Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Privilege, Pageantry, and PR

Carrie Tipton traces the complex origins of college fight songs

In From Dixie to Rocky Top, musicologist Carrie Tipton reveals the surprisingly complex history behind SEC football fight songs. Tipton will discuss the book with former sportscaster Rudy Kalis at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville on September 9.

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Growing Wilder by the Day

Lauren Groff’s The Vaster Wilds is a tale of horror and beauty

In her breathtaking seventh book, The Vaster Wilds, Lauren Groff tells the story of a young servant girl on the run in the 17th-century New World wilderness. Groff will discuss the book at Parnassus Books in Nashville on September 14 and the East Tennessee History Center in Knoxville on September 15.

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On Matters of Life and Death

Neurosurgeon Jay Wellons reflects on a life devoted to healing

FROM THE CHAPTER 16 ARCHIVE: In All That Moves Us, pediatric neurosurgeon Jay Wellons recounts some of the most memorable moments of his career as a children’s doctor. Wellons will discuss the book at the 2023 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on October 21-22.

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Compulsion

And the Train Kept Moving is a story of trauma and obsession

Michael Kiggins’ debut novel, And the Train Kept Moving, follows Bryan Meigs, a young gay man with OCD living in Memphis during the early 2000s, trying to make sense of his life and the trauma he has suffered. Kiggins will discuss the book at Parnassus Books in Nashville on September 12 and Burke’s Book Store in Memphis on September 22.

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Fascist Buffoons

Timothy Egan chronicles the rise and fall of the KKK in the 1920s

Timothy Egan’s A Fever in the Heartland is a true tale of bigotry, cruelty, and the lust for power in 1920s Indiana. Egan will appear at the 2023 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on October 21-22.

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Modern Roommate Wanted

Jenna Levine enters the supernatural romance scene with a centuries-old vampiric heartthrob

My Roommate Is a Vampire, Jenna Levine’s debut romance novel, offers an endearing, unlikely matchup of a centuries-old vampire and a quirky artist in her mid-30s. Levine will discuss the book at Parnassus Books in Nashville on August 29 and The Book & Cover in Chattanooga on September 8.

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