Editor's Note
December is here, and with it comes the tidal wave of year’s best lists. We think readers are perfectly capable of making their own lists of books they loved in 2025, but it’s still nice to see so many fine books with a Tennessee connection get a shout out. For instance, Tiana Clark’s Scorched Earth and Maria Zoccola’s Helen of Troy, 1993 were named among Electric Literature‘s best poetry collections of 2025, and Richard Bausch’s The Fate of Others made EL‘s list of favorite story collections. Adam Ross’ Playworld and V.E. Schwab’s Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil made The New York Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2025 roster. Schwab’s novel also made the list at Book Riot, as did Eliana Ramage’s To the Moon and Back.
Of course, 2025 is not over yet, and this week at Chapter 16 we’re covering a trio of recent releases that might round out your year of reading. Jane Marcellus reviews American Grammar: Race, Education, and the Building of a Nation, Jarvis R. Givens’ book detailing the interconnected story of white, Black, and Native schools in the United States. Michael Ray Taylor reviews the latest thriller from Ace Atkins, Everybody Wants to Rule the World. And Aram Goudsouzian interviews Carolin
News Roundup
- An essay by David Wesley Williams appeared in The Branches Journal.
- Blair will revive the annual story anthology New Stories from the South, originally published by Algonquin.
- John Hendrix considered the graphic adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road in Literary Hub.
- An exhibit dedicated to Robert Hicks opened in Franklin.
