Q & A | Chapter 16

Pushed to the Edge

Samantha Shannon talks with Chapter 16 about The Mime Order, the new novel in her mind-bendingly good dystopian series

By Sarah Norris | February 2, 2015

February 2, 2015 In The Bone Season, Samantha Shannon’s runaway bestseller, the young clairvoyant Paige Mahoney has a talent for reading minds that continually lands her in mortal danger. The charismatic protagonist is back in Shannon’s new dystopian thriller, The Mime Order, and Shannon will read from the book at the Nashville Public Library on February 10, 2015, at 6:15 p.m. The event, part of the Salon@615 series, is free and open to the public.

The Secret Fusion

Novelist Jonathan Miles talks with Chapter 16 about comedy and philosophy in fiction

By Sean Kinch | January 20, 2015

January 20, 2015 Jonathan Miles has a gift for transforming life’s base materials into literary gold. His novels, Dear American Airlines (2008) and Want Not (2013), address dark, potentially dispiriting themes with a deft, comedic touch. Miles will give a free public reading at the University of Tennessee’s John C. Hodges Library in Knoxville on January 26, 2015, at 7 p.m.

Be a Mule

Revered novelist Tim O’Brien talks with Chapter 16 about his forthcoming Nashville appearance with the other Tim O’Brien, a bluegrass legend

By Ed Tarkington | January 12, 2015

January 12, 2015 For more than thirty years, Tim O’Brien has been regarded as one of the definitive voices of the Vietnam War. A literary trailblazer, he melds fact and fiction in texts that are both starkly realistic and surreal. O’Brien will be in Nashville on January 17, 2015, to share the stage with Tim O’Brien, the equally legendary Nashville musician, at a special benefit in support of The Porch Writers’ Collective.

Addressing the Anxieties of Art-Making

Novelist Leah Stewart talks with Chapter 16 about her literary roots in Tennessee

By Susannah Felts | January 7, 2015

January 7, 2015 Leah Stewart, the author of four critically acclaimed novels, is a graduate of Vanderbilt University in Nashville who has held teaching positions at both her alma mater and the University of the South in Sewanee. Stewart will return to Tennessee to give a reading in Vanderbilt’s Buttrick Hall, Room 101, on January 15, 2015, at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

A Storyteller’s Life

Katherine Paterson’s warm, humorous memoir sheds light on a beloved author

By Tracy Barrett | December 10, 2014

December 10, 2014 Katherine Paterson’s Stories of My Life is a loving look back at an extraordinary life. The Newbery- and National Book Award-winning author of children’s classics like Bridge to Terabithia, Jacob Have I Loved, and The Great Gilly Hopkins, Paterson recently answered questions from Chapter 16.

Farm to Table—to Bookstore

Chapter 16 talks with celebrated chef Sean Brock about his new cookbook, Heritage

By Nicki Pendleton Wood | December 1, 2014

December 1, 2014 Sean Brock used to swear he’d never write a book. The acclaimed chef and owner of Husk was too busy making food the farm-to-table way, relying on improvisation and in-season ingredients. Nevertheless, Brock has now released a cookbook titled Heritage, and it’s a big book, too: a foot tall and 334 pages long. He will discuss Heritage at POP Nashville on December 3, 2014, at 6:30 p.m.

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