Editor's Note
The July heat was pretty relentless this year, and no doubt there are a few sweltering days still to come, but here at Chapter 16 we’re already looking forward to fall and the return of our beloved Southern Festival of Books. The 2025 author lineup includes, among many others, Jason Reynolds, Hannah Pittard, and David Levithan. You can see a list of all Chapter 16’s coverage of festival authors and their books here, and we’ll be adding new reviews and interviews in the weeks ahead.
Of course, the festival isn’t the only literary happening on the horizon. Union Ave. Books in Knoxville will host an adult book fair on August 9, and Killer Nashville will hold its annual conference on August 21-24. Knoxville’s Sundress Academy for the Arts will offer a Retreat for Survival and Healing on October 4-5. And don’t forget that the 150th anniversary fundraiser for Burke’s Book Store in Memphis is ongoing through October 31. Burke’s owner Corey Mesler will be reading and signing his latest books on August 14.
Today at Chapter 16, Jim Patterson reviews a new book by Peter Guralnick about Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley’s controversial manager. The Colonel and the King, Jim writes, is “a fascinating scroll through the letters and the mind” of the man who guided Presley’s career. Amanda Haggard reviews the debut novel by Lydi Conklin, Songs of No Provenance, the story of an underground musician grappling with the fallout of her own behavior. And we revisit Aram Goudsouzian’s 2023 interview with Jonathan Eig about his Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Martin Luther King Jr., King: A Life. Eig will appear at this year’s Southern Festival of Books.
News Roundup
- Adam Ross answered questions about his novel Playworld for the Los Angeles Review of Books.
- Martha Park discussed spirituality and storytelling with Meera Subramanian for Orion Magazine.
- Melissa Range is the winner of the 2025 Vanderbilt University Literary Prize.
- V.E. Schwab was interviewed for The Portalist and Musing.
- Lee Conell has a new story in Ecotone.
