Q & A

September 10, 2012 Long before director John Hughes cast the then-teenaged Molly Ringwald as the star of Sixteen Candles, she was a singer with a jazz album (I Wanna Be Loved By You, recorded with her father’s band) under her belt. Now Ringwald, forty-four, has written When It Happens to You, a novel composed of eight linked stories. The author and actor recently answered questions from Chapter 16 prior to her appearance at the Nashville Public Library on September 18 at 6:15 p.m. as part of the Salon@615 series. The event is free and open to the public.

September 6, 2012 Published in June, Gillian Flynn’s new mystery, Gone Girl, was the number-one bestselling hardcover hit of the summer. Rave reviews have described the book as a “dazzling breakthrough” (The New York Times), a “relentless page-turner” The AV Club, an “awesome whodunit” (Kirkus Reviews), and a “thoroughbred thriller.” Reese Witherspoon’s production company has purchased the novel’s film rights, with Flynn slated to write the screenplay. The novelist spoke with Chapter 16 prior to her appearance at the twenty-fourth annual Southern Festival of Books, held October 12-14 at Legislative Plaza in Nashville. All events are free and open to the public.

August 28, 2012 When the protagonists in Adam Ross’s story collection, Ladies and Gentlemen, aren’t deliberately malicious, they’re often unintentionally cruel, the result of being unable to think beyond their own desires. What about Ross himself? In lieu of a standard Q&A, we recently sent him some half-finished sentences to complete. He reveals something about his writing habits, his love of early-90s hip hop, his penchant for cooking, and his plans to take his fiction into uncharted territory. Ross will discuss Ladies and Gentlemen at Parnassus Books in Nashville on September 6 at 6:30 p.m., and at the twenty-fourth annual Southern Festival of Books, held October 12-14 at Legislative Plaza in Nashville. All events are free and open to the public.