The Chattanooga State Humanities Department’s Writers@Work program is pleased to welcome award-winning author Lorrie Moore to Chattanooga for a multi-day community-wide celebration of her work, April 22-24.
Created in 2011, the Writers@Work program celebrates literature in the American South by bringing acclaimed writers to the city for an annual series of community-wide events. Since its beginning, W@W has provided unique opportunities for public interaction with visiting authors through events that are always free to attendees. These events take place in various spotlight locations across the city such as the Chattanooga Aquarium, Bessie Smith Cultural Center, and the Hunter Museum of American Art, where the community can interact with the authors in settings that highlight the best of Chattanooga. Designed and hosted by the English faculty at Chattanooga State Community College, W@W is the College’s literary gift to the community it serves.
Over the last 14 years, W@W has hosted a lineup of nationally-recognized and best-selling Southern authors, including Terry Kay, Jill McCorkle, Lila Quintero Weaver, Rick Bragg, George Singleton, Ron Rash, Robert Morgan, Tayari Jones, Tom Franklin, Beth Ann Fennelly, Daniel Wallace, Jericho Brown, Karen Russell, Ariel Francisco, Harrison Scott Key and Chattanooga’s own Ishmael Reed.
The 2025 Writers@Work featured writer is award-winning author Lorrie Moore. Ms. Moore is the author of four short story collections (Self- Help, Like Life, Birds of America, and Bark), four novels (Anagrams, Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?, A Gate at the Stairs, and I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home), and a children’s book, The Forgotten Helper. See What Can Be Done is a collection of her reviews and essays. Ms. Moore has won the O. Henry Award, The Irish Times International Fiction Prize, the Rea Award for the Short Story, the PEN/Malamud Award for Short Fiction, and the Finn Zinklar Award for the Short Story given by the Karen Blixen Society in Copenhagen. She has been a finalist for the Orange Prize, The PEN Faulkner Award, The National Book Critics' Circle Award, The Story Prize, and the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. A recipient of an NEA, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Lannan Fellowship, the Berlin Prize, and a Pushcart Prize, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001 and to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2006, where she is a member of the Board of Directors. Moore currently serves as the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of English.
At the beginning of March, the Writers@Work program distributed over 350 copies of Ms. Moore’s books to more than 40 Chattanooga-area book clubs to promote a citywide “common read” in anticipation of the author’s April visit.
We’re so excited about the community’s response to our book-club-in-a-bag giveaway,” said Erica Lux, ChattState English faculty member and W@W co-director, “and we hope to make it a regular feature of the Writers@Work program for years to come.”
This year’s book distribution was made possible through the generous financial support of Chattanooga State Community College, the Chattanooga State Foundation, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and SouthArts, as well as partnerships with local literary arts nonprofit SoLit and local independent bookstore The Book & Cover. But even if you missed the book giveaway, you can still enjoy the author’s visit next month.
The Writers@Work program would like to invite the public to the following schedule of free events. (Note that, while admission is free, seating at each event is limited. Please secure your tickets for the events that interest you at www.chattbigread.com.)
Schedule of Free Public Events
Inside the Mind of Lorrie Moore: The Behind-the-Writer Interview
Tuesday, April 22, 6 p.m.
The Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View Ave.
Enjoy beautiful views of the Tennessee River from the lobby of the Hunter Museum during Writers@Work's annual interview night. Ray Bassett, host and producer of Scenic Roots on WUTC, will interview Lorrie Moore about her life as a writer, her move to the South, and her experiences in the classroom. Join us at the Hunter Museum of American Art to ask questions, get your books signed, and mingle with other readers from the community while enjoying a selection of delicious desserts at the author’s reception. This in-person event is free to the public, but registration is required. (Registration will open on April 1.)
The Craft of Writing with Lorrie Moore
Wednesday, April 23, 6-7:30 p.m.
ArtsBuild, 301 E 11th St #300
W@W and SoLit invite you to visit ArtsBuild for a craft talk with Lorrie Moore. Her writing ranges from short stories to novels to nonfiction. (She’s even written a children’s book.) Come listen to her discuss how she balances a writing life with a teaching career, what brings her inspiration, and what she’s working on now. Bring your questions and be prepared to take notes! Light refreshments will be served. This in-person event is free to the public, but registration is required. (Registration will open on April 1.)
Last Stop to Nashville
Thursday, April 24, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
ChattState’s Kimball Site (2100 Main Street, Kimball, Tn.)
On her last stop as she makes her way back home to Nashville, Lorrie Moore will share her work with students and the public at the ChattState Kimball site. Listen to the author read from her various works and come prepared with questions and to have your books signed. This in-person event is free to the public, but registration is required. (Registration will open on April 1.)
For more information on the annual Writers@Work program or these events, please visit the program’s website at www.chattbigread.com.