Novelist Jonathan Miles talks with Chapter 16 about comedy and philosophy in fiction
January 20, 2015 Jonathan Miles has a gift for transforming life’s base materials into literary gold. His novels, Dear American Airlines (2008) and Want Not (2013), address dark, potentially dispiriting themes with a deft, comedic touch. Miles will give a free public reading at the University of Tennessee’s John C. Hodges Library in Knoxville on January 26, 2015, at 7 p.m.
In Christopher Scotton’s debut novel, a young man finds strength in the Kentucky mountains
January 6, 2015 Christopher Scotton’s debut novel, The Secret Wisdom of the Earth, is both contemporary and old-fashioned, addressing present-day issues in a novelistic form that harks back to the nineteenth century. Scotton will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on January 13, 2015, at 6:30 p.m.
The stories in David Madden’s The Last Bizarre Tale reveal hidden hopes in the South’s dark corners
November 19, 2014 The stories in The Last Bizarre Tale, a new collection by Knoxville native David Madden, exhibit the protean nature of Madden’s gifts: his masterful tales run the gamut of literary styles and genres, each entry marked with the stamp of its author’s ingenuity. Madden will appear at Knox Heritage in Knoxville on November 21, 2014, at 11:30 a.m.
In John Darnielle’s Wolf in White Van, a disfigured young man struggles with his demons
September 16, 2014 With Wolf in White Van, John Darnielle, singer and lyricist for The Mountain Goats, has produced an LP of a novel that delves into the damaged psyche of a disfigured young man who retreats into a role-playing game he has invented, a fantasy world where he—and others—can feel safe. Darnielle will discuss Wolf in White Van at Parnassus Books in Nashville on September 24, 2014, at 6:30 p.m.
C.J. Box, author of the Joe Pickett novels, explores evil and vengeance in a new story collection
July 16, 2014 C.J. Box’s first collection of short fiction, Shots Fired, offers a fair introduction to the author’s preoccupation with irredeemable evil. While only four of the stories feature Joe Pickett, the intrepid Wyoming game warden who appears in fourteen of Box’s novels, the rest retain Box’s fascination with sudden violence, exotic animals, and rough justice. C.J. Box will appear at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on July 28, 2014, at 6 p.m.
Between Wrecks, George Singleton’s new collection, pushes Southern stereotypes into comic territory
June 12, 2014 George Singleton’s new story collection, Between Wrecks, features outcast characters who perpetuate the myth of Southern freakishness while also giving that lore new preoccupations: these uproarious stories are entrenched in the South while preserving an ironic distance from it. Singleton will appear at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on June 15, 2014, at 2 p.m.
