Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

A Valentine for Some Good Ol' Girls

What’s new in Tennessee books—and at Chapter 16—on February 18, 2010

Marshall Chapman and Lee Smith make it to New York for the opening of Good Ol’ Girls, Killer Nashville scores a big-name keynoter in Jeffery Deaver, Rebecca Skloot is on the third leg of her fifty-three-city book tour, Clay Risen is installed at the op-ed page of The New York Timesand on the cover of The Atlantic—and Michael Sims gives Chapter 16 a peek at his new collection of vampire stories (and there’s not a lovelorn teenager in sight).

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Diving Into Civil War History

Historian Tom Chaffin raises the H.L. Hunley and chronicles the birth of submarine warfare

Among the technological firsts of the American Civil War was an odd little boat, built by a group of dedicated entrepreneurs, that heralded the age of underwater exploration and warfare. In The H.L. Hunley: The Secret Hope of the Confederacy, Knoxville historian Tom Chaffin details the remarkable story of the first submarine to sink an enemy ship.

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In Defense of Print

Chapter 16 talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Maraniss

For more than thirty years, David Maraniss has been a reporter for The Washington Post, winning one Pulitzer Prize for reporting and sharing in another, all while writing several bestselling and critically acclaimed nonfiction books. A witness to the technological sea changes that have engulfed traditional newspapers and, some claim, made them increasingly irrelevant, Maraniss now issues for the first time a collection of his finest newspaper stories. Into the Story: A Writer’s Journey Through Life, Politics, Sports, and Loss reminds readers why newspapers mattered in the first place. Maraniss will read from and sign the book at McNeely Pigott & Fox in Nashville on February 23.

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Into the Cold

J.T. Ellison discusses her fourth Taylor Jackson mystery and how much she loves riding shotgun with Nashville’s homicide police

J.T. Ellison‘s fourth mystery novel The Cold Room once again features Nashville homicide detective Taylor Jackson. This time around, Jackson’s investigation takes her into the twisted horrors of necrophilia and then through a macabre chase involving reenactments of famous paintings both here and in Europe. Ellison talks with Chapter 16 about Nashville, her writing, and the delights of research, which in her case includes some quality time with Nashville’s boys in blue.

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Embracing Music and Poetry

What’s new in Tennessee books—and at Chapter 16—on February 11, 2010

U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan visits Tennessee, debut poet Beth Bachmann brings home the prestigious Kate Tufts Discovery Award, Barry Mazor explains to readers of The Wall Street Journal what Music City U.S.A. really means, William Gay goes to the movies—again, Good Ol’ Girls opens Off-Broadway, and both Amy Greene and Rebecca Skloot hit The New York Times bestseller list.

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Editor's Note

What’s new in Tennessee books—and at Chapter 16—on February 11, 2010

U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan visits Tennessee, debut poet Beth Bachmann brings home the prestigious Kate Tufts Discovery Award, Barry Mazor explains to readers of The Wall Street Journal what Music City U.S.A. really means, William Gay goes to the movies—again, Good Ol’ Girls opens Off-Broadway, and both Amy Greene and Rebecca Skloot hit The New York Times bestseller list.

Read more
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