In 2011, Karen Hayes and Ann Patchett opened Parnassus Books, which celebrates its fifth anniversary today. During that time, the Nashville store has doubled its space, bought a bookmobile, and brought authors, hundreds of them, to town. And they’re just getting started. Drop by the store today for special anniversary discounts, giveaways, prizes—and birthday cake.
“First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare,” a new exhibit at the Nashville Parthenon, brings a four-centuries-old copy of the Bard’s first collection to Tennessee, and it is not to be missed. The rare book—on loan from the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death—will be on display from November 10, 2016, to January 8, 2017
Whether you missed the festival, or just want a chance to remember the fun, here’s a quick look back at the 28th annual Southern Festival of Books
Whether she’s writing about her tough, spirited characters or her own difficult life, Dorothy Allison seems determined to defy all narrow categories, seeking instead to express the full complexity of human experience. Allison, who serves as the 2016 Acuff Chair at the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts at Austin Peay State University, will speak on October 27 at 8 p.m. in Clement Auditorium on the APSU campus. The event is free and open to the public.
Jamey Hatley has received a total of $55,000 this year from the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer’s Award and the National Endowment for the Arts to work on her first novel, The Dream-Singers. The book is set in Memphis, beginning with the birth of twins in 1968—one born as Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his final speech and the other when he is assassinated.
“I’ve missed the Southern Festival of Books only twice since its founding twenty-eight years ago, and I carry with me many of the voices I first heard there. They are a witness to the shared lives of so many who’ve gone before us, and their voices—their testimonies—remind us as writers and readers to carry on, to keep adding new voices to this celebration.” Poet Jeff Hardin kicks off the Southern Festival of Books, which runs today through Sunday at Nashville’s Legislative Plaza. Festival events are free and open to the public.
