Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Jacqueline Zeisloft

A Revolution on the Airwaves

Night Train to Nashville tells the story of two men behind WLAC’s groundbreaking R&B broadcasts

Paula Blackman’s Night Train to Nashville fuses family history with music history to chronicle a radio revolution in the Jim Crow South. Blackman will appear at the 2023 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on October 21-22.

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Performing Womanhood

Why Tammy Wynette Matters places the singer’s work in a feminist context

Critic Steacy Easton’s Why Tammy Wynette Matters examines Wynette’s public persona and artistry. Easton will discuss the book with Jewly Hight at Novelette Booksellers in Nashville on June 2.

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Making It in Music City

Margo Price’s Maybe We’ll Make It is an artist’s unflinching self-portrait

Margo Price’s Maybe We’ll Make It recalls her gritty struggle for a music career. Price will appear in Nashville at Grimey’s New and Preloved Music on October 4, the 2022 Southern Festival of Books on October 14-16, and Parnassus Books on November 16.

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When It All Falls Down

Toya Wolfe’s debut novel depicts girlhood friendship in a doomed housing project

Toya Wolfe pens a tribute to the public housing project where she grew up in her outstanding debut, Last Summer on State Street. Through the eyes of 12-year-old Fe Fe, we bear witness to the realities of Chicago’s infamous Robert Taylor Homes in this heartfelt coming-of-age novel. Wolfe will appear at the 2022 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on October 14-16.

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Rough and Rowdy

Elizabeth Elkins sorts fact from fiction about Nashville’s Timothy Demonbreun

The record is full of gaps when it comes to the life of Timothy Demonbreun, the French Canadian fur trader who has come to be known as Nashville’s first resident. Elizabeth Elkins goes about getting the story straight in We Should Soon Become Respectable, a lively, well-researched history of a mysterious man.

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A Larger Suitcase

Rickie Lee Jones recalls her family and career in Last Chance Texaco

Rickie Lee Jones’ memoir looks back at her family, her career, and the long road to seeing the beauty in her life. Jones will appear at the online 2021 Southern Festival of Books on October 9.

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