Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Dream or Nightmare?

Molly McGhee’s debut novel takes a surreal look at modern employment

In her debut novel, Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind, Molly McGhee considers harsh economic realities through a dream-like lens. McGhee will appear at The Bookshop in Nashville on November 20.

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Marching and Running for Freedom

Alice Faye Duncan celebrates two courageous Black women in new picture-book biographies

Alice Faye Duncan brings young readers two new picture-book biographies: Coretta’s Journey, a biography of Coretta Scott King, and Traveling Shoes, which tells the story of U.S. Olympian and long jump champion Willye White. Duncan will discuss the books at Novel in Memphis on November 11.  

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Descent into Freedom

Jesmyn Ward’s Let Us Descend is a chronicle of survival and liberation

Following her National Book Award-winning 2017 novel, Sing Unburied, Sing, Jesmyn Ward returns with Let Us Descend, the story of an enslaved young woman’s journey toward liberation.

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A Feeling Not Unlike Happiness

Claire Keegan’s stories chart the good and bad of romantic relationships

In Claire Keegan’s new story collection So Late in the Day, women must learn to navigate unpredictable eruptions of the male ego. Keegan will appear at two ticketed events in Nashville, at Parnassus Books on October 28 and Montgomery Bell Academy on October 30.

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Looking for Home

Kelsey Norris’ debut story collection resonates with unanswered questions

Kelsey Norris’ debut story collection, House Gone Quiet, chronicles characters at a turning point. Norris will appear at the 2023 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on October 21-22.

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The Attack

I knew all the neighborhood cats, and this wasn’t one of them

I quieted, but the panther was already ambling to its feet. Its yellow eyes gave me one of those irritated looks that cats have when disturbed as it glided lazily into the woods.

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