A Publication of Humanities Tennessee

Of Sharks and Men

As a teenager, Maeve Donnelly was bitten by a shark only moments after her first kiss. Fifteen years later, she returns to Florida to face two dangerous passions—sharks and first love. Ann Kidd Taylor will discuss her new novel, The Shark Club, at Parnassus Books in Nashville on June 14 at 6:30 p.m.

Babies, Bought and Sold

In Before We Were Yours, Lisa Wingate imagines the murky family history of a clan ripped apart by Georgia Tann, the real-life director of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society, which served as a front for a black-market adoption operation out of Memphis. Wingate will appear at the Arts Building in Chattanooga on June 14, and at the Blount County Library in Maryville on June 15.

Keep Calm and Parent On

Cousins Liv and Nora have booked their families on a joint holiday cruise to Central America. But even before their children go missing, the characters seem primed for disaster. Maile Meloy will discuss Do Not Become Alarmed at Parnassus Books in Nashville on June 13 at 6:30 p.m.

The Purposes of a Ghost

When eleven-year-old Marcus—the narrator of Gail Godwin’s latest novel—arrives at his new home on an island off the South Carolina coast, the secrets crowding his young life show no signs of letting up. Godwin will discuss Grief Cottage at Parnassus Books in Nashville on June 12 at 6:30 p.m.

Sympathetic Snark

The plot of Touch unfolds in a near future that might actually arrive next week—the perfect backdrop for Courtney Maum’s protagonist, a trend forecaster whose livelihood depends on predicting exactly what consumers will want to buy next. Maum will discuss the novel at Star Line Books in Chattanooga on June 9 at 6 p.m.

One Corner at a Time

In Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002, essayist David Sedaris welcomes longtime fans even further into the story of his life. Sedaris will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on June 9 at 6:30 p.m.

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