Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Pretty in Prose

Actor and teen star Molly Ringwald talks with Chapter 16 about reinventing herself as a novelist

September 10, 2012 Long before director John Hughes cast the then-teenaged Molly Ringwald as the star of Sixteen Candles, she was a singer with a jazz album (I Wanna Be Loved By You, recorded with her father’s band) under her belt. Now Ringwald, forty-four, has written When It Happens to You, a novel composed of eight linked stories. The author and actor recently answered questions from Chapter 16 prior to her appearance at the Nashville Public Library on September 18 at 6:15 p.m. as part of the Salon@615 series. The event is free and open to the public.

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Hopeless Dreamers

Jack Hitt goes in search of the defining American trait, and finds himself amid a bunch of adorable amateurs

September 7, 2012 There’s something heady about watching a pro wrangle with the definition of American identity. Almost as much as we love to reinvent ourselves, we love to reinvent the definition of ourselves, to give that narrative a fresh coat of paint. In Bunch of Amateurs: A Search for the American Character, Jack Hitt puts himself to this uber-American task, making a lively and ultimately convincing argument about amateurism as a mainstay of American identity. Hitt will discuss Bunch of Amateurs at the twenty-fourth annual Southern Festival of Books, held October 12-14 at Legislative Plaza in Nashville. All events are free and open to the public.

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In Vilnius

Novelist Steve Stern recently visited Lithuania and found a world the Nazis thought they had destroyed

September 7, 2012 Novelist Steve Stern grew up in Memphis, though not in the Pinch– an old Memphis neighborhood that is often the setting for Stern’s fiction and was once the city’s Jewish ghetto. Stern was in his mid-thirties when he returned to Memphis, after more than a decade away, to work in a Memphis folklore center and discovered the Pinch. The Yiddish culture and stories he found there gave him the focus and material he needed to write.

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Till Death Do Us Part

Gillian Flynn, number-one bestselling author of Gone Girl, talks about the novel’s criminally toxic marriage and its bright future on the big screen

September 6, 2012 Published in June, Gillian Flynn’s new mystery, Gone Girl, was the number-one bestselling hardcover hit of the summer. Rave reviews have described the book as a “dazzling breakthrough” (The New York Times), a “relentless page-turner” The AV Club, an “awesome whodunit” (Kirkus Reviews), and a “thoroughbred thriller.” Reese Witherspoon’s production company has purchased the novel’s film rights, with Flynn slated to write the screenplay. The novelist spoke with Chapter 16 prior to her appearance at the twenty-fourth annual Southern Festival of Books, held October 12-14 at Legislative Plaza in Nashville. All events are free and open to the public.

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The World is Not So Different Now

Legendary author Judith Viorst talks with Chapter 16 about her work, her kids, and the bratty heroine of her new book for young readers

September 5, 2012 The beloved picture book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day established Judith Viorst as a world-famous children’s author, but the versatile author has also written non-fiction, humorous poetry, novels for adults (notably the wickedly funny Murdering Mr. Monti: A Merry Little Tale of Sex and Violence), and even a musical. Viorst, now eighty-one, will discuss her newest book for children, Lulu Walks the Dogs, at the twenty-fourth annual Southern Festival of Books, held October 12-14 at Legislative Plaza in Nashville. All events are free and open to the public.

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Life is Beautiful

In Beautiful Ruins, a Möbius strip of a novel, Jess Walter’s dual narratives converge with affecting, often hilarious results

September 4, 2012 Jess Walter has packed his wondrously strange seventh novel to the breaking point. Its dual narratives alternate between the destructive, self-serving pursuits of a present-day Hollywood producer and the personal, romantic quest of an Italian man searching for his long-lost love—until the two stories converge. The plot itself is remarkable, not least of all because it’s comprised of so many threads, but the most impressive aspects of Beautiful Ruins are its surprising humor, emotional depth, and exquisite writing.Jess Walter will discuss Beautiful Ruins at the twenty-fourth annual Southern Festival of Books, held October 12-14 at Legislative Plaza in Nashville. All events are free and open to the public.

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