Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Red-State Disneyland or Bastion of Equality?

Graham Hoppe examines the cultural implications of Tennessee’s beloved theme park

Graham Hoppe’s Gone Dollywood explores the theme-park juggernaut, the genius behind Dolly Parton’s stardom, and the effect of Pigeon Forge’s culture on Appalachian identity.

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A Cinephile’s Brilliant Friend

In People Only Die of Love in Movies, editor Steve Haruch collects some of the best film writing by the late Jim Ridley

The late Nashville Scene film critic and editor Jim Ridley wrote about movies with dazzling insight, humor, and honesty. In People Only Die of Love in Movies editor Steve Haruch has collected some of the best of Ridley’s work.

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Tree of Dreams

Karen White’s latest novel serves up escapist fare with a low-country flair

Karen White’s Dreams of Falling ticks the boxes for a perfect summer read: evocative setting, tragic romance, unsolved mystery, and family drama. White will appear at a fundraiser for the Southern Lit Alliance in Chattanooga on June 14.

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A Memphis Celebration

The Center for Southern Literary Arts holds its first festival in June

The inaugural Memphis Literary Arts Festival will begin June 15 with a ticketed benefit, “Dinner at the Hibiscus Salon,” and continues from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 16 with a series of talks, readings, and performances by writers, musicians, and artists from across the country. An after-party with DJ Siphne Aaye will begin at 7:30 p.m. June 16.

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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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