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The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries will celebrate the conversations that arise from books, reading and the exchange of ideas when they host a series of talks on Vanderbilt University’s campus this fall featuring prominent authors.
The Vanderbilt Libraries’ author series will be held in collaboration with Parnassus Books and Dialogue Vanderbilt.
The series supports the Heard Libraries’ “Year to Unplug” in 2026–27, a sustained, institution-wide effort to cultivate a campus culture of reading, reflection and community. The talks are also part of Dialogue Vanderbilt’s “250 Conversations on America: Civil Discourse in Action,” an ongoing series celebrating our nation’s 250th anniversary and the university’s enduring commitment to open dialogue.
The campus events will lead up to the 2026 Southern Festival of Books, presented by Vanderbilt University in partnership with Humanities Tennessee. This year’s festival, a free event featuring nearly 200 authors as well as vendors, entertainment, food trucks and family-friendly activities, will take place in downtown Nashville Oct. 17–18.
“The Vanderbilt Libraries’ fall author series has something to offer readers of almost every genre,” said Jon Shaw, dean of libraries and letters and Connie Vinita Dowell University Librarian. “We invite members of the Vanderbilt and Nashville communities to engage with this stellar lineup of writers and thinkers as they discuss their latest works on campus, all building to the 38th annual Southern Festival of Books.”
Tickets are required for each event. Authors featured in the Vanderbilt Libraries’ fall 2026 series include the following:
Rachel Gillig will discuss her latest book, The Knave and the Moon, on Friday, Sept. 4, in a conversation with author Hannah Whitten beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Langford Auditorium. Tickets include one general admission seat and a pre-signed copy of The Knave and the Moon, to be published on Sept. 1. Gillig, who has been called “the queen of gothic romantasy,” returns with higher stakes, darker mysteries and deeper longings in this sequel to the No. 1 New York Times bestseller The Knight and the Moth.
Ariel Lawhon will discuss her latest novel, The Pirate Queen, on Tuesday, Sept. 8, in a conversation with author J.T. Ellison beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Student Life Center. Tickets include one general admission seat and a pre-signed copy of The Pirate Queen, to be published on Sept. 8. Lawhon’s latest work of historical fiction is a sweeping adventure inspired by the life of a legendary Irish folk heroine who risked everything to defend her people.
Jodi Picoult will discuss her latest book, Hollow Bones, on Monday, Sept. 28, in a conversation with author Sarah Adams beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Student Life Center. Tickets include one general admission seat and a pre-signed copy of Hollow Bones, to be published on Sept. 15. Each ticket includes admission to a photo line and a professional photo with the author. The latest from bestselling author Picoult is a riveting novel about the risks we take to protect those we love in a world where crisis is always just around the corner.
Andy Beshear*, governor of Kentucky and a 2000 Vanderbilt graduate, will discuss his new book, Go and Do Likewise: How We Heal a Broken Country, on Saturday, Oct. 3, in a conversation with a special guest beginning at 1 p.m. in Benton Chapel at Vanderbilt Divinity School. Tickets include one general admission seat and a pre-signed copy of Go and Do Likewise, to be published on Sept. 22. In his compelling and insightful book, Beshear reclaims faith as a force for good in the age of Trump and rebukes those who use it to harm and discriminate. *This event is sold out.
Barbara Kingsolver will discuss her latest book, Partita, on Sunday, Oct. 11, in a conversation with author Ann Patchett beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Langford Auditorium. The evening’s program also will include a performance by pianist Amy Dorfman. Tickets include one general admission seat and a copy of Partita, to be published on Oct. 6. In her follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize-winning Demon Copperhead, Kingsolver tells the story of a brief, passionate, life-changing love affair, wrapped up in what might be the greatest romance of all: our eternal human longing for art and beauty.
Adam Grant will discuss his latest book, Vibe: The Secrets of Strong Connections in a Lonely World, on Monday, Oct. 19, in a conversation with Ann Patchett beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Langford Auditorium. Tickets include one general admission seat and a pre-signed copy of Vibe, to be published on Oct. 13. Grant, a renowned organizational psychologist and No. 1 New York Times bestselling author, illuminates the surprising science behind strong connections in his new book.
Malcolm Gladwell will discuss his latest book, The American Way of Killing: The Invention of an Epidemic, on Tuesday, Oct. 20, in a conversation with podcast host Lee C. Camp beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Langford Auditorium. Tickets include one general admission seat and a pre-signed copy of The American Way of Killing, to be published on Sept. 29. An acclaimed journalist, author and public speaker, Gladwell returns with his most urgent book yet: a provocative investigation of America’s epidemic of gun violence.
Dusty Slay will discuss his new book, We’re Having a Good Time (and Other Stories …), on Thursday, Nov. 12, in a conversation with Rolling Stone senior music editor Joseph Hudak beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Student Life Center. Tickets include one general admission seat and a pre-signed copy of We’re Having a Good Time, to be published on Nov. 10. Slay, a popular stand-up comedian known for his blue-collar observational storytelling style, chronicles his colorful life—from growing up in a trailer park in Alabama to performing at the Grand Ole Opry—in this collection of humorous essays.
Bonnie Garmus will discuss her new book, Peck & Peck, on Thursday, Nov. 19, in a conversation with Ann Patchett beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Langford Auditorium. Tickets include one general admission seat and a pre-signed copy of Peck & Peck, to be published on Oct. 13. The No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of global sensation Lessons in Chemistry returns with an irresistible and tender literary novel, set in the publishing world of 1980s New York City, about a young man whose life turns upside down when he is hired by the most prestigious, secretive and dysfunctional poetry journal in the world: the renowned Peck & Peck.
Additional authors may be added to the lineup. Please visit the Heard Libraries’ website for the latest information.