Editor's Note
It’s an all-festival lineup at Chapter 16 this week, with reviews of three very different books by authors who’ll be joining us in Nashville on October 18-19. Cheryl McKissack Daniel, a Nashville native, will discuss The Black Family Who Built America, her account of her remarkable Tennessee family and their architectural and entrepreneurial legacy. Reviewer Peggy Burch describes the book as “disarmingly frank,” depicting business tactics and behind-the-scenes disputes. Carrie R. Moore will be at the festival with Make Your Way Home, her debut collection of stories characterized by Sara Beth West as “full of joy and fear, each of them ready to bear witness to love.” And Patrick Dean will be on hand to talk about Nature’s Messenger: Mark Catesby and His Adventures in a New World. Catesby, an 18th-century explorer and naturalist, penned an influential book about the flora and fauna of the Southeast, and reviewer Michael Ray Taylor describes Dean’s Catesby as “a talented, if enigmatic and largely forgotten, lover of Southern nature.”
A reminder for Memphis-area readers: Acclaimed scholar Dr. Danielle Allen will deliver a lecture at Rhodes College on September 18, “250 Years of Our Declaration of Independence.” This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
Readers in the Johnson City region should mark their calendars for upcoming events at ETSU: The university’s creative writing program will host poet Li-Young Lee on for two events on September 24, and Pulitzer Prize winner Gregory Pardlo will appear with Valencia Robin on October 22.
News Roundup
- Susan Gregg Gilmore discussed her latest novel with the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
- Erica Wright’s next mystery novel is due in spring 2026.
- Alice Bolin discussed her new essay collection with Memphis Magazine.
- Margaret Renkl announced a new picture book series, created in collaboration with artist Billy Renkl.
- Jared Sullivan wrote about one family’s struggle with autism for the Nashville Banner.
