Chapter 16 - Part 383

Sloughing Off the Nay-Sayers

How J.T. Ellison learned to ignore the damning voices and get on with writing thrillers

By J.T. Ellison | August 1, 2014

August 1, 2014 “The farcical means by which I returned to a life as a writer—adopting a stray cat, going to work for the vet who saved her life, mopping up dog urine and watching the castration of a Siamese cat, and then, on day three of this unique torture, herniating a disc and needing back surgery—is fit for fiction itself. During the recovery, I discovered a writer named John Sandford, and something clicked, and I had one, simple, arrogant thought. If he can do it, so can I.” J.T. Ellison will appear at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville October 10-12, 2014. All festival events are free and open to the public.

A Princess in a Tower

In Guests on Earth, beloved novelist Lee Smith reimagines the last days of Zelda Fitzgerald

By Ed Tarkington | July 31, 2014

July 31, 2014 Lee Smith’s literary gifts make her distinctly qualified to take on the treacherous task of reimagining the last days of Zelda Fitzgerald, the muse behind The Great Gatsby, whose tragic life and more tragic end have haunted readers for generations. Smith will appear at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville October 10-12, 2014. All festival events are free and open to the public.

No Strangers

A new spiritual practice for novelist River Jordan leads to a surprising memoir

By Serenity Gerbman | July 30, 2014

July 30, 2014 When she faced the prospect of sending both of her sons into war zones—one to Iraq, the other to Afghanistan—River Jordan conceived of a unique way to calm her fears: every night she would say a prayer for someone she didn’t know. Along the way, her project became an Internet phenomenon. Jordan will appear at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville October 10-12, 2014. All festival events are free and open to the public.

Before the Water Came

Amy Greene’s new novel, Long Man, tells the story of a place lost to progress

By Maria Browning | July 29, 2014

July 29, 2014 In Amy Greene’s richly told second novel, the year is 1936, and the fictional Tennessee town of Yuneetah has been doomed by a TVA dam project. Long Man is the story of a crisis among the community’s last holdouts, and it brings a lost world to life. Greene will appear at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville October 10-12, 2014. All festival events are free and open to the public.

Freedom Turns Fifty

In The Bill of the Century, Clay Risen explores the fascinating twists and turns of groundbreaking civil-rights legislation

By Michael Ray Taylor | July 28, 2014

July 28, 2014 Clay Risen, a frequent Chapter16 contributor, returns to the historic struggle for civil rights in The Bill of the Century: The Epic Battle for the Civil Rights Act, a penetrating account of the heroic effort to pass the landmark 1964 legislation. He will appear at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville October 10-12, 2014. All festival events are free and open to the public.

“After Hours, Provincetown Cemetery”

By Kendra DeColo | July 25, 2014

July 25, 2014 Kendra DeColo’s Thieves in the Afterlife was selected by Yusef Komunyakaa for the 2013 Saturnalia Books Poetry Prize. Her poems have appeared in Southern Indiana Review, Calyx, Best Indie Lit of New England, and elsewhere, and she has taught writing workshops in prisons, middle schools, and homeless shelters. Kendra DeColo will appear at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville October 10-12, 2014. All festival events are free and open to the public.

Camilla and the Caterpillars

By Frances Figart, illustrated by Matt Brass
Smokies Life
68 pages
$14.95

A young girl’s encounter with an extraordinary caterpillar in the Great Smoky Mountains leads her and her family on a quest to plant a national park right in their own backyard.

This environmentally themed chapter book for ages 6 through 11 introduces young readers to important ecological concepts including habitat loss and the interdependence of native species and offers a compelling grassroots solution through native-plant gardening that invites anyone to take part in addressing the growing biodiversity crisis.

~the publisher