higher. For reservations, 843.235.9600 or visit www.ClassAtPawleys.com.

Tues., Feb. 14 ~ Jill Trinka (Appalachian Songs of Love) at Litchfield Country Club

(619 Country Club Drive, Pawleys Island 29585)

Love songs come in all manner of styles – ballads, lyric songs, and “just for fun” pieces – encompassing the myriad facets of love: courtship, coquettish, mysterious, teasing, true, absent, unrequited, lost, false, and old. Don’t miss this Musical Moveable Feast with Jill’s selection of love songs from Appalachia (and somewhat beyond). Jill’s performances and recordings are beloved around the world and especially in the United States, where she researches, records, and teaches teachers, children, and people just like you!

Tues., Feb. 21 ~ John Cribb (The Rail Splitter) at Pawleys Tap & Pour

(13089 Ocean Hwy, Pawleys Island 29585)

The author of the acclaimed novel Old Abe has penned a new work of historical fiction that brings Abraham Lincoln to life as never before. The Rail Splitter tells the story of Abraham Lincoln’s remarkable journey from a log cabin to the threshold of the White House—a journey that turns him into one of America’s most beloved heroes. We walk beside him on every page of this spellbinding novel and come to know his hopes and struggles on his winding path to greatness. John’s previous work includes coauthoring The American Patriot’s Almanac and The Educated Child, both New York Times bestsellers; co-editing The Human Odyssey, a 3-volume world history text; and developing on- line history courses. John also worked as former US Secretary of Education Bill Bennett’s collaborator on the New York Times #1 bestseller The Book of Virtues. He has appeared on numerous TV, radio, and podcast shows such as
C-SPAN’s Washington Journal and Fox News’s Fox & Friends, and his writing has been published in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, FoxNews.com, The Hill, Real Clear Politics, and several other publications.

Tues., Feb. 28 ~ Ron Daise (Geechee Literature Series) at The Village House

(13089 Ocean Hwy, Building E, Pawleys Island 29585)

Not one to rest on his laurels, Ron Daise has authored two new books. He is the former Vice President for
Creative Education at Brookgreen Gardens, the former star of Nick Jr. TV’s “Gullah Gullah Island,” a former
chairman of the federal Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission, a recipient of The Palmetto Award of SC, The Governor’s Award, and the Jean Lacey Harris Heritage Award. Experience from each of these affiliations are echoed in We Wear the Mask – Unraveled Truths in a Pre-Gullah Community and Turtle Dove Done Drooped His Wings – A Gullah Tale of Flight or Fight, the first two novellas of his “Geechee Literature Series.” The books showcase Gullah Geechee culture as contemporary through historical and literary fiction. Each story connects the past, present, and future. Rest assured that a “talk” by Ron is going to be a riveting “performance.”

Tues., March 7 ~ Laurie Loewenstein (Unmentionables) at Inlet Affairs

Loewenstein applies her brilliant journalistic research to an award-winning historical fiction account of the dress reform advocate who shocked Chatauqua audiences a century ago in the midwest, inspiring young women to fight for the vote and equal opportunities, to leave the prejudicial expectations of their small-town society and find their way in big-city Chicago and war-torn France. A vivid tale of different times and issues, many of which are still unresolved today.

Tues., March 14 ~ Stephanie Alexander (Tipsy Collins Trilogy) at Pawleys Plantation (Sawgrass)
The trilogy – Charleston Green, Haint Blue, and Palmetto Rose – is an exploration of women’s everyday trials and tribulations, with a hefty dose of southern charm and supernatural intrigue. New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand praises Charleston Green as “skillful and clever and funny.” Kirkus Reviews calls it “an enchanting novel of a woman finding her way out of a midlife (and mid-death) crisis.”

Tues., March 21 ~ C. Hope Clark (Edisto Island Mysteries) at Hot Fish Club

A decade after her first Moveable Feast and more than that many new mysteries under her pen, Hope Clark returns with the 9th book (Badge of Edisto) in her third mystery series (preceded by the Carolina Slade and Craven County series). Retired Police Chief Callie Jean Morgan is having second thoughts about her half-assed “good ol’ boy” replacement in the town of Edisto – with lethal cause. Hope Clark’s books have been honored as winners of the Epic Award, Silver Falchion Award, the Imaginarium Award, and the Daphne du Maurier Award.

Tues., April 11 ~ Teri M. Brown (Sunflowers Beneath the Snow and An Enemy Like Me)

at Pawleys Tap & Pour

After garnering six awards in 2022 for her first historical fiction, Teri Brown has written a compelling second novel. In Sunflowers Beneath the Snow, she explored the tenacity of women, showing that even in grueling circumstances (i.e., Ukraine under Soviet control), they can, and do, experience all the good things life has to offer – compassion, joy, love, faith, and wonder. Now, in An Enemy Like Me, Brown uses the backdrop of World War II to show the angst experienced by her first-generation American protagonist, his wife, and his four-year-old son as he left for and fought in a war he did not create. Here, she explores the concepts of xenophobia, intrafamily dynamics, and the recognition that war is not won and lost by nations, but by ordinary men and women and the families who support them. We are watching this drama play out again.

Tues., April 18 ~ Liz Newall (You Don’t Have to Tell Everything You Know)

at Quigley’s Next Door

Liz Newall grew up in the tiny cotton town of Starr in upstate South Carolina where she heard many a-story, some joyfully repeated, others barely whispered. She’s been a teacher, peach picker, freelance writer, and longtime managing editor of Clemson World alumni magazine. Now retired, she lives on the family farm in the Wild Hog community of Pendleton, S.C., with her husband, Billy, and their dogs, King and Jessi. Her first work of historical fiction tracks the life of Isamar Woods Jones McGee, born in upstate South Carolina into a second family in 1865, one month after the Civil War ended. Her life is a product of unsettled times, family dynamics, and the human condition. She tells her story and those of the people around her through journal entries, which she annotates and amends in her final days. Her travels take her down the Savannah River and to the 1901 Charleston Exposition where she meets Beautiful Jim Key, billed as the world’s smartest horse, and a young Nancy Columbia, the Inuit star of stage and screen in the early 1900s. Isamar’s life and times offer a fascinating, often funny, sometimes complex testament to the joys and sorrows of the human heart — regardless of era.

*Tues., April 25 ~ Patricia Kolencik & Jane Petrone (Wachesaw & Richmond Hill Plantations:

A Short History) at Kimbel’s, Wachesaw ($50 incl. signed book)

After several years researching, fact checking, writing, editing, polishing and proofing, Patty & Jane are ready to share the fascinating history of their community. Step back in time as these two lifelong educators take you on a captivating journey through the centuries to reveal the complex historical account of two intertwined antebellum rice plantations, Wachesaw and Richmond Hill. This intriguing trek through the passage of time will take the reader through the early Native American settlements to colonization, the rice culture, the Civil War and Reconstruction, northern investment, and southern development, highlighting the families whose lives revolved around the two estates. Whether a history buff or just a curious reader, this short history brings the whispers from the past alive as one journeys through the victories and struggles of these plantations, which are now recognized in the National Register of Historic Places. (Registration priority granted to WPC members and Wachesaw
residents.)

The Moveable Feast offers monthly luncheons in the Myrtle Beach area featuring presenters on a broad range of cultural topics (music, art, drama, history, and some literature, mostly by local and CLASS-published authors). Each is individually priced.

Friday, Oct. 7 ~ John Lane & Phil Wilkinson (Seven Days on the Santee Delta) at Inlet Affairs ($30)
A richly embroidered coastal South Carolina tapestry of three strands: Philip Wilkinson’s stunning photos of people, wildlife and weather; his homespun stories of the place and its conservation history; and a seven-part narrative by award-winning environmental writer and Wofford College professor John Lane who shares what he has learned firsthand in the field with Phil. With publication of this remarkable coffee-table book, the Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust, Evening Post Books and a generous group of conservation-minded sponsors brings Wilkinson’s legacy to a wider public and celebrates the beauty and value of a remarkably wild and vital place. Enjoy a narrated slide presentation of this remarkable
publication.

Tuesday, Oct. 11 ~ at Caffe Piccolo ($25)

South Carolina poet Libby Bernardin is the author of Stones Ripe for Sowing (Press 53, 2018) and two chapbooks, The Book of Myth (SC Poetry Initiative, 2009) and Layers of Song (Finishing Line Press, 2011). Journal publications include The Asheville Poetry Review, Southern Poetry Review, Kakalak. She has won poetry awards from the Poetry Society of South Carolina and the North Carolina Poetry Society, and has served as co-director of the highly respected Litchfield Tea & Poetry Series for the past 16 years. A retired English teacher from the University of South Carolina, she has conducted poetry workshops for Coastal Carolina University’s OLLI program, as well as for Georgetown County Library. Libby is a lifetime member of the Board of Governors of the SC Academy of Authors. Her new book, House in Need of Mooring
(Press 53, 2022) is yet another testament to the silver lining of the pandemic.

Tues., Oct. 18 ~ FOWL Annual Luncheon & Auction “Together Again …with Friends,” Pawleys Plantation
11 AM-1:30 PM, $38, tickets available at the Friends Center in Waccamaw Library or from Linda Ketron!

Tuesday, Oct. 25 ~ Robin Salmon (Brookgreen 101: A Curator’s Legacy) at Ocean One, Litchfield ($30)
For two of her nearly five decades at Brookgreen Gardens, Vice President of Historical and Art Collections and Curator of Sculpture Robin Salmon has delivered monthly lectures affectionately known as “Brookgreen 101.” Begun in 2006 as an offshoot of public lectures she had given through the years, the series was drawn from books and articles she’d written, as well as from her vast knowledge of the history of the property, collections, and the lives of the founders. Intended as an ongoing informational seminar to augment staff and volunteer training, the program was an informal hour of shared facts and insights that became a popular public series in 2018. This first collection of essays features favorite topics with
illustrations where available. It is our hope that future volumes will preserve and make accessible the deep treasure chest of knowledge that is Robin Salmon.

Tuesday, Nov. 1 ~ Laurie Loewenstein (Funeral Train) at Pawleys Plantation’s Sawgrass Room ($30)
In her gripping follow-up to the widely acclaimed Dust Bowl Mystery Death of a Rainmaker, Laurie Loewenstein brings 1930s Oklahoma evocatively to life. Already suffering the privations of the 1930s Dust Bowl, an Oklahoma town is further devastated when a passenger train derails—flooding its hospital with the dead and maimed. Among the seriously wounded is Etha, wife of Sheriff Temple Jennings. Overwhelmed by worry for her, the sheriff must regain his footing to investigate the derailment, which rapidly develops into a case of sabotage. The following night, a local recluse is murdered. Temple has a hunch that this death is connected to the train wreck. But as he dissects the victim’s life with help
from the recuperating and resourceful Etha, he discovers a tangle of records that make a number of townsfolk suspects in the murder. Temple’s investigations take place against the backdrop of the Great Depression—where bootlegging, petty extortion, courage, and bravado play out in equal measure. Death of a Rainmaker was named one of the Best Books of 2018 by both the Library Journal and NPR which characterized it as “a striking historical mystery…that is brooding and gritty and graced with authenticity.” It was a finalist for the 2019 Oklahoma Book Awards Laurie is on the fiction faculty of Wilkes University’s graduate level Creative Writing Program.

Saturday, Nov. 26 ~ Six Children’s Authors at Pawleys Tap & Pour ($30)

On Shop Small Saturday, The Moveable Feast and My Sister’s Books partner for a fabulous presentation by six area authors of works for “small readers,” followed by a delightful lunch at a fast-rising favorite among Pawleys eateries. Join us to hear Millie Doud (beloved author/illustrator of Caretta’s Great Adventure and of many Brookgreen Gardens’ books for children), Christine Thomas Doran (author of the Flash & Fancy books about playful otters on the Waccamaw River), Cindy Hedrick (champion of rescued animals recounted in her Tails from SC-Cares and Love at First Sight), Maura & Alyson Kenny (mother-/daughter-in-law team behind Mindful Santa), and … two more to be announced! The
Moveable Feast is a “grown-ups” event (for parents, aunts and uncles, grands and even great-grands), then after the feast, the authors will migrate next door to the book store for sales and signing (kids are welcome there!!). Shop Small for Small Readers is a great opportunity to start a child’s library of autographed books.

All Moveable Feast reservations are to be made through CLASS (www.ClassAtPawleys.com, or 843.235.9600, or linda@classatpawleys.com). 

July 1 ~ Jamie Brenner (Gilt) at The Village House ($60 w/bk)

A luxurious and richly compelling new novel from the acclaimed author of Blush, about a famous family jewelry dynasty and the hidden past that could topple it all. One perfect diamond is all it takes to divide a family. Could one summer be enough to fix it? The Pavlin family built an empire on love. As the first jewelers to sell diamond rings exclusively for proposals, they started a tradition that has defined engagements ever since. But when an ill-fated publicity stunt pits the three Pavlin sisters against one another for a famous family jewel, their bond is broken. No ordinary diamond ring, the Electric Rose splinters the sisters, leaving one unlucky in love, one escaping to the shores of Cape Cod, and the other, ultimately, dead. Now, over a decade later, Gemma Maybrook is still reconciling the reality of her mother’s death. Left orphaned and cast out by her family after the tragic accident, Gemma is ready to reclaim what should have been hers: the Electric Rose. And, as a budding jewelry designer in her own right, Gemma isn’t just planning on recovering her mother’s lost memento, she’s coming back for everything. From Manhattan’s tony Fifth Avenue to the vibrant sands of Provincetown, Gilt follows the Pavlin women as they are forced to confront the mistakes of the past if they have any hope of finding love and happiness of their own.

July 8 ~ Nancy Naigle (What Remains True) at Litchfield Country Club ($35)

An uplifting novel about three months that may change three lives—and lead to love—from USA Today bestselling author Nancy Naigle. Working at a little shop on Main Street in a small town is exactly the break that executive Merry Anna Foster needs following her divorce. She’s made a bet with her ex-husband that she can live on the amount of money she’s giving him in alimony. If she can do it, then Kevin will have to stop complaining and leave her alone. But after three months of this new life, will she even want to leave Antler Creek? Adam Lockwood, bull rider and owner of the local feedstore, is having the best year of his rodeo career. He’s also a bit distracted by the pretty new neighbor living in his old bunkhouse. But Adam has no time for matters of the heart. He’s got his future all mapped out, and that future doesn’t involve a woman just yet. It doesn’t involve parenting a little girl either. However, Carly Fowler still suddenly leaves five-year-old Zan—the daughter Adam didn’t know he had—in his care. Is it possible that the future holds a life even better than what Merry Anna and Adam had each dreamed of? One that includes both tenderness and even love—not just for each other but for Zan, too.

*July 15 ~ Viola Shipman (The Edge of Summer) at DeBordieu Colony Clubhouse ($40)

Reminiscent of the complex, uplifting family stories by Nancy Thayer, Sunny Hostin and Mary Alice Monroe, Viola Shipman’s poignant new novel explores the relationship between a curious woman and her secretive mother, taking readers from their hardscrabble life in the Ozarks to her search for answers along the sparkling shores of Lake Michigan. Devastated by the sudden death of her mother—a quiet, loving and intensely private Southern seamstress called Miss Mabel, who overflowed with pearls of Ozarks wisdom but never spoke of her own family—Sutton Douglas makes the impulsive decision to pack up and head north to the Michigan resort town where she believes she’ll find answers to the lifelong questions she’s had about not only her mother’s past but also her own place in the world. Recalling Miss Mabel’s sewing notions that were her childhood toys, Sutton buys a collection of buttons at an estate sale from Bonnie Lyons, the imposing matriarch of the lakeside community. Propelled by a handful of trinkets left behind by her mother and glimpses into the history of the magical lakeshore town, Sutton becomes tantalized by the possibility that Bonnie is the grandmother she never knew. But is she? As Sutton cautiously befriends Bonnie and is taken into her confidence, she begins to uncover the secrets about her family that Miss Mabel so carefully hid, and about the role that Sutton herself unwittingly played in it all.

July 22 ~ Colleen Coble (Edge of Dusk) at Inlet Affairs ($35)

In this new series, bestselling romantic-suspense author Colleen Coble returns to one of her most beloved towns, where familiar faces—and unsolved cases—await. Even though secrets lie off the coast of Rock Harbor, the truth will set Annie Pederson free—if it doesn’t kill her first. Nine-year-old Annie Pederson’s life changed the night her sister was kidnapped. The two had been outside playing on a dock, and Annie never forgave herself for her role in her sister’s disappearance. Twenty-four years later and now a law enforcement ranger, Annie is still searching for answers as she grieves a new loss: the death of her husband and parents in a boating accident. But Annie and her eight-year-old daughter, Kylie, aren’t the only people in the town of Rock Harbor whose lives have been marred by tragedy. While managing the property around the Tremolo Resort and Marina she inherited, Annie discovers a dead body floating in the cold Superior surf and begins to work with the sheriff’s office to tie the death to a series of other mysterious reports in the area. At the same time, her first love, Jon Dustan, returns after nine years away, reigniting the town’s memory of a cold case he’d been suspiciously linked to before he left to pursue his orthopedic residency. For the sake of her investigation and her heart, Annie tries to stay away. But avoiding Jon becomes impossible once Annie realizes she is being targeted by someone desperate to keep secrets from the past hidden. 

July 29 ~ Jennifer Chiaverini (Switchboard Soldiers) at The Village House ($35)

From New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini, a bold, revelatory novel about one of the great untold stories of World War I—the women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, who broke down gender barriers in the military, smashed the workplace glass ceiling, and battled a pandemic as they helped lead the Allies to victory. In June 1917, General John Pershing arrived in France to establish American forces in Europe. He immediately found himself unable to communicate with troops in the field. Pershing needed operators who could swiftly and accurately connect multiple calls, speak fluent French and English, remain steady under fire, and be utterly discreet, since the calls often conveyed classified information. At the time, nearly all well-trained American telephone operators were women—but women were not permitted to enlist, or even to vote in most states. Nevertheless, the U.S. Army Signal Corps promptly began recruiting them. More than 7,600 women responded, including Grace Banker of New Jersey, a switchboard instructor with AT&T and an alumna of Barnard College; Marie Miossec, a Frenchwoman and aspiring opera singer; and Valerie DeSmedt, a twenty-year-old Pacific Telephone operator from Los Angeles, determined to strike a blow for her native Belgium. They were among the first women sworn into the U.S. Army under the Articles of War. The male soldiers they had replaced had needed one minute to connect each call. The switchboard soldiers could do it in ten seconds. The risk of death was real—the women worked as bombs fell around them—as was the threat of a deadly new disease: the Spanish Flu. Not all of the telephone operators would survive. The women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps served with honor and played an essential role in achieving the Allied victory. Their story has never been the focus of a novel…until now.