Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Flooded Hearts

Cary Holladay writes bold stories about northern Virginia’s river valleys

August 28, 2013 The short stories in Cary Holladay’s The Deer in the Mirror may be set mostly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but there is nothing staid or dated about them. Holladay will discuss the collection at Burke’s Book Store in Memphis on September 5, 2013, at 5:30 p.m., and at the Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13. Both events are free and open to the public.

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It Couldn’t Be More Real

With Ghostman, debut crime novelist Roger Hobbs proves himself a literary prodigy

August 27, 2013 Roger Hobbs graduated from Reed College in 2011 after studying film noir, literary theory, and ancient languages—all of which he manages to put to good use in his debut novel, Ghostman, a thriller that legendary Knopf editor Gary Fisketjon characterizes as “addictive, electrifying, and quicksilver-paced.”

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Surviving Disaster, Laughing at Death

Novelist Jonathan Tropper talks with Chapter 16 about comedy and catastrophe

August 26, 2013 Jonathan Tropper’s six novels address a fundamental question: when life doesn’t turn out as you planned, what do you do next? Despite the catastrophes Tropper’s characters encounter, his books are fun, knee-slapping, tear-inducing comedies that provide a guide for surviving calamity and discovering what lies on the other side. Tropper talks with Chapter 16 prior to his appearance at the twenty-fifth annual Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13, 2013. All festival events are free and open to the public.

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Earth and Fire

Helene Wecker explores Jewish and Arab myth against the backdrop of immigrant life in 1899 New York

August 23, 2013 In her debut novel, The Golem and the Jinni, Helene Wecker weaves an intricate tapestry made of both Middle Eastern myth and the gritty reality of life on New York’s Lower East Side at the turn of the twentieth century. In this colorful world, two magical creatures craft their own version of humanity from elemental earth and fire. Wecker will appear at the twenty-fifth annual Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13, 2013. All festival events are free and open to the public.

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An Island of Rich Girls

The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls, Anton DiSclafanii’s debut novel, captures the swirl of impulses in a 1930s teenager at odds with her age

August 22, 2013 In her debut novel, The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls, Anton DiSclafani offers an elegantly written, reflective journey of a protagonist who begins to confront her own fearlessness and desire, both of which put her at odds with the cultural expectations for women of her time. DiSclafani will discuss The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls at the twenty-fifth annual Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 11-13. All festival events are free and open to the public.

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Freeing His Father’s Ghost

In this scorching debut memoir, Michael Hainey traces the haunting mystery of his father’s death

August 21, 2013 In dark, poetic, and often brilliant prose, Michael Hainey’s wrenching autobiography, After Visiting Friends: A Son’s Story, sets out to uncover long-held secrets and discover the truth about a death in the family that has haunted Hainey for decades. He will appear at the twenty-fifth annual Southern Festival of Books held in Nashville October 11-13, 2013. All events are free and open to the public.

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