Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Fascist Buffoons

Timothy Egan chronicles the rise and fall of the KKK in the 1920s

Timothy Egan’s A Fever in the Heartland is a true tale of bigotry, cruelty, and the lust for power in 1920s Indiana. Egan will appear at the 2023 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on October 21-22.

Read more

Modern Roommate Wanted

Jenna Levine enters the supernatural romance scene with a centuries-old vampiric heartthrob

My Roommate Is a Vampire, Jenna Levine’s debut romance novel, offers an endearing, unlikely matchup of a centuries-old vampire and a quirky artist in her mid-30s. Levine will discuss the book at Parnassus Books in Nashville on August 29 and The Book & Cover in Chattanooga on September 8.

Read more

Taking Back the Narrative

Alice Carrière finds her way beyond a troubled upbringing in Everything/Nothing/Someone

In Everything/Nothing/Someone, Alice Carrière mines her strange childhood — seemingly privileged yet violently neglected — as she traces the roots of her dissociative disorder. Carrière will discuss the memoir at Parnassus Books in Nashville on September 6 and the 2023 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on October 21-22.

Read more

Who Lies Beneath

Nyani Nkrumah reckons with tragic history and racial reconciliation in a coming-of-age literary debut

Nyani Nkrumah’s debut, Wade in the Water, is a Southern coming-of-age tale that poses deep questions about race, reconciliation, history, and remembrance. Nkrumah will appear at the 2023 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on October 21-22.

Read more

I’m From Cleveland

David Madden shines an honest light on his family history

Distinguished man of letters and Knoxville native David Madden adds a family memoir to his impressive roster of publications. Set mostly in mid-century Knoxville, Momma’s Lost Piano tells the story of his mother, Emily Merritt Madden, and life’s cruel betrayal of her early expectations.

Read more

When Life Was Simpler

Women reflect on their mountain upbringing

In The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Women, editor Kami Ahrens curates a collection of voices that subvert the pastoral image of mountain living. Ahrens will appear at the 2023 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on October 21-22.

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