March 3, 2015 With all the drama and heroism of a Hollywood action thriller, journalist Kim Cross follows the unrelenting march of a line of killer tornados that crossed the American South on April 27, 2011, killing 324 people. Cross will discuss What Stands in a Storm at Parnassus Books in Nashville on March 13, 2015, at 6:30 p.m. and at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on March 14, 2015, at 3 p.m.
February 9, 2015 As Lemony Snicket, Daniel Handler is the bestselling author of A Series of Unfortunate Events. His latest novel for adults, We Are Pirates, adapts his trademark social satire to a nuanced story of unhappy urban life and piracy along the California coast. Handler will discuss We Are Pirates at the Nashville Public Library on February 14, 2015, at 2 p.m. The event, part of the Salon@615 series, is free and open to the public.
November 3, 2014 With nine bestselling novels and two books of nonfiction, Scott Turow, recipient of the 2014 Nashville Public Library Literary Award, has proven himself a master of the legal thriller. His latest novel, Identical, explores questions of betrayal, family, and identity set against the sweeping political backdrop for which his books are famous. In connection with his acceptance of the NPL award, Turow will appear at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville on November 8, 2014, at 10 a.m. The event is free and open to the public.
September 30, 2014 In twenty-three novels, two books of nonfiction, and a Pulitzer Prize-winning column for the Miami Herald, Carl Hiaasen has captured the weird side of Florida life—and crime—like no other writer. In Skink—No Surrender, his first YA novel, Hiassen pairs a beloved character from his adult books with a teen narrator. Hiassen will appear at the Nashville Public Library on October 6, 2014, at 6:15 p.m. The event, part of the Salon@615 series, is free and open to the public.
September 18, 2014 In 2007, Ishmael Beah received widespread praise for his memoir, A Long Way Gone, a troubling account of his life as a child soldier in Sierra Leone. In his first novel, Radiance of Tomorrow, Beah lyrically explores a village much like his own as it struggles toward normal life after a wartime massacre. Beah will appear at the Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 10-12. All festival events are free and open to the public.
September 9, 2014 Tavis Smiley, host of eponymous talk shows on both PBS and public radio, has collaborated with biographer David Ritz to create a human, novelistic portrait of Martin Luther King in his final year: Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year. Prior to his appearance at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on September 19, Smiley spoke with Chapter 16 about King’s “darkest hours,” the way the civil-rights leader influenced Smiley’s own life, and what he thinks King would make of the present American landscape.
