In his latest poetry collection, Dear Mothership, Marcus Wicker lets us chart planet Earth as though we were aliens. Fueled by a lyricism that feels at once like rap, jazz, and funk, these poems consider what it means to be human, seen through an extraterrestrial lens. Wicker will discuss the book at Novel in Memphis on September 8.
In her second poetry collection, Black Lake, Emily Skaja recalls a year of miscarriages and deep grief. Skaja will discuss the book at Novel in Memphis on September 8.
In All the Sunshine in the World, her third middle-grade novel in verse, Nashville poet and educator Caroline Brooks Dubois once again examines the aftermath of tragedy in the life of a young girl. This time, her subject is the sudden, shocking loss of a sibling. The author will appear at the 2026 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on October 17-18.
Chris Young’s The Wound Is Where the Light Enters: A Memoir of Resilience shows us what it’s like to grow up in poverty, land in prison, and survive to find love and redemption.
The Foursome, the latest novel by Christina Baker Kline, illuminates a striking piece of American history that requires a bold but deft hand in retelling: the double marriage of two sisters from North Carolina to conjoined brothers Eng and Chang Bunker. Kline will appear at the 2026 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on October 17-18.
With Maybe the Body, a delightfully ambitious and formally adventurous poetry collection, Asa Drake urges readers toward liminal spaces. Drake will appear at the 2026 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on October 17-18.
