In Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven, a death onstage heralds the collapse of the modern era
September 8, 2014 A novel with enormous scope and an ambitious time-jumping structure, Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven paints its post-apocalyptic world in both bold brushstrokes and tiny points of background detail. Mandel will discuss Station Eleven at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on Oct. 10-12.
Set against the backdrop of the Revolutionary War, Katy Simpson Smith’s assured debut considers the complexities of human relationships
September 5, 2014 The Story of Land and Sea, Katy Simpson Smith’s debut novel, considers parental love, faith, and friendship in coastal North Carolina at the end of the American Revolution. Smith will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on September 11, 2014, at 6:30 p.m.
With breadth, depth, and a healthy dose of doubt, Scott Stossel’s history of anxiety considers what it means to be human
September 4, 2012 Do people today have more anxiety or just more to be anxious about? Recognizing that anxiety disorders are being diagnosed at a rapidly growing rate, Scott Stossel, editor of The Atlantic, asks this question and more in his new book, My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind. Stossel will appear at the Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 10-12, 2014. All festival events are free and open to the public.
Antonya Nelson’s characters see cause and effect in their own lives—too late to change the outcome
September 3, 2014 Antonya Nelson has often been praised as one of the great contemporary writers of the short story. With Funny Once, her newest collection, she more than delivers on that reputation with nine stories and a novella that are object lessons in exquisitely crafted literary fiction. Antonya Nelson will appear at the Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 10-12, 2014. All festival events are free and open to the public.
Karen Abbott talks with Chapter 16 about her new work of nonfiction, Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy
September 2, 2014 Bestselling nonfiction author Karen Abbott (the “pioneer of sizzle history,” according to USA Today) has made a career of writing about unconventional women. Abbott will discuss her new book, Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War , at Parnassus Books in Nashville on September 10, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. and again at the Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 10-12, 2014.
Box Brown talks with Chapter 16 about his graphic biography of Andre the Giant
August 29, 2014 Legendary professional wrestler Andre the Giant was so large, even as a pre-teen, that the school bus refused to carry him to his studies. In Andre the Giant: Life and Legend, Box Brown, an Ignatz award-winning comic artist, has brought the life of one of the world’s most recognizable celebrities to a graphic format. Brown will appear at the Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 10-12, 2014. All festival events are free and open to the public.
