12:00 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Auditorium

Ada Calhoun

Memoir

A staggering memoir from New York Times-bestselling author Ada Calhoun traces her fraught relationship with her father and their shared obsession with a great poet.

 12:00 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Conference Room 3

Josh Floyd: IngramSpark

Multi-Genre

Join Josh Floyd from Ingram Spark to learn about opportunities for independent publishing.

 12:00 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Conference Room 1A

George Singleton

Short Stories

Thirty stories, collected in one volume for the very first time, from one of the South's best known and most acclaimed short story writers.

 12:00 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Special Collections Room

In Conversation: Adria Bernardi, Sherry Robinson, Susan Underwood

Fiction

Writers explore themes of feminism, community and healing.

 12:00 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Conference Room 1B

In Conversation: Alex Jahangir, Emily Mendenhall

Non-Fiction

Dr. Alex Jahangir and Emily Mendenhall have the inside scoop on the coronavirus pandemic. Join them as they reveal their unique perspectives and careers.

 12:00 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Third Floor Program Room

In Conversation: Justin Jones, Chris Joyner, Thomas E. Ricks

Non-Fiction

Scholars and activists discuss the fight for racial equality in the South, both in the past and the present.

 12:00 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Commons Room

In Conversation: Lana K.W. Austin, Madison Smartt Bell

Fiction

Popular writers Austin and Bell as discuss power, intrigue, and the supernatural in new novels.

 1:00 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Conference Room 3

In Conversation: Lisa Dordal, John C. Mannone, Annette Sisson

Poetry

Poets discuss the art and science of poetry. Explore with them themes of love, nature, life, and human connection.

 1:00 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Commons Room

Wayne Flynt

Memoir

The hours spent visiting, in intimate closeness, are still cherished by Wayne Flynt. They yielded revelations large and small, which have been shaped into Afternoons with Harper Lee.

 1:00 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Conference Room 1A

In Conversation: Kendra Allen, Toya Wolfe

Multi-Genre

Novelists explore coming-of-age in the midst of racist institutions. Join them and learn their perspectives on racism, healing, and the effects of oppression.

 1:00 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Third Floor Program Room

Kimberly Brock

Fiction

In this sweeping tale from award-winning author Kimberly Brock, the answers to a real-life mystery may be found in the pages of a story that was always waiting to be written.

 1:30 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Special Collections Room

In Conversation: Katharine Burnett, Jill Anderson

Non-Fiction

Charting the gender, race, and class constructions at work in regional aesthetics, The Tacky South explores what shifting notions of tackiness reveal about US culture as a whole and the role that region plays in addressing national and global issues of culture and identity.

 1:30 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Auditorium

Scott Sauls

Religion

Find the freedom from regret, hurt, and fear that God wants for you while discovering joy, relief, and hope as you become the beautiful human he created you to be.

 1:30 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Conference Room 1B

In Conversation: Dr. Zaid Brifkani, Marie Myung-Ok Lee

Fiction

Join two novelists in a conversation about pursuing a dream while dealing with family myths and inheritances.

 2:00 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Conference Room 3

Tajja Isen

Essays

This is a fearless and darkly comic essay collection about race, justice, and the limits of good intentions.

 2:00 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Third Floor Program Room

Becca Andrews

Non-Fiction

An in-depth look at the legacy of Roe v. Wade, and on-the-ground reporting from the front lines of the battle to protect the right to choose.

 2:00 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Commons Room

David Haskell

Environment/Climate Change

This is a lyrical exploration of the diverse sounds of our planet, the creative processes that produced these marvels, and the perils that sonic diversity now faces.

 2:30 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Conference Room 1B

George Dawes Green

Fiction

Savannah may appear to be “some town out of a fable,” with its vine flowers, turreted mansions, and ghost tours that romanticize the city’s history. But look deeper and you’ll uncover secrets, past and present, that tell a more sinister tale.

 2:30 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Auditorium

In Conversation: Lauren K. Denton, Susannah B. Lewis

Fiction

Hear two novelists speak about the beauties and charms of southern adventures.

 2:30 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Conference Room 1A

In Conversation: Steve Adams, Bruce Holsinger

Fiction

Two novelists share their new works on loss and desire amidst personal upheaval.

 2:30 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Special Collections Room

Major Jackson

Multi-Genre

In this collection of essays, interviews, and notes, Major Jackson revels in the work of poetry not only to limn and assess the intellectual and spiritual dimensions of poets, but to amplify the controversies and inner conflicts that define our age.

 3:00 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Conference Room 3

Alana White

Fiction

A clever, richly evocative tale for lovers of medieval and Renaissance mysteries everywhere, The Hearts of All on Fire is a timeless story of family relationships coupled with themes of love, loss, betrayal and, above all, hope in a challenging world.

 3:00 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Third Floor Program Room

In Conversation: Pauletta Hansel, Jeff Hardin, Thomas Alan Holmes

Poetry

New collections from Tennessee poets explore love, faith and our place in the world.

 3:30 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Auditorium

In Conversation: Dolen Perkins-Valdez, LaToya Watkins

Fiction

These two novels serve as searing meditations on grief, female strength, and self‑discovery set against a backdrop of complicated social and racial histories.

 3:30 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Conference Room 1B

Nora McInerny

Essays

The host of the podcast "Terrible, Thanks for Asking" turns her eye on our aggressively, oppressively optimistic culture, our obsession with self-improvement, and what it really means to live authentically in the online age.

 3:30 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Conference Room 1A

Pulpwood Queens: Kathy L. Murphy, Lara Bernhardt, Tracy Lea Carnes, Kacey Kowars

Fiction

 3:30 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Commons Room

Rinker Buck

Non-Fiction

Life on the Mississippi is an epic, enchanting blend of history and adventure in which Buck builds a wooden flatboat from the grand “flatboat era” of the 1800s and sails it down the Mississippi River, illuminating the forgotten past of America’s first western frontier.

 3:30 pm, Oct 14
 NPL Special Collections Room

Tom Piazza

Short Stories

Exploring the diverse landscape of American life, the stories in Blues and Trouble: Twelve Stories capture the lives of people caught between circumstance and their own natures or on the run from fate.

 9:30 am, Oct 15
 NPL Auditorium

Coffee and Refreshments before Women's National Book Association presents Coffee with Authors

Multi-Genre

Complimentary coffee and refreshments will be served prior to the 10:00 am event!

 10:00 am, Oct 15
 War Memorial Auditorium

Rick Bragg

Memoir

Bragg's warmhearted and hilarious story of how his life was transformed by his love for a poorly behaved, half-blind stray dog.

 10:00 am, Oct 15
 NPL Conference Room 3

In Conversation: Kerry Malawista, Rachel Vincent

Young Adult

Sometimes we choose our families, and sometimes they choose us. These two young adult novels face adolescent upheaval with courage and wit.

 10:00 am, Oct 15
 NPL Third Floor Program Room

In Conversation: David Domine, Benjamin Gilmer

History

Domine and Gilmore share mesmerizing true tales of crime, punishment, and American prisons.

 10:00 am, Oct 15
 NPL Conference Room 1B

In Conversation: Emily Bingham, Renee Harrison

History

Explore the legacy of slavery through a song with its roots in slave society, and the story of the slaves that built the White House.

 10:00 am, Oct 15
 NPL Auditorium

Women's National Book Association presents Coffee with Authors

Multi-Genre

Complimentary coffee and refreshments will be served at 9:30 am with session start time at 10:00 am. Join host Mary Laura Philpott in conversation with four authors of bestselling new novels and memoirs.

 10:00 am, Oct 15
 NPL Special Collections Room

In Conversation: L.M. Elliott, Sharon Cameron, Amanda McCrina

Young Adult

Discover World War II stories for young readers that keep history alive.

 10:30 am, Oct 15
 NPL Commons Room

Tennessee Writers/Tennessee Stories presents: Tara Stringfellow

Fiction

A spellbinding debut novel tracing three generations of a Southern Black family and one daughter’s discovery that she has the power to change her family’s legacy.

 11:00 am, Oct 15
 NPL Teen Center

Ann Hite

Short Stories

Ann Hite takes her readers back to Black Mountain with this haunted short story collection.

 11:00 am, Oct 15
 NPL Conference Room 3

In Conversation: Jarrett Pumphrey, Jerome Pumphrey

Children's

Simple, subtle, and drolly funny, the Pumphrey brothers’ newest picture book is a layered exploration of the foolishness of making assumptions and the virtue of curiosity.

 11:00 am, Oct 15
 NPL Third Floor Program Room

Johnathan Scott Barrett

Food culture

Barrett shares recipes, stories, and plans for making Southern holiday meals memorable.

 11:00 am, Oct 15
 NPL Conference Room 1B

In Conversation: Dan Canon, Carissa Byrne Hessick

Non-Fiction

Two blistering critiques of America’s assembly-line approach to criminal justice and the shameful practice at its core: the plea bargain

 11:30 am, Oct 15
 NPL Commons Room

Megan Giddings

Fiction

Giddings' newest is a piercing dystopian novel about the unbreakable bond between a young woman and her mysterious mother, set in a world in which witches are real and single women are closely monitored.

 11:30 am, Oct 15
 NPL Special Collections Room

In Conversation: Alex Aster, Helene Dunbar

Young Adult

Two young adult novels filled with secrets, deception, romance, and twists worthy of the darkest thrillers,

 11:30 am, Oct 15
 War Memorial Auditorium

In Conversation: Silas House, Margaret Renkl

Multi-Genre

House tells a riveting story of survival and hope, set in the not-too-distant future, about a young man forced to flee the United States and seek refuge across the Atlantic.

 12:00 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Conference Room 3

H. H. Leonards

Memoir

 12:00 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Conference Room 1B

In Conversation: Frye Gaillard, Cynthia Tucker

Non-Fiction

Prize-winning reporters reflect in a powerful series of essays on the role of the South in America’s changing political landscape.

 12:00 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Conference Room 1A

In Conversation: Jami Attenberg, Isaac Fitzgerald, Maud Newton

Memoir

Authors Jami Attenberg, Isaac Fitzgerald & Maud Newton come together to speak about their memoirs and embracing truth, grace, and identity.

 12:00 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Third Floor Program Room

A Tribute to Randall Kenan: Tayari Jones

Multi-Genre

Introducing Tayari Jones on a personal, social, and intellectual self-portrait of the beloved and enormously influential late Randall Kenan, a master of both fiction and nonfiction.

 12:00 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Auditorium

Diane Kruger

Children's

From actress and mom Diane Kruger comes an enchanting story about how learning the meaning of her name changed her life—and how our names can help us find our own special powers.

 12:30 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Teen Center

In Conversation: Salina Yoon, Jessica Young

Children's

Bring your little ones for two adorable picture books, featuring penguins!

 12:30 pm, Oct 15
 War Memorial Auditorium

Malinda Lo

Young Adult

Last Night at the Telegraph Club author Malinda Lo returns to the Bay Area with another masterful queer coming-of-age story, this time set against the backdrop of the first major Supreme Court decisions legalizing gay marriage.

 12:30 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Special Collections Room

In Conversation: Kelly Andrew

Young Adult

All is not always well. A new novel show the dark side of belonging and adolescent life.

 1:00 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Conference Room 3

Alan Gratz

Middle Grade

#1 New York Times bestselling author Alan Gratz (Refugee; Ground Zero) is back, tackling the urgent topic of climate change in this breathtaking, action-packed novel that will keep readers turning pages while making their own plans to better the world.

 1:00 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Conference Room 1B

Jody Rosen

History

Rosen provides a panoramic revisionist portrait of the nineteenth-century invention that is transforming the twenty-first-century world.

 1:00 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Commons Room

Joshua Cohen in Conversation with Justin Taylor

Fiction

Winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction! Mixing fiction with nonfiction, the campus novel with the lecture, The Netanyahus is a wildly inventive, genre-bending comedy of blending, identity, and politics that finds Joshua Cohen at the height of his powers.

 1:30 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Special Collections Room

In Conversation: Andrew Maraniss, Vivien Mildenberger

Multi-Genre

These middle grade books share inspirational true tales of the first women's Olympic basketball team and a disability rights advocate.

 1:30 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Third Floor Program Room

Michael Sampson

Children's

Children will love the rhythm and rhyme that are hallmarks of the beloved author duo of Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3 as they follow the adventurous armadillo through nighttime fun as dawn approaches.

 1:30 pm, Oct 15
 War Memorial Auditorium

In Conversation: Mary Laura Philpott, Margaret Renkl

Essays

From the bestselling author of I Miss You When I Blink comes a poignant and powerful new memoir that tackles the big questions of life, death, and existential fear with humor and hope.

 1:30 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Teen Center

Julia Watts

Young Adult

Love looks the same no matter the place or the people.

 1:30 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Auditorium

Andrew Sean Greer

Fiction

In the follow-up to the “bedazzling, bewitching, and be-wonderful” (New York Times​) best-selling and Pulitzer Prize-winning Less: A Novel, the awkward and lovable Arthur Less returns in an unforgettable road trip across America.

 2:00 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Conference Room 1A

In Conversation: Joy Jordan-Lake, June Hall McCash

Fiction

Historical fiction novels take us to the United States as a young nation and a coastal village where past and present collide.

 2:00 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Conference Room 3

Mary Ellen Pethel

Non-Fiction

Title IX would serve as the tipping point for the modern era of women’s sport. Slowly but surely, women’s athletics at the high school and collegiate levels grew to prominence, and Tennessee fast emerged as a national leader.

 2:00 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Conference Room 1B

Gal Beckerman

Non-Fiction

This extraordinary book is a search for those quieter spaces, over centuries and across continents, and a warning that—in a world dominated by social media—they might soon go extinct.

 2:30 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Auditorium

Rachel Kushner in conversation with Kevin Morby

Essays

From a writer celebrated for her “chops, ambition, and killer instinct” (John Powers, Fresh Air), a career-spanning collection of spectacular essays about politics and culture. Kushner will be in conversation with musician Kevin Morby.

 2:30 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Teen Center

In Conversation: Janet Key, Sarah Mlynowski

Middle Grade

Authors Janet Key & Sarah Mlynowski join to speak upon their joyful reads in accepting others and defining yourself.

 2:30 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Third Floor Program Room

In Conversation: Nathan Elias, Peng Shepherd

Fiction

Maps open into secret worlds and thriller and fantasy meet in these new novels.

 2:30 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Commons Room

Southern Foodways Alliance presents the 2022 John Egerton Prize

Food culture

Join author Silas House and activist Imani Black in a conversation celebrating Black's work as an activist in aquaculture in the tradition established by the late John Egerton.

 3:00 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Conference Room 3

In Converstion, R.J. Jacobs, Steven Womack

Fiction

Nashville authors R.J. Jacobs & Steven Womack share the stage with new thrillers.

 3:00 pm, Oct 15
 War Memorial Auditorium

Patrick Radden Keefe

Non-Fiction

From the prize-winning, New York Times bestselling author of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing—and one of the most decorated journalists of our time—twelve enthralling stories of skulduggery and intrigue

 3:30 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Auditorium

In Conversation: Anna Badkhen, Ken Kalfus, Malaka Gharib

Multi-Genre

Join Anna Badkhen,Ken Kalfus & Malaka Gharib in unraveling the unjust consequences of feeling displaced in a new place.

 3:30 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Conference Room 1B

In Conversation: Margaret Burnham, Imani Perry

Non-Fiction

Margaret Burnham & Imani Perry speak about their investigative work exploring Jim Crow laws and the devastating stories of those who lived it.

 3:30 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Special Collections Room

In Conversation: Shawna Kay Rodenberg, Justin Taylor

Memoir

Join the authors as they discuss their powerful new memoirs.

 4:00 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Third Floor Program Room

In Conversation: Arwen Donahue, Jesse Graves, Jayne Waldrop

Multi-Genre

Three authors share works in different genres on the duties, chores, and daily life with the acceptance of loss.

 4:00 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Conference Room 3

In Conversation: Christian J. Collier, Bobby Rogers, Adam Vines

Poetry

Join three poets for a reading and conversation on loss, hardship and dilemmas.

 4:00 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Commons Room

In Conversation: Lee Cole, Victoria Shorr

Fiction

Join Lee Cole & Victoria Shorr in incredible love stories that explore the possibilities of fate.

 4:30 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Conference Room 1B

In Conversation: Leigh Ann Gardner, Greg Melville

Non-Fiction

Take a lively tour through the history of the US cemeteries that explores how, where, and why the dead are buried; especially in Tennessee.

 4:30 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Special Collections Room

Richard Manning

Music

Author Richard Manning in this book follows where his guitar leads. Ultimately, it sings to the American body.

 4:30 pm, Oct 15
 NPL Auditorium

Sean Dietrich

Memoir

Join Sean Dietrich in a laugh-out-loud funny true story of a loving relationship, a grand adventure, and a promise kept.

 12:00 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Special Collections Room

GennaRose Nethercott

Fiction

A wonderfully imaginative, wholly enchanting novel of witness, survival, memory, and family that reads like a fairy tale godfathered by Neil Gaiman and Tim Burton in a wild America alive with wonders and devils alike.

 12:00 pm, Oct 16
 War Memorial Auditorium

Margo Price in Conversation with Fiona Whelan Prine

Memoir

Maybe We’ll Make It is a memoir of loss, motherhood, and the search for artistic freedom in the midst of the agony experienced by so many aspiring musicians: bad gigs and long tours, rejection and sexual harassment, too much drinking and barely enough money to live on.

 12:00 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Commons Room

In Conversation: Cathryn Hankla, Marilyn Kallet

Poetry

Poetry is the work of keen observation, as these two master poets demonstrate.

 12:00 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Third Floor Program Room

In Conversation: Gwen Kirby, Giada Scodellaro

Multi-Genre

Short story masters share work of full of intricate beauty and the capability of rescuing yourself when at your breaking points.

 12:00 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Conference Room 1B

In Conversation: Kristen Green, Ben Raines

History

History is being properly re-written through stories of women who freed slave jails and the discovery of the last slave ship bound for North America.

 12:00 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Auditorium

In Conversation: Kristin Tubb, Sherri Winston

Middle Grade

These middle grade books help young readers with tales of how to summon the courage to fight and cope.

 12:00 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Conference Room 3

In Conversation: Susanna Chapman, Thyra Heder

Children's

Susanna Chapman & Thyra Heder's books share with children the joy of encouraging creativity and seeing the beauty around us.

 1:00 pm, Oct 16
 War Memorial Auditorium

Ruta Sepetys

Young Adult

“Sepetys brilliantly blends a staggering amount of research with heart, craft, and insight in a way very few writers can. Compulsively readable and brilliant.” –Kirkus Reviews, starred review

 1:00 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Conference Room 1B

In Conversation: John Duncan, Roy Herron

Memoir

Tennessee politicians share tales of politics, congress, and leadership.

 1:00 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Commons Room

In Conversation: David Armand, Charles Dodd White

Multi-Genre

These memoirs explore the world in ways that engage in meaningful and universal significance.

 1:00 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Third Floor Program Room

In Conversation: Aaron Deter-Wolf, James Hoobler, Tanya Peres

History

Writers and scholars share the geography and history of Nashville.

 1:00 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Special Collections Room

In Conversation: Jennifer Lynn Alvarez, Erica Waters

Young Adult

These young adult novels are twisted thrillers on the darkness hiding within all of us.

 1:30 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Auditorium

In Conversation: Lydia Conklin, Z. Zane McNeill, Casey Parks

Multi-Genre

In memoir, fiction, and essays, three authors explore identity and acceptance of the LGBTQ communities in the South.

 2:00 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Special Collections Room

In Conversation: Ellen Hagan, Natalie Lloyd

Young Adult

Middle grade books address breaking limits and taking on the world in a different way, refusing to let obstacles stop them.

 2:00 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Commons Room

Robin Hood

Photography

Awarded the Pulitzer Prize for photography while a newspaper photojournalist in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Hood shares his new work on the dioceses of Tennessee.

 2:00 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Third Floor Program Room

In Conversation: Marissa R. Moss, Francesca Royster

Music

New works explore the cultural impact of feminism and people of color in country music.

 2:00 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Conference Room 1B

David Randall

History

This is the gripping narrative of a fearless paleontologist, the founding of America’s most loved museums, and the race to find the largest dinosaurs on record.

 2:30 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Conference Room 3

Bo Roberts

Memoir

As the "youngest ever" Bo Young has recorded his adventure chronicles of his odyssey through a series of captivating events.

 2:30 pm, Oct 16
 War Memorial Auditorium

Doug the Pug

Children's

The most famous dog in America has a book!

 2:30 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Auditorium

Justin A. Reynolds

Middle Grade

This new middle-grade graphic novel stars Miles Morales.

 3:00 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Commons Room

Chris Crofton

Non-Fiction

This collection of columns chronicles the work of self-care, and a sneaky thread of moral thoughts.

 3:00 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Special Collections Room

In Conversation: Brooke Lauren Davis, Courtney Stevens

Young Adult

These young adult novels explore grief, family, and being the victim of a crime.

 3:00 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Conference Room 1B

In Conversation: Ernie Suggs, Andrew Young

Biography

Hear the inspiring dramatic stories of civil rights hero, congressman, ambassador, mayor, and American icon Andrew Young.

 3:00 pm, Oct 16
 Performance Stage

Performance Stage: GennaRose Nethercott

Performance Stage

Puppet show [not intended for children]

 3:00 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Third Floor Program Room

Sisters in Crime: Carmen Amato, Alana White, Steven Womack, Lisa Wysocky

Mystery/Thriller

 3:30 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Auditorium

Larry Wells

Biography

As the Founder of Yoknapatawpha Press, Wells shares the life and the Nobel literary work of William Faulkner.

 4:00 pm, Oct 16
 NPL Conference Room 1B

Hawa Allan

Non-Fiction

A brilliant debut by lawyer and critic Hawa Allan on the paradoxical state of black citizenship in the United States.