Chapter 16 - Part 528

Unstoppable

Meg Cabot is famous for The Princess Diaries and other YA titles, but a new series for adults is the next big thing for this publishing juggernaut

By Fernanda Moore | June 30, 2011

June 30, 2011 Meg Cabot may be the hardest working woman in the book business. To date, she has published more than fifty novels (for teens, preteens, and adults) and shows no sign of slowing down. Her books beget sequels, spinoffs, and both Hollywood and made-for-TV movies. She blogs. She tweets. She maintains a dauntingly thorough website. Today she talks with Chapter 16 prior to her visit to Nashville. Cabot will discuss Overbite at the Nashville Public Library on July 7 at 6:15 p.m. as part of the Salon@615 series. The event—a reception, reading, and book-signing—is free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale.

A Place to Stay

Victoria Ford, a child of the Memphis political dynasty, survived her parents’ disgrace to stand on a stage in Carnegie Hall and accept a national writing award

By Richard J. Alley | June 29, 2011

June 29, 2011 The Ford family of Memphis may be known as a political dynasty, but Victoria Ford is in the news for a much less controversial reason: last month she won a national Scholastic Art and Writing Award—and a $10,000 college scholarship. Past winners of the prestigious prize include Sylvia Plath, Joyce Carol Oates, and Truman Capote. For Ford, the awards ceremony, held May 31 in New York City’s Carnegie Hall, was a moment to remember.

Cherokee Ghost Story

Sonia Gensler’s first YA novel is set against a suspenseful background of mystery, murder, and miscegenation

By Tina LoTufo | June 28, 2011

June 28, 2011 As Sonia Gensler’s new historical novel The Revenant opens, Willemina Hammond is running away from boarding school in Columbia, Tennessee, to escape her family’s expectations. Willie assumes the identity of a graduating schoolmate and heads to Oklahoma in her place, but she never dreams that her new job as a teacher at the Cherokee Female Seminary will lead her on a chilling journey into the supernatural. Sonia Gensler will read from and sign copies of The Revenant at Borders Books in Clarksville on July 3 at 2 p.m.

Listen

Blas Falconer reads from his latest book in a podcast on the Poetry Foundation’s website

By Tristan Hickey | June 27, 2011

June 27, 2011 Puerto Rico’s first murder. The Battle of Nashville. A dress blooming in the ocean. These are the images Nashville poet Blas Falconer offers listeners during a 2008 reading at the Art Institute of Chicago. In the program Falconer reads from his latest book, A Question of Gravity and Light (Arizona University Press, 2007).

Union Sympathizers

Knoxville readers are overjoyed about their new downtown bookstore, Union Ave. Books

By Judy Loest | June 24, 2011

June 24, 2011 Downtown Knoxville finally has something that Knoxville readers have dreamed of for a long time: a really good independent bookstore. Union Ave. Books fills very nicely the void left by Carpe Librum Booksellers, Knoxville’s only indie, which folded last year. Flossie McNabb, one of Carpe’s former owners, has partnered with attorney Melinda Meador to launch the store, which had its grand opening last weekend. As Knoxville Metro Pulse editor Jack Neely told Chapter 16, “Any city that calls itself a city needs an independent bookstore. It makes for a different destination than just bars, restaurants, and clothing stores. It’s the type of business that drives curiosity.”

Sex and Gasoline and Brilliant Prose

Rodney Crowell’s memoir has the critics singing his praises

By Tristan Hickey | June 23, 2011

June 23, 2011 People know him from songs like “Sex and Gasoline,” “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight,” and “I Ain’t Living Long Like This,” but singer-songwriter and Nashvillian Rodney Crowell also tested the literary waters this year with his memoir, Chinaberry Sidewalks, and the reviews have been spectacular.

Tias and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us

By Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, illustrated by Josie Del Castillo
Seal Press
304 pages
$30

“Within these pages, I found my abuela, my tías and my primas — laughing, crying, and nodding alongside me. This book is a gift of understanding, and loving one’s family, even when our families are complicated and painful. It’s a beautiful reminder of the power of storytelling and the profound connection of kinship.”

~ Paola Mendoza, author, organizer and filmmaker