Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Among the Lost

Women struggle against constraints in Liz Moore’s The God of the Woods

A missing 13-year-old girl at an Adirondack summer camp spurs an exploration of family dysfunction in Liz Moore’s The God of the Woods. Moore will appear at the 2024 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, October 26-27.

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The World According to Memory

A young girl learns about love, desire, and betrayal in 1950s Mississippi

Minrose Gwin’s bewitching novel, Beautiful Dreamers, covers a lot of ground: lost innocence and found strength, the gifts life takes away and the gifts it gives in return, the lies that hold you back and the lies you run toward. But most of all, it’s about a mother and a daughter and the connection that never lets you go.

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The Bewilderment of Memory

Characters can’t escape the past in Jill McCorkle’s Old Crimes

Jill McCorkle’s new story collection resonates with sympathy for characters struggling to make peace with themselves and those they love. McCorkle will appear at the 2024 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, October 26-27.

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A Tale of Two Families

Rachel Khong’s Real Americans explores identity and ambition

Real Americans, Rachel Khong’s second novel, explores the lives of two families of vastly different socioeconomic status. This vivid, multigenerational tale delves into the heart of what it means to be American and the paths of aspiration, success, and disappointment that come to define a life. Khong will appear at the 2024 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, October 26-27.

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So Vulnerably Human

There Is Happiness offers bittersweet confirmation of Brad Watson’s storytelling genius

Four years ago, the literary world unexpectedly lost a beloved and widely acclaimed writer, Brad Watson. This year, W.W. Norton revives a legend with This Is Happiness, a posthumous collection including previously unpublished work that reinforces the strength of Watson’s gifts and the generosity of his spirit. Watson’s editor, Alane Salierno Mason, will discuss There Is Happiness at the 2024 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, October 26-27.

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Existing Within Each Moment

Wei Tchou’s experimental memoir speaks several languages at once

Wei Tchou’s Little Seed weaves the author’s personal history with forays into the natural history of ferns, creating a deeply unconventional memoir.

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