Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Reading Our Way Toward Otherness

A Memphis poet considers the legacy of his parents’ wise gift

At the close of the year I found myself thinking about one of the most wonderful, significant Christmas gifts I ever received. I was ten, and I got it because I didn’t get the thing I asked for first.

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A Wee Dram of Brilliance

Clay Risen conquers all things Scotch in Single Malt

With Single Malt: A Guide to the Whiskies of Scotland, New York Times whiskey critic and longtime Chapter 16 contributor Clay Risen has created an essential guide to Scotch for “almost everyone.”

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Bon Appetite, Y’all!

Carla Hall turns her international culinary expertise toward her first love—soul food

Soul Food, the third cookbook by Nashville native Carla Hall, is still new, with no stains. But the recipes in the book have been passed down through Southern kitchens on many food-stained recipe cards. Hall will appear in conversation with Kelly Pickler at Parnassus Books in Nashville on December 4.

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War Swept Them Away

Alan Gratz’s new novel for middle schoolers dramatizes the Battle of Okinawa

With Grenade, Alan Gratz has written a war novel in which people find the strength to look past differences and into the eyes of their fellow frightened human beings.

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Overcoming the Worst

In Courtney Stevens’s latest YA novel, young survivors learn to face (and enjoy) life again

In Four Three Two One, Nashville YA novelist Courtney Stevens explores what it’s like to be a young survivor of senseless violence. Stevens will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on November 16.

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When a Passel of Possums Pulls Santa’s Sleigh

In his debut picture book, Grant Maloy Smith merges music and merry-making in a marsupial-filled Christmas tale

What happens when Rudolph comes down with the flu and Santa’s reindeer aren’t fit to fly? Singer/songwriter Grant Maloy Smith answers that question in his debut picture book, Fly Possum Fly. He will appear at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on November 13, along with musician EmiSunshine.

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