A Publication of Humanities Tennessee

How to Start a Civil War

In The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War, bestselling author Erik Larson offers a compelling and sobering account of the months between the 1860 presidential election and the attack on Fort Sumter. Larson will appear at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville on October 24 as part of the 2024 Southern Festival of Books. 

Among the Lost

A missing 13-year-old girl at an Adirondack summer camp spurs an exploration of family dysfunction in Liz Moore’s The God of the Woods. Moore will appear at the 2024 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, October 26-27.

The World According to Memory

Minrose Gwin’s bewitching novel, Beautiful Dreamers, covers a lot of ground: lost innocence and found strength, the gifts life takes away and the gifts it gives in return, the lies that hold you back and the lies you run toward. But most of all, it’s about a mother and a daughter and the connection that never lets you go.

The Bewilderment of Memory

Jill McCorkle’s new story collection resonates with sympathy for characters struggling to make peace with themselves and those they love. McCorkle will appear at the 2024 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, October 26-27.

A Tale of Two Families

Real Americans, Rachel Khong’s second novel, explores the lives of two families of vastly different socioeconomic status. This vivid, multigenerational tale delves into the heart of what it means to be American and the paths of aspiration, success, and disappointment that come to define a life. Khong will appear at the 2024 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, October 26-27.

So Vulnerably Human

Four years ago, the literary world unexpectedly lost a beloved and widely acclaimed writer, Brad Watson. This year, W.W. Norton revives a legend with This Is Happiness, a posthumous collection including previously unpublished work that reinforces the strength of Watson’s gifts and the generosity of his spirit. Watson’s editor, Alane Salierno Mason, will discuss There Is Happiness at the 2024 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, October 26-27.

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