Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

No Fairy Godmother Here

A girl and her cat help each other survive brutality and war

Doan Phuong Nguyen mines family history as well as world history in her debut novel for young readers, set in South Vietnam in the 1960s. She will discuss Mèo and Bé at Parnassus Books in Nashville on May 24.

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Performing Womanhood

Why Tammy Wynette Matters places the singer’s work in a feminist context

Critic Steacy Easton’s Why Tammy Wynette Matters examines Wynette’s public persona and artistry. Easton will discuss the book with Jewly Hight at Novelette Booksellers in Nashville on June 2.

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Not Just Another Word

Jefferson Cowie explores the troubling history of racist anti-statism in the South

FROM THE CHAPTER 16 ARCHIVE: With Freedom’s Dominion, Jefferson Cowie spins a dark, intricate tale of white, racist, anti-statist ideas of freedom in Alabama, revealing a sprawling history of white resistance to federal power. The book recently received the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in history.

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Love of Place and People

Jolene McIlwain’s Sidle Creek offers a vivid portrait of small-town Appalachia

In her debut story collection Sidle Creek, Jolene McIlwain fashions a world and characters as complicated as they are enduring. These stories let us come to know a small Appalachian community in Western Pennsylvania through its people, from hunters to diner workers to miners.

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The Path to Authentic Voice

Award-winning author Ruta Sepetys offers a guide to the craft of writing

Ruta Sepetys — the award-winning, bestselling, Nashville-based author of five young adult historical novels — offers guidance for novice as well as experienced writers in You: The Story.

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