Michael Amos Cody blends murder and the supernatural in his new thriller AVALON MOON. Set in Runion, North Carolina, the novel opens with community members worried about an impending snowstorm and the potential danger posed by a new wolf sanctuary — but they soon have bigger threats to fear. Read Maggie Gigandet’s review at Chapter 16. (Link in bio.)
Leslie Baird’s debut novel, SALOMÉ, offers a genre-defying tale: a bildungsroman wrapped in layers of intrigue, gothic mysticism, and a reimagined classic femme fatale. Baird will discuss the book at The Lipstick Lounge in Nashville on May 26.
In ON WITNESS AND RESPAIR, a collection of essays and speeches, Jesmyn Ward deals with beauty and ugliness, dread and hope. Ward will discuss the book at Fisk University in Nashville on May 18. Read Kashif Andrew Graham’s review at Chapter 16. (Link in bio.)
FROM THE CHAPTER 16 ARCHIVE: In 2022, Brandon Taylor spoke with Chapter 16 about his Southern roots, his Baptist upbringing, how his brief career as a scientist has influenced his writing, and why he has been increasingly drawn to analog technologies in our digitally obsessed world. (Link in bio.)
In her debut novel, MERCY HILL, Hannah Thurman brings a sharp, attentive sensibility to a story of complex family dynamics and the aftermath of a highly pressurized childhood. Read Sarah Norris’ review at Chapter 16. (Link in bio.)
In DELIVERY, the new novel by Christopher Hebert, a star baseball player hides from the expectations of friends by delivering pizzas, but he knows that a reckoning of his future is coming soon. Hebert will discuss DELIVERY at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on May 14.
Read Sean Kinch’s review of the novel at Chapter 16. (Link in bio.)
“Every place I hike is a graveyard, and each bed I make on the earth is made atop death.”
Read Ross Gentry’s essay about a long walk with Walt Whitman. (Link in bio.)
Otis Sanford’s NEWSMAN: THE ROAD FROM ROUTE 2 BOX 9 surveys the author’s life from his childhood in rural Mississippi to a 50-year career in journalism. Sanford will appear at Bookstock at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library in Memphis on May 2. Read an excerpt from the book at Chapter 16. (Link in bio.)
In Douglas Stuart’s JOHN OF JOHN, a complicated father-son story plays out against the dramatic backdrop of Scotland’s windswept Western Isles. Stuart will discuss the novel at Parnassus Books in Nashville on May 4.
Read Amy Lyons’ review at Chapter 16. (Link in bio.)
Ellen Morris Prewitt delivers a delightfully rambunctious tale with WHEN WE WERE MURDEROUS TIME-TRAVELING WOMEN. The author will appear at Novel in Memphis on May 2. Read Bradley Sides’ review at Chapter 16. (Link in bio.)
The world depicted in Patrick Strickland’s debut story collection, A HISTORY OF HEARTACHE, is thick with undercurrents of personal violence, addiction, cynicism, and economic instability. Strickland’s stories persistently braid these elements together as they work to generate the stories’ thematic power. Read Emily Choate’s review at Chapter 16. (Link in bio.)
In THE NEWS FROM DUBLIN, Colm Tóibín depicts characters who employ grit and guile to create new homes and fresh identities. Tóibín will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on April 30. Read Sean Kinch’s review of THE NEWS FROM DUBLIN at Chapter 16. (Link in bio.)
