Kevin Wilson: On a rural Tennessee upbringing, writing and how fiction is like professional wrestling

Local, award-winning author Kevin Wilson has deep Tennessee roots: he grew up in Franklin County, attended Vanderbilt, and today, teaches at Sewanee: The University of the South. Earlier this year, he released his latest novel, Run for the Hills. Like much of his work, the story considers the, sometimes unexpected, ways “family” can come to be. He sat down with This Is Nashville to read an excerpt of his new release, talk about his upbringing in Tennessee and share his thoughts about why fiction writing is important in today’s world — and how, in his mind, it shares some similarities with professional wrestling.

This episode was produced by Cynthia Abrams.

Relevant reading:

• Wilson is the author of seven books: Tunneling to the Center of the Earth, The Family Fang, Perfect Little World, Baby, You’re Gonna Be Mine, Nothing to See Here, Now Is Not the Time to Panic and Run for the Hills.
• If you’re more of a movie-goer than a reader, Wilson’s first novel, The Family Fang, was adapted into a feature film produced and starred in by another Middle Tennessee dweller, Nicole Kidman.