Rock Point Books

"You won't want to miss Chris Grabenstein when he visits us Saturday, August 2 at 2 p.m.! He will be reading from and signing copies of his latest, Hellhole, which is already receiving rave advanced reviews."

Recipient of the Peter Taylor Prize, Leslie Walker Williams will be visiting us on Thursday, October 9 at 7 p.m. to read from and sign copies of her award-winning, freshly released book: The Prudent Mariner.

Ron Rash's masterful balance of violence and beauty yields a riveting novel that, at its core, tells of love both honored and betrayed. Don't miss Rash when he visits us on Tuesday, October 14 at 7 p.m. to read from and sign his newly released Serena.

No matter your age, you can always enrich your life by exploring the world of literature. The classics hold intellectual treasures that can change your outlook on life. So join us for our newest book club, the Classic Literature Book Club, and share insights on the great books of the ages.

On the ... (more)third Tuesday of each month, the CLBC will review and examine a literary classic.

November’s selection is The Pearl by John Steinbeck.

Each month's selected title is available to participating members at a discount of 10% off of the regular price.

The Classic Literature Book Club is free to join and open to the public. Join anytime. For more information about this book club, please contact Joel Swanson at (423) 432-8579 or e-mail bookclub.classics@gmail.com.

Join us for a fascinating look into the unique history and culture of the region. Author Alexandra Walker Clark will be visiting us to read from and sign copies of her new book, Hidden History of Chattanooga, on Thursday, November 20 at 6 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

On Friday, November 21 at 7:00 PM the C.S. Lewis Society of Chattanooga will gather at Rock Point Books for a discussion with Jonathan Rogers, author of The World According to Narnia and the Wilderking trilogy.

The C. S. Lewis Society of Chattanooga has been in existence for almost 3 years. There ... (more)mission is to bring together people in the local area who share a special admiration and love and an active interest in the work of C.S. Lewis. In addition, they hope to sharpen each others' minds and build one another up in the Christian faith through the reading and discussion of the works of C. S. Lewis. Lastly, they work to establish and maintain communication with other Societies which are similarly engaged in promoting the spirit of the life and work of C. S. Lewis.

This event is free and open to the public.

Meet Bob Lubell, president and co-founder of Partners for Christian Media and contemporary Christian radio station J103. He will be reading from and signing copies of his new book, Finding God’s Frequency: My Encounter With the Power of Music, Miracles and the FM Dial. This event is free and open to ... (more)the public.

Meet editors Kincaid Mills and Aaron McCollough when they visit to tell us about their book Coming Through: Voices of a South Carolina Gullah Community from WPA Oral Histories on Saturday, November 29 at 6 p.m.

Jon Meacham, born here in Chattanooga, is the editor of Newsweek, a bestselling author and a commentator on politics, history, and faith in America. Meacham attended elementary school at Saint Nicholas School, moving on to the McCallie School and the University of the South. Come meet him here Thursday, ... (more)Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. when he reads from and signs his new book, American Lion.

This event is free and open to the public.

Join us on Saturday, December 13 at 4 p.m. to meet San Francisco author and curator of StencilArchive.org, Russell Howze. He will be signing his Stencil Nation, an art book that would make a wonderful holiday gift for the artist in your life. Featuring the works of 350 artists worldwide and a real who�s-who ... (more)of the stencil graffiti world.

Meet Dr. Peter Messmore at a signing on January 17 at 2 p.m. He will be autographing copies of Philip & Olympia: A Novel of Ancient Macedon and Alexander the King: The Sequel to Philip & Olympias. Philip and Olympias were the parents of Alexander the Great. Now, for the first time, a new historical novel ... (more)chronicles their outrageous lives. Meticulously researched for the last ten years, this is Peter Messmore's first novel. Philip II of Macedon was the architect of the world's first nation state. During his reign, he rose from barbaric obscurity to preeminence in the Greek world. Athenians feared and hated him; yet, they eventually came under his domination. He was the only obstacle that stood between imperialistic Persia and the Greek mainland. Philip and Olympias tells the near three-decade story of how Philip rose to power and changed the course of western civilization. Coarse and crude, he deserved the title of Macedonian barbarian. Yet, this intelligent, courageous and sexually shocking conqueror predominated. His third wife, the beautiful and vindictive Olympias, became his only unconquerable enemy. Here too, are some of history's greatest figures. Philip and Olympias' son, Alexander, is born and comes of age in the stormy Macedonian royal court. Philip's antagonist, Demosthenes, devotes his life to halting the demise of Athenian democracy. Persian Great King Artaxerxes Ochus prepares to invade and dominate all of Macedonia and Greece. The not-yet-great philosopher, Aristotle, becomes Alexander's tutor and attempts to bring civilization to the Macedonian royal family. Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at 7:00 pm

If you're looking for big laughs and a night of fun to help get over those post-holiday blues, look no further and mark your calendar right away for January 31! Los Angeles author Christian Lander is coming to speak to us about his book that CBS called "an uncannily accurate catalog of dead-on predilections."

The first three Body Farm novels -- Carved in Bone, Flesh and Bone, and The Devil's Bones -- took readers deep into the backwoods of East Tennessee, where fascinating forensic science mixed with extraordinary characters, including the Farm's charismatic founder. Now, in the latest installment of the ... (more)New York Times bestselling series Kathy Reichs calls "the real deal," truth, lies, war, and history intertwine in a story that reches new heights of suspense. This is Jefferson Bass's most ambititous and enthralling book yet. Jefferson Bass is the writing team of Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson. Dr. Bass, a world-renowned forensic anthropologist, founded the University of Tennessee's Anthropology Research Facility -- the BodyFarm -- a quarter-centruy ago. Jefferson is a veteran journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. His writings have been published in the New York Times, Newsweek, USA Today, and Popular Science and broadcast on National Public Radio.

Join us for a night of reading and sharing from local authors and poets. From 6-7 pm, we will have several selected authors who will read their work. Then, from 7-8pm, the mic will be open to anyone who is ready and willing to share what they have written! Look forward to enjoying the spoken word from ... (more)these notable and award winning poets: Bruce Majors authored The Fields of Owl Roost, finalist for an Indie Excellence Award in the 2007 book awards competition. E. Smith Gilbert has published extensively in the United States and Great Brittan. His works appear regularly in Poetica and in TPQ Online. Ray Zimmerman read his poem Glen Falls Trail at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, in October of 2007. The poem took second place in the Tennessee Writers Alliance poetry contest, and the reading was part of an awards ceremony. He edits the literary newsletter, Feed Your Brain, and has published chapbooks of his poetry and fiction. He is a former president of the Chattanooga Writers Guild.

Join Rock City expert Tim Hollis as he guides you through the origins of the site's most fascinating spots, including Fairyland Caverns, See Seven States and Lover's Leap. Also learn the story behind the world-famous "See Rock City" marketing campaign, as well as the steep challenges the landmark has ... (more)faced in an often volatile tourism industry. Perhaps the only aspect of Rock City more enchanting than its physical beauty is the fairytale story that surrounds it. About the Author... Tim Hollis began writing when he was seven years old and never stopped. As a native of Birmingham, Alabama, he and his parents made many vacation trips through the Southeast, and the memories and memorabilia from these trips became the basis for his first books. SEE ROCK CITY continues the tradition begun in his previous histories of the Southern tourism industry and pop culture nostalgia in general.

About the Author... Robin Hemley is the winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship for his work on DO-OVER!. He has published seven books, and his stories and essays have appeared in the New York Times, New York Magazine, Chicago Tribune, and many literary magazines and anthologies. Robin currently directs the ... (more)Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa and lives in Iowa City, IA. Hemley's childhood made a wedgie of his memory, leaving him sore and embarrassed for over forty years. He was the most pitiful kindergartner, the least spirited summer camper, and dateless for prom. In fact, there's nary an event from his youth that couldn't use improvement. If only he could do them all over a few decades later, with an adult's wisdom, perspective, and giant-like height... About the Book... In his new book, DO-OVER! In which a forty-eight-year-old father of three returns to kindergarten, summer camp, the prom, and other embarrassments, Hemley reencounters papier mach�, revisits his childhood home, and finally attends the prom -- bringing readers the thrill of recapturing a misspent youth and discovering what's most important: simple pleasures, second chances, and the forgotten joys of recess.

About the Author... Eric Barnes has been writing fiction for many years and published a number of short stories before writitng Shimmer . Currently, he is the publisher of The Daily News and The Memphis News, two local publications covering business and politics in Memphis. Eric was once COO (and, before ... (more)that, Publisher and Managing Editor) of Towery Publishing, a publisher of city guides, books, maps, city sites and business directories for cities around the country. About the Book... Shimmer is a dark, sometimes comic novel about Robbie Case, CEO of a high-tech company in New York that is secretly built on a lie. Shimmer follows Robbie's efforts to undo the financial and technical Ponzi scheme he has constructed, with Robbie struggling to protect the people and friends who work for him and to fight the fear that he might finally need -- or want -- to let the company collapse.

Make new friends and become better acquainted with outstanding works from Southern writers in the Southern Literature Book Club. Please join us Monday, August 31 at 6:00 PM for our Southern Lit Book Club, as we explore Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore. This will be especially ... (more)fun, because SUSAN WILL BE HERE TO MEET WITH THE BOOK CLUB MEMBERS! Each month's selected title is available to participating members at a discount of 10% off of the regular price. The Southern Literature Book Club is free and open to the public. Join anytime. For more information about this book club, please contact e-mail Abbie Tilley at SouthernLitClub@comcast.net.

Part memoir, part commentary, part travelogue, this book is for anyone who enjoys stories that take readers beyond this world and into a new and different life. Join us for a book signing that is truly out of this world! About the Book... Fantasy. Sci-Fi. Role-playing games. Tens of millions of people ... (more)around the globe today turn away from the "real" world to inhabit others. The online game World of Warcraft has alone lured nearly twelve million users. Who are these game-players and fantasy fans? What explains the irresistible appeal of such escapist adventures? And what could one man find if he embarked on a quest through fantasy world after fantasy world? In an enthralling blend of travelogue, pop culture analysis, and memoir, former role-player Ethan Gilsdorf crisscrosses America, the world, and other worlds -- from Boston to California, New Zealand to France, Planet Earth to the realm of Aggramar. He asks gaming and fantasy geeks how they balance their escapist urges with the kingdom of adulthood. He seeks out those who dream of elves, long swords, and heroic deeds. He hangs out with Harry Potter tribute bands. He goes to fan conventions. He battles online goblins, trolls, and sorcerers. He camps with medieval reenactors. He becomes Ethor, Ethorian, and Ethor-An3. What he discovers is funny, poignant, and enlightening. About the Author... After playing Dungeons & Dragons religiously in the 1970s and 1980s, Ethan Gilsdorf went on to become a poet, teacher, and journalist. Now based in Somerville, Massachusetts, his travel, arts, and pop culture stories appear regularly in the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Christian Science Monitor, and have been published in other magazines and newspapers including National Geographic Traveler, Psychology Today, and the Washington Post.

About the Book... In 1949, soon after arriving in Oxford, Mississippi, as the school's first Art Department chairman, Stuart Purser was driving through the nearby countryside when he spied some interesting sculptures on the front porch of a small farmhouse near Ecru. When Purser stopped to speak with ... (more)the African-American artist, his longtime friendship with M.B. Mayfield began. That fall, Purser offered Mayfield a job as custodian for the Art Department and caretaker for the newly opened student art gallery. This was a time when the University of Mississippi was completely segregated. What few outside the Art Department knew was that Purser also gave Mayfield one-on-one instruction and arranged for classroom doors to be left open so Mayfield could listen to lectures while sitting in the nearby broom closet. Later, Purser took Mayfield on his lecture trips, passing Mayfield off as an assistant who carted equipment and set up the projector. The Education of Mr. Mayfield tells the story of how M.B. Mayfield overcame many of the obstacles placed in his way due to racism, but it also tells of the quiet acts of courage displayed by some white Southerners who found ways to defy the injustices of the time and place. About the Author... David Magee is the author of twelve books. His book Turnaround, about Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of Nissan was published in seven languages and has sold almost 100,000 copies worldwide. In 1996, Magee became the youngest-ever elected member of the Oxford, Mississippi, city council. He is also a co-owner of Rock Point Books and the founder of Jefferson Press. He lives on Lookout Mountain, Tennessee.