Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Where Reading is the Coolest Thing

Allison Varnes writes a cautionary tale about censorship for young readers

In Allison Varnes’s new middle-grade novel, Property of the Rebel Librarian, an unlikely hero defies her parents and her school to champion the right to read freely. Varnes will appear at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on September 18.

Read more

Chandeliers and Self-Discovery

Claire Fullerton’s new protagonist comes of age in 1970s Memphis

Set in 1970s Memphis, Claire Fullerton’s latest novel, Mourning Dove, captures its characters’ failing efforts to maintain Southern decorum in a swiftly changing world. Fullerton will appear at Novel in Memphis on September 11.

Read more

An Occupational Hazard

In Depth of Winter, Craig Johnson puts Sheriff Walt Longmire in a different cold place

In the latest Walt Longmire mystery, Craig Johnson sends his protagonist south of the border, where Walt must confront his greatest challenge: a hot landscape with a cold heart. Johnson will discuss Depth of Winter at the 2018 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 12-14.

Read more

A Stolen Life

Zora Neale Hurston relates the stories of an extraordinary survivor of the transatlantic slave trade

When she died, Zora Neale Hurston left behind a manuscript that tells the story of the last living survivor of the transatlantic slave trade. The editor of the book, titled Barracoon, is the Hurston scholar Deborah Plant who will appear at the 2018 Southern Festival of Books, held October 12-14 in Nashville.

Read more

Home to the Mountain

In Ronald Kidd’s new middle-grade novel, a boy’s journey leads to understanding

Ronald Kidd’s new middle-grade novel, Lord of the Mountain, is set in Bristol, Tennessee, in 1927—the time and place of country music’s “big bang.” Kidd will appear at the 2018 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 12-14.

Read more

The Darkness at the Door

Brantley Hargrove tells the story of a storm-chasing, tornado-catching legend

Tim Samaras, writes Brantley Hargrove in The Man Who Caught the Storm, “accomplished meteorology’s equivalent to the moon landing.” Hargrove will appear at the 2018 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 12-14.

Read more
TAKE THE SHORT READER SURVEY! CHAPTER 16 SURVEYOR SURVEYING