Editor's Note

The 2025 Southern Festival of Books is just 3 weeks away, so if you’re planning to attend, be sure to keep up with the latest announcements via the newsletter and social media. In case you missed it, the schedule of sessions has been announced, and the full list of authors is here. The Authors in the Round dinner is now sold out, but see the event page if you’d like to add your name to a waitlist — and of course, donations to support the festival are always welcome. If you have time to offer, consider signing up to volunteer. 

If you’d like to know a little more about some of the authors and books featured at this year’s festival, check out Chapter 16‘s festival coverage, where you’ll find plenty of reviews and interviews to help you decide how to fill your dance card for the weekend. 

Speaking of Chapter 16‘s festival coverage, we’ve got a full roster of new festival-related pieces at the site this week. Edd Hurt reviews Blood Harmony, Barry Mazor’s deep dive into the musical legacy of The Everly Brothers. a pioneering duo with deep ties to both Knoxville and Nashville. Joy Ramirez reviews People of Means, a novel by Nancy Johnson about a mother and daughter navigating life and social change. And Sean Kinch takes a look at Bruce Holsinger’s novel Culpability, which follows a high-achieving family in the wake of a terrible accident.

News Roundup

• An essay about Ishmael Reed’s 1972 novel Mumbo Jumbo was published in Perspective.

• The cover of Tayari Jones’ forthcoming novel Kin was revealed. 

• Hampton Sides discussed The Wide, Wide Sea with Hawai‘i Public Radio.