Flannery O'Connor Childhood Home

10/23/2026

“Now none of this is to say that when you write a story, you are supposed to forget or give up any moral position that you hold. Your beliefs will be the light by which you see, but they will not be what you see and they will not be a substitute for seeing.”

This quote is from Flannery O’Connor’s essay “Writing Short Stories”, a composite of talks included in “Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose” edited by Robert and Sally Fitzgerald (1970).

10/16/2026

Flannery O’Connor’s Book Club is meeting this Sunday October 18th to discuss two short stories, “Noon Wine” and “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”, by Katherine Anne Porter.

In addition to being a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winning author, Katherine Anne Porter was a good friend with good manners—as recorded in the excerpt below from Flannery O’Connor’s letter to Cecil Dawkins on November 8th, 1960.

“Katherine Anne remembered to inquire about a chicken of mine that she had met here two years before. I call that really having a talent for winning friends and influencing people when you remember to inquire for a chicken that you met two years before. She was so sorry that it was night and she wouldn’t get to see him again as she had particularly wanted to. I call that social grace...” (“The Habit of Being” edited by Sally Fitzgerald).

Gelatin silver print of Katherine Anne Porter by George Platt Lynes (1936). Image copyright of Estate of George Platt Lynes NPG.94.268.

10/04/2026

The Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home’s spookiest event is back!

Grab your lawn chairs and your blankets and meet us on All Saints Day for a haunting performance by Moon River Opera as the sun sets followed by a live reading of Flannery O’Connor’s “A View of the Woods” by Lexi Balaoing Ambrose.

This event is always free and donations are always appreciated. We will have treats and a raffle for your added enjoyment and as fundraisers for the museum.

Please note that this event is not suitable for all audiences. Content warning: violence.

10/03/2026

Our Peacock Party last week was quite the fundraiser! It featured a fantastic presentation on Flannery O’Connor’s art by David Levy, hot jazz by Swing Del Sur, chicken & waffles from Coastal Kitchen, an open bar tended by our very own board members, a silent auction with curated items from the likes of Panhandle Slim and Recess Hotel & Club among many others, and so many wonderful friends new and old all under the magnificent, starry vaulted ceilings of St John the Baptist’s Regina Coeli Hall.

We are so grateful for all the support we received and are so proud to have raised the funds necessary to help us keep the Childhood Home running with a working roof over our heads.

Thank you to our Swan Sponsors Dottie & Jim Kluttz, our Pheasant Sponsors Joe Kruft & Mike Louie, our many generous hosts, and the fabulous local businesses and people who donated to our silent auction. We couldn’t have done it without you.

Host Committee:
Ira P. Berman & Helen A. Borrello
Litchfield Carpenter & Washington Dender
Christopher Cay
Frances Florencourt in honor of Louise Florencourt
Allan & Elaine Griffith
Lee & Katie Griffith
Gwen & Tommy McKee
Ron Melander in honor of James Aubrey Douglas Cox
Laura Potts-Wirht
Frank Romero & Roger Smith
Joni Saxon-Giusti
John D. Sipple

Silent Auction Donors:
Panhandle Slim
Recess Hotel & Club
David Levy
Sail Savannah
Betsy Cain
AnnaGiles Jeffries
Louis C. Dixon III
Dynacraft
The Book Lady Bookstore
University of Georgia Press
Re:Purpose Savannah
Low Country Dermatology
Yates Astro Termite & Pest Control
AliceandPearl
Southern Cross Hospitality

09/19/2026

Check out Executive Director Janie Bragg promoting this Friday's Peacock Party with Kim Gusby on WSAV's Community Corner!

For tickets and sponsorship opportunities to this fantastic fundraiser, please visit: www.givebutter.com/2026-peacock-party

https://www.wsav.com/video/community-corner-flannery-oconnor-peacock-party-gala/12128837

Considered one of America's greatest authors, Flannery O'Connor only lived thirty-nine years. But during that brief time, she wrote stories of outcasts and intruders, staged in the American South. Later this month, you have a chance to celebrate her life and continue to preserve her legacy during a....

09/13/2026

Please join us in our parlor on Sunday, October 18th for a discussion of two short stories by Flannery’s dear friend, Katherine Anne Porter! This book club discussion will be led by Dr. Caren J. Town, professor emerita at Georgia Southern University.

Capacity is limited so please register at the link in our bio.

*All of our book club selections are financially accessible. Each selection can be rented at the library, bought for less than $10, or found online as a free pdf. Please email us if you would like assistance acquiring this title: [email protected].

09/04/2026

“There is a moment in every great story in which the presence of grace can be felt as it waits to be accepted or rejected, even though the reader may not recognize this moment” (“Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose” edited by Sally and Robert Fitzgerald).

08/28/2026

On this day, August 28th, 1956, Flannery O’Connor wrote to her friend Father J.H. McCown:

“There is a letter to the editor in the current Jubilee from a Brooklyn lady…Why don’t Catholic magazines review wholesome books, she wants to know. Maybe I should change my whole approach and discuss ‘What is a wholesome book?’ Answer: one that is whole” (“The Habit of Being” edited by Sally Fitzgerald).

08/21/2026

Just look at these smiling faces from last year’s Peacock Party! This September 25th, that should be you!

This year, the Peacock Party is going to be in the same magnificent Regina Coeli Hall with more of the singular energy you expect from the Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home—hot jazz by Swing Del Sur, the encouragement to dress up with a 1920s or Flannery-flair, a curated silent auction, and marquee guest speaker David Levy presenting on Flannery’s art.

In addition to being a darn good time, this party raises the funds necessary for preserving the legacy of Flannery O’Connor and her childhood home.

For more information and to buy tickets or a sponsorship, please visit www.givebutter.com/2026-peacock-party

Photos by Alexander Neumann for Savannah magazine
www.savannahmagazine.smugmug.com/Public-Images/Flannery-OConnor-Foundation-Centennial-Peacock-Party