Queen of Memphis Summary: LuAnn Collier, a small-town beauty queen from the Delta, has eloped with Burniss Winnforth, the most sought-after bachelor in Memphis, and her new mother-in-law Maggie is furious. The Winnforths are the leaders of Memphis society, and the Colliers are what Maggie considers “common,” a bunch of low-class gamblers or worse, so […]
Donna Meredith interviews Clay Shwab, author of “Manny Shwab and the George Dickel Company: Whisky, Power and Politics During Nashville’s Gilded Age”
December 7, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Book Summary Manny Shwab and the George Dickel Company: Whisky, Power and Politics During Nashville’s Gilded Age (McFarland 2024) There was once a Tennessee whiskey that dwarfed Jack Daniel’s, and a powerful man was behind it: V.E. “Manny” Shwab. Until now, virtually nothing has been written about either. Their story is one of a Jewish […]
Bradley Sides interviews Maggie Nye, author of The Curators
December 4, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Maggie Nye’s debut, The Curators (Curbstone Books 2024), mixes magical realism with history. Set in Atlanta during the summer of 1915, The Curators follows a group of young girls–known as the Felicitous Five–as they create and deal with a golem in the aftermath of Mary Phagan’s murder and Leo Frank’s lynching. Nye’s novel boldly and […]
Bradley Sides interviews Willie Davis, author of “I Can Outdance Jesus”
November 19, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Willie Davis’ I Can Outdance Jesus (2024) is a rip-roaring collection of excellent rural short fiction–one that is almost certain to leave a lasting impression on readers. In Davis’ stories, songwriters taunt Episcopalians leaving church, a young girl preaches to chickens, and miracles appear (well—maybe not). It was my pleasure to be able to talk […]