2022 Southern Festival of Books | Chapter 16

Leaving Hell Like a Dream Behind Them

Nazi war crimes and Cold War espionage fuel a YA historical thriller

By Tina Chambers | September 30, 2021

In Bluebird, New York Times bestselling author Sharon Cameron gives her young readers a glimpse of the shocking treatment of innocent men, women, and children during World War II, contrasted with seemingly peaceful post-war New York City — but looks can be deceiving. Cameron will discuss Bluebird at an in-person session of the 2021 Southern Festival of Books held at Parnassus Books in Nashville on October 2.

Always Graceful

Margaret Renkl discusses her new essay collection, Graceland, at Last

By Jim Patterson | September 8, 2021

Graceland, at Last: Notes on Hope and Heartache from the American South collects 60 of Margaret Renkl’s essays for The New York Times. Her fascinating explanations of the natural world are the standouts, but she also weighs in with authority on politics and culture. Renkl will discuss the book at a free ticketed event held in Harpeth Hall’s Frances Bond Davis Theater in Nashville on September 14, at a virtual event hosted by Novel in Memphis on September 16, and at the online 2021 Southern Festival of Books.

Archaic Snailfishing in Nashville

Book Excerpt: Mastodons to Mississippians: Adventures in Nashville’s Deep Past

By Aaron Deter-Wolf and Tanya M. Peres | June 24, 2021

Mastodons to Mississippians: Adventures in Nashville’s Deep Past by Aaron Deter-Wolf and Tanya M. Peres explores the “archaeological roots of Music City.” The book will be published by Vanderbilt University Press in August 2021.

The Singing Wire Between Joy and Grief

You Want More spans the career of one of the South’s most beloved storytellers

By Ed Tarkington | September 16, 2020

With You Want More: Selected Stories, Hub City Press delivers a career retrospective of the writer The New York Times called “among the great pillars of Southern literature.” George Singleton will discuss the book with Ashleigh Bryant Phillips at a virtual event hosted by Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on September 28 and will appear at the 2020 Southern Festival of Books, held online October 1-11.

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