EVENTS | Nashville — Writers and readers are like peanut butter and jelly. One’s just not the same without the other. On October 11-13, Humanities Tennessee will bring the two together for the 31st year during the Southern Festival of Books. The Lynchburg Times reviewed the authors list and here’s five we’re very excited about meeting:

1 | Casey Cep’s first work, Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee, became a New York Times Best Seller. It’s a true crime thriller, biography, and historical fiction all blended into one. She will speak on Oct. 13 at 12 p.m. about her book.

2 | Jay Farrell work Abandoned Nashville: Dark Corners of Music City explores the rustic, gritty underbelly of the Music City. His photographs and stories capture parts of the city lost to rapid growth.

3 | It’s not enough the Ann Patchett owns our favorite independent bookstore, Parnassus Books, in Nashville. She also happens to be an outstanding fiction writer. She’ll be on hand to discuss her newest novel, The Dutch House, and will speak twice: on Oct. 12 at 11 a.m. to discuss Nashville: Scene from the New American South and again at 12 p.m. for a conversation with New York Times opinion writer, Margaret Renki.

4 | Taylor Jenkins Reed wrote the Reese Book Club March pick, Daisy Jones & The Six. It tells the story of the meteoric rise of a 70’s rock band and all the growing pain that come with is when it’s literally sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Amazon Studios is turning the novel into a TV series. She will speak at 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 12 as part of the Coffee with Authors series.

5 | Dani Shapiro’s written for The New Yorker, Vogue, The Oprah Magazine, and The New York Times Book Review. Her recent book, Inheritance: A Memior of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love explores overwhelming family secrets uncovered by a genealogy test and the ethical questions surrounding fertility treatments and DNA testing. She will speak with fellow author Mary Laura Philpott at 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 12.

As always, the event is free and open to the general public. It takes place at the War Memorial Plaza and the Nashville Public Library located at 615 Church Street. For a full list of participating authors, click here. For a full schedule of events, click here. •

{The Lynchburg Times is an independently owned and operated newspaper that publishes new stories every morning. Covering Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}