Thursday October 29 – 5:00-6:30 PM EDT
Price: Free
Registration: Seating is limited; please call to reserve your spot: 843-379-7025.
Venue: Pat Conroy Literary Center | 601 Bladen St., Beaufort
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Sadie Bird lives in Shaconage, North Carolina, with Lazarus, a mixed-breed dog she rescued from the forest. Sadie supports herself by harvesting medicinal plants which she uses in her tonics and salves. Having recently buried her husband and children, Sadie is more worried about surviving the winter than the federal government’s plan to create the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. When Bowman Marks, a government agent tasked with acquiring thousands of acres of land, arrives at Sadie’s place, their initial meeting does not go well. Bowman secretly vows to acquire her land by any means necessary and soon presents an unacceptable offer to purchase. In 1929, a woman without a husband is a woman without a voice. Forced to swallow her pride, Sadie asks for help from church members who had cast her out. She soon realizes that to help herself and her neighbors, she must take an active role in a lawsuit against the government filed by the timber baron who employed Sadie’s husband.
ABOUT AUTHOR RENEA WINCHESTER:
Renea is a daughter of Appalachia who began her writing career in Georgia where she penned several non-fiction works including, Farming, Friends & Fried Bologna Sandwiches (Mercer University Press) which was nominated for the prestigious SIBA award, earned Renea a Georgia Author of the Year, and received the endorsement from The Pulpwood Queens, the largest book club in the country. Renea is the recipient of the Wilma Dykeman Award, the Appalachian Writer’s Award, and the Lucy Bramlette Patterson Award for women who elevate the world.
Renea has served on the Atlanta Writers Board, Georgia Writers Association, and judges multiple literary awards. In April 2020, Firefly Southern Fiction released Outbound Train. Set in her hometown of Bryson City, North Carolina, in 1976, Outbound Train is a triumphant story of perseverance and hope despite the harshness of poverty. The novel released internationally titled, De l’autre côté des rails.
Renea is passionate about literacy, Appalachian Heritage, preserving rare seeds, fiercely defending libraries, cultivating endangered plants, and meeting new friends.
ABOUT MARY ELLEN THOMPSON:
Since I was a child, I have loved to write. My first rejection letter came in August 1970, from Mademoiselle magazine. Since then, thankfully, I have had more acceptances than rejections. During the eight years I wrote for Beaufort Lifestyle and her sister magazines, in 54 issues my portfolio consisted of 119 profiles of people/stories, 16 restaurant profiles, and 20 advertorials.
I have written for other print publications and on-line websites listed below. I have also written a speech for the Mayor of Wandsworth, London, UK which was delivered at a women’s empowerment conference.
I am currently an Associate Editor for Southern Literary Review.
Probably what is dearest to my heart in the world of writing, is the inclusion of an interview I was joyful to experience with Pat Conroy, in the book A Lowcountry Heart. My greatest accomplishments in life are my daughter, Elizabeth, and my son, Alexander.
