Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Sean Kinch

Defying the Logic of Love

A debut story collection depicts magical metamorphoses in the wake of catastrophe

Nathan Elias’ debut story collection, The Reincarnations, features characters who attempt to redefine themselves after enduring heartbreak and grief.

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An Uptick in Fondness for the World

George Saunders shares his passion for 19th-century Russian masters of the short story

In A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, George Saunders relates the insights he has gathered from 20 years of teaching 19th-century Russian short stories to aspiring writers. Saunders will discuss the book at a ticketed virtual event hosted by Parnassus Books in Nashville on January 19.

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Why Am I Alive?

Michael Farris Smith imagines the troubled pre-Gatsby years of Fitzgerald’s Nick Carraway

In Nick, a new novel depicting the life of Nick Carraway before the turbulent summer of The Great Gatsby, Michael Farris Smith drags his hero through war, heartbreak, and the violent underworld of New Orleans.

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Desert Saints

Daniel Hornsby’s novel Via Negativa follows a retired priest’s troubled pilgrimage

In Via Negativa, the debut novel by Memphis writer Daniel Hornsby, a homeless priest and a wounded coyote travel across America on a quest for reconciliation and revenge.

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Open Secrets and Broken Promises

In David James Poissant’s Lake Life, a family’s farewell to their summer home leads to traumatic reckoning

In David James Poissant’s first novel, Lake Life, the Starling family gathers in their crumbling vacation home for one last weekend. Over 48 hours, long-buried secrets are revealed and lives are overturned. Poissant will discuss Lake Life at the 2020 Southern Festival of Books, held online October 1-11.

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Surviving the Curse of “Nowville”

Greetings from New Nashville considers the city’s transformation and its future

In Greetings from New Nashville, a collection of essays edited by Steve Haruch, contributors grapple with the rise of the city as a tourist destination and the municipal issues that have arisen as a result. Haruch will discuss Greetings from New Nashville at the 2020 Southern Festival of Books, held online October 1-11.

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