Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

The Weight of Mountains

Mesha Maren’s debut novel, Sugar Run, is a tale of suspense and gritty social realism

In Sugar Run, her debut novel, Mesha Maren explores the complications of addiction, obsession, and rural poverty through the lens of an ex-convict’s love affairs with two captivating and self-destructive women. Maren will discuss Sugar Run at Parnassus Books in Nashville on January 22.

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Shaping, Shaped

Adrianne Harun speaks with Chapter 16 about her new story collection

“I love that shock of recognition when what we think of as normal and mundane shifts or cracks open,” fiction writer Adrianne Harun says. Harun is on the faculty of the Sewanee School of Letters.

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The Descent of Man

Barbara Kingsolver’s Unsheltered tells parallel stories of desperate families

The protagonists of Barbara Kingsolver’s Unsheltered are two families, separated by 140 years, who occupy a dilapidated house during parallel periods of cultural crisis. Kingsolver will discuss Unsheltered at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville on November 2. The event is part of the Salon@615 series.

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An Idea No One Considered Making an Argument Against

Kevin Powers, author of the acclaimed Iraq War novel The Yellow Birds, returns with A Shout in the Ruins

“The truth has a funny way of making its way in the world,” writes Kevin Powers in his new novel, A Shout in the Ruins, which explores painful truths about the human impulse toward violence and empire. Powers will appear at the 2018 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 12-14. Festival events are free and open to the public.

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Something More than Noir

The assassination of JFK launches Lou Berney’s new thriller

Against the backdrop of November 1963, crime novelist Lou Berney spins a gripping tale of two lovers on the lam from very different threats. Berney will discuss November Road at the 2018 Southern Festival of Books, held October 12-14 at Legislative Plaza and the Nashville Public Library. Festival events are free and open to the public.

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Mastering the Arts

B.A. Shapiro’s The Collector’s Apprentice pays homage to both modern painting and the ancient craft of the hustle

The young heroine of B.A. Shapiro’s latest novel, The Collector’s Apprentice , loves Post-Impressionism, but to achieve the life of her dreams she has to learn the lower arts of deception and subterfuge. Shapiro will appear at the 2018 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 12-14.

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