News & Notes | Chapter 16

Shared Faith

The Sewanee Writers’ Conference convenes for its twenty-fourth annual gathering of writers

By Emily Choate | July 19, 2013

July 19, 2013 The annual Sewanee Writers’ Conference will kick off its distinguished lineup of readings on July 23, 2013, with National Book Award winner and three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Alice McDermott. During its twenty-four-year stretch of summer conferences, Sewanee has become woven into the fabric of Tennessee’s literary tradition, bringing highly regarded authors together with emerging writers for twelve days of readings, lectures, panel discussions, and intensive workshops.

A Nashville Cross of the Knight

YA novelist Ruta Sepetys has received a medal from the Lithuanian government for contributions to literature and education

By Margaret Renkl | July 12, 2013

July 12, 2013 Even before Between Shades of Gray hit shelves, it was obvious that Ruta Sepetys’s debut novel was about to take the literary world by storm. Earning four starred reviews—one from every pre-publication review site in the country—is practically unheard of, even for veteran novelists. Between Shades of Gray, pronounced Kirkus, “deserves the widest possible readership.”

Festival Sneak Peek

Humanities Tennessee announces the author lineup for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Southern Festival of Books

July 8, 2013

July 8, 2013 Humanities Tennessee has just released its list of the award-winning authors set to headline the twenty-fifth annual Southern Festival of Books: A Celebration of the Written Word, which will be held in Nashville, October 11-13. The roster includes Bill Bryson (One Summer: America, 1927), Karen Joy Fowler (We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves), Kevin Henkes (The Year of Billy Miller), Ayana Mathis (The Twelve Tribes of Hattie), Jon Meacham (Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power), Chuck Palahniuk (Doomed), Alan Weisman (Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth?), and Meg Wolitzer (The Interestings).

Muslim Journeys

Humanities Tennessee will sponsor a Muslim literature series in Nashville and Knoxville

By Melissa Davis | June 14, 2013

June 14, 2013 Humanities Tennessee, host organization of both the Southern Festival of Books and Chapter 16, has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association to coordinate a five-part reading and discussion program titled Muslim Journeys: Points of View.

The Memoir He Said He’d Never Write

Legendary musician Steve Earle makes another foray into the literary world

By Amaryllis Lyle | June 7, 2013

June 7, 2013 In a wide-ranging interview with Exclaim!’s Jason Schneider, musician Steve Earle has announced his plans to write a memoir in addition to the novel he already has in progress. “It’s the book I swore I would never write,” he said, explaining that the motivation for changing his mind was clear: “There were a lot of reasons that mainly had to do with money. My little boy has autism, and the school that he just started in last week, finally, is really expensive, and I don’t have that much money,” Earle explained.

Saying What You Want to Say in Your Own Way

Charles Wright talks about literary style, Southern writing, and how to get into graduate school without really trying

By Amaryllis Lyle | April 26, 2013

April 26, 2013 Acclaimed poet Charles Wright, who hails from Kingsport, Tennessee, recently talked with Georgetown’s Vox Populi about his past work as a young writer. He explained how he started out as a history major at Davidson and how he also flew under the radar when aiming for one of the country’s top graduate writing programs:

Tias and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us

By Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, illustrated by Josie Del Castillo
Seal Press
304 pages
$30

“Within these pages, I found my abuela, my tías and my primas — laughing, crying, and nodding alongside me. This book is a gift of understanding, and loving one’s family, even when our families are complicated and painful. It’s a beautiful reminder of the power of storytelling and the profound connection of kinship.”

~ Paola Mendoza, author, organizer and filmmaker