August 8, 2012 At Chapter 16, we’re committed to highlighting Tennessee authors in the news, but if we were to report on every Ann Patchett headline, there would be almost no time left to report on any other writer in the state.
August 7, 2012 Native Nashvillian Madison Smartt Bell, a prolific writer and finalist for awards such as the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award, among others, is no stranger to the troubled nature of the human heart. While his subjects range widely—from wartime Deep South to 9/11 New York City to Haiti in the midst of revolution—his philosophical focus on darker characters lying on the fringe of society has become a well-known and highly lauded trademark in his writing.
July 31, 2012 As a novelist, Ben Fountain’s intentions are far from subtle. He is going for broke in his new novel, bringing together a variety of pressing contemporary themes in a story that is as emotionally stirring as it is both chastening and bizarrely funny. With Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Fountain has produced what may eventually stand as the definitive American Iraq War novel. Fountain will read from and discuss the book at 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.
July 27, 2012 Set in 1875, during Reconstruction, Taylor M. Polites’s The Rebel Wife features an action-laced plot that includes hidden money, a mysterious plague, fire, gunshots, and an ensemble cast of personalities with violently conflicting agendas. At the heart of the story is Augusta (Gus) Branson, the widowed rebel herself, who represents the irrevocable, life-altering changes Reconstruction wrought for everyone involved. Taylor M. Polites will read from and discuss The Rebel Wife 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.
July 30, 2012 Nashville native Madison Smartt Bell is the author of thirteen novels and two short story collections, though he is perhaps best known for a highly acclaimed trio of novels on the Haitian revolution: All Souls Rising (a National Book Award finalist), Master of the Crossroads, and The Stone That the Builder Refused. Today he talks with debut Knoxville novelist, Christopher Hebert, whose new novel is set in an unnamed Caribbean country that bears a striking resemblance to Haiti. “One feels the weight of the tropical air in reading this book,” Bell writes, “and the weight of blood and history behind it.” Madison Smartt Bell and Christopher Hebert will appear 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.
July 24, 2012 In The Baker’s Daughter Sarah McCoy delivers an intimate and nuanced view of people trapped in the nightmare culture of Aryan supremacy and draws an intriguing parallel to the current debate over immigration. McCoy will discuss The Baker’s Daughter 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.
