Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

A Newly Shattered World

Hannah Pittard’s Visible Empire gives a fictional account of 1962 Atlanta, rich and poor

Hannah Pittard’s new novel describes a plane crash’s effect not just on the white, rich, cultured elite—the “visible empire” that makes up Atlanta’s ruling class in 1962-but also on the city’s disenfranchised. Pittard will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on June 13.

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A Road Trip with a Twist

In Sheba Karim’s Mariam Sharma Hits the Road, three Pakistani-American teens search for America

Like her earlier books, Sheba Karim’s new YA novel is populated with appealing characters who tussle with real-life issues. In Mariam Sharma Hits the Road, the Nashville author has put a new spin on the familiar road-trip tale.

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Josiah Rising

Jared A. Brock’s The Road to Dawn tells the story of the real “Uncle Tom”

Jared A. Brock’s The Road to Dawn traces the harrowing story of Josiah Henson’s journey from slavery to world-wide fame as “the real Uncle Tom.” Brock will discuss the book at Novel in Memphis on June 5.

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Don’t Let This Turn You Mean

In Silas House’s Southernmost, a pastor grapples with the evolution of his beliefs

In Silas House’s Southernmost, Asher Sharp’s evolving beliefs have estranged him from his congregation, but he pins his hopes on his young son. 

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Dorothy Lives!

Two teen boys struggle to mend their families in Greg Howard’s rollicking Social Intercourse

Greg Howard’s Social Intercourse is a raucously unvarnished tale of teen lust, family values, and social mores. Howard will appear on June 5 at Parnassus Books in Nashville.

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Is There Life On Mars?

U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith talks about inspiration, personal reflection, and recitation

To contemplate the afterlife might seem like a pointless exercise: what can we really know of such matters? When U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith was writing her Pulitzer Prize-winning collection, Life On Mars, she learned that fulfillment could be found in the contemplation itself. Smith will deliver the Willis Plenary Address at the 2018 Christian Scholars’ Conference held at Lipscomb University in Nashville June 6-8.

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