Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

J. Edgar Hoover’s Man in Memphis

Marc Perrusquia’s new book considers the double life of Memphis photographer Ernest Withers

In A Spy in Canaan, Commercial Appeal reporter Marc Perrusquia vastly expands his 2010 front-page bombshell that identified famed civil-rights photographer Ernest Withers as a paid informant for the FBI. Perrusquia will discuss his book at Novel in Memphis on March 27, and at Parnassus Books in Nashville on April 5.

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With a Russian Accent

A new historical novel by Ariel Lawhon considers the fate of the Grand Duchess Anastasia

Adding tension to the well-known story of the Romanovs, Ariel Lawhon constructs her new historical novel of two intertwining tales: one featuring Anastasia, and one featuring Anna Anderson. Lawhon will discuss I Was Anastasia at Parnassus Books in Nashville on March 27 and at Novel in Memphis on March 29.

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Roz’s Return

Peter Brown reunites young readers with a beloved character in The Wild Robot Escapes

Author-illustrator Peter Brown returns to Parnassus Books on March 22 to discuss his new middle-grade novel, The Wild Robot Escapes, the much-anticipated sequel to 2016’s The Wild Robot.

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Us Just Killing Ourselves

Robert Gipe’s Weedeater portrays a coal town overrun with opioids

Robert Gipe’s new illustrated novel, Weedeater, brings back Dawn Jewell, the unforgettable protagonist of Trampoline, and adds a second narrator: the laconic title character, a lawn worker who watches the opioid crisis roll through coal country.

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A Mystic for Our Time

Joel Harrington considers the medieval life of New Age favorite, Meister Eckhart

In Dangerous Mystic, Vanderbilt historian Joel Harrington explores the life of Meister Eckhart, a medieval theologian whose path to God has been embraced by New Age gurus and contemporary self-help writers. Harrington will discuss Dangerous Mystic at Parnassus Books in Nashville on March 20 at 6:30 p.m

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Strange Signals

Woody Skinner’s A Thousand Distant Radios tunes into odd frequencies

In his debut story collection, A Thousand Distant Radios, Woody Skinner captures the absurdity of contemporary life with spare language and offbeat humor. Skinner will appear at Novel in Memphis on March 18.

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