5 Nashville authors you should read now

Keith Sharon, Nashville Tennessean
·1 min read

In Middle Tennessee, we are surrounded by distinct voices.

I'm not talking about accents. I'm talking about authors.

Have you ever walked into a bookstore and searched for something that catches your eye? Have you given local authors a try?

We all know about Ann Patchett, but how about some others?

Here are five authors from Nashville. Their voices might intrigue you.

Allie Kolb, 5, of Nashville checks out the Harry Potter window display June 16, 2003, at the Davis-Kidd Bookstore in Green Hills and just can’t wait for the newest Harry Potter book to come out. At the stroke of midnight on June 21, the fifth book, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” will be released.
Allie Kolb, 5, of Nashville checks out the Harry Potter window display June 16, 2003, at the Davis-Kidd Bookstore in Green Hills and just can’t wait for the newest Harry Potter book to come out. At the stroke of midnight on June 21, the fifth book, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” will be released.

1. Sharon Cameron's new book, "Artifice," is set for a November release. And she's got other interesting titles available now. "Bluebird" is about a Nazi hunter who travels to America in 1946. "The Light in Hidden Places" is about a Polish teenager who hides Jews during World War II.

2. Andrew Maraniss wrote "Strong Inside," the biography of Perry Wallace, the first African-American basketball player in the Southeastern Conference. "Singled Out" is the biography of Glenn Burke, the first openly gay Major League Baseball player.

4. Kristin O'Donnell Tubb wrote "Zeus, Dog of Chaos" from the point of view of a hero service dog. Tubb has several other dog stories including "Luna Howls at the Moon" and "A Dog Like Daisy."

U.S. Rep. Joe L. Evins, right, of Smithville, autographs his recently published book, “Understanding Congress,” for Mrs. Gerry Wells at the Zibart’s bookstore in downtown Nashville July 29, 1963. Evins, a member of Congress since 1947, discusses the legislative process, congressmen, their constituents and the White House in the work, published July 25 by a New York firm.

3. Alice Randall wrote "Black Bottom Saints," a story about the cultural touchstones of Detroit — jazz, sports and politics. It begins during the Great Depression. It's an imagined history with enough real details to make it interesting.

5. Shauna LaVoy Reynolds has written a children's story called "Poetree." It's about a girl who writes poems to a tree, and the tree who writes back to her.

Ray Broekel models his book, “The Great American Candy Bar Book” March 20, 1983, while holding a Goo Goo Cluster box from the 1930s. After consuming over 1,000 candy bars in 1981, the Goo Goo is the author’s favorite candy bar. The author was in Nashville to promote the book and to help publicize the National Confectioners Association’s 100th anniversary.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Need book recommendations? Try these Nashville authors