Fiction

September 24, 2012 J.R. Moehringer, author of The New York Times bestselling memoir The Tender Bar, has always said he wanted to write a novel. So it’s fitting that his first is a work of historical fiction based on the life of William “Willie” Sutton, whose hardships as an Irish-American kid in Brooklyn during the Depression led to a four-decade-long criminal career. “Willie the Actor” was a pacifist bank robber known for using disguises. Though Sutton is a work of Moehringer’s imagination, it also hangs on reams of fascinating research into the life and career of this American folk hero. J.R. Moehringer will discuss Sutton at Nashville’s Southern Festival of Books on October 13 at 1 p.m. in the Nashville Public Library Auditorium. All festival events are free and open to the public.

September 17, 2012 Scottish-born writer Margot Livesey first read Jane Eyre at the age of nine, and the book has been a literary touchstone for her ever since. After publishing six acclaimed novels, Livesey has returned to Charlotte Brontë’s masterpiece and re-created its archetypal heroine as a young woman in 1960s Scotland. The Flight of Gemma Hardy draws heavily on the spirit of Jane Eyre yet tells an original story of struggle, secrets, and love that stands beautifully on its own. Livesey recently answered questions from Chapter 16 about, as she puts it, “writing in the shadow” of a classic. She will discuss The Flight of Gemma Hardy at the twenty-fourth annual Southern Festival of Books, held October 12-14 at Legislative Plaza in Nashville. All events are free and open to the public.

September 10, 2012 Long before director John Hughes cast the then-teenaged Molly Ringwald as the star of Sixteen Candles, she was a singer with a jazz album (I Wanna Be Loved By You, recorded with her father’s band) under her belt. Now Ringwald, forty-four, has written When It Happens to You, a novel composed of eight linked stories. The author and actor recently answered questions from Chapter 16 prior to her appearance at the Nashville Public Library on September 18 at 6:15 p.m. as part of the Salon@615 series. The event is free and open to the public.

September 6, 2012 Published in June, Gillian Flynn’s new mystery, Gone Girl, was the number-one bestselling hardcover hit of the summer. Rave reviews have described the book as a “dazzling breakthrough” (The New York Times), a “relentless page-turner” The AV Club, an “awesome whodunit” (Kirkus Reviews), and a “thoroughbred thriller.” Reese Witherspoon’s production company has purchased the novel’s film rights, with Flynn slated to write the screenplay. The novelist spoke with Chapter 16 prior to her appearance at the twenty-fourth annual Southern Festival of Books, held October 12-14 at Legislative Plaza in Nashville. All events are free and open to the public.