J. Scott Brownlee, On the Occasion of the Last Old Camp Meeting in Llano County
Finalists
Abigail Zimmer, child in a winter house brightening
C.J. Opperthauser, Cloud the Shape of Bedroom
Tasha Cotter, Girl in the Cave
Duncan Campbell, Joysong Demarcation
Hearty congratulations to J. Scott Brownlee, whose manuscript On the Occasion of the Last Old Camp Meeting in Llano County we’ll be publishing later this year!
The pool of entrants was stacked, and we’re thrilled to be publishing not only the winning manuscript, but also each of our finalists’ manuscripts.
A huge thanks for everyone who participated and supported the press, and congrats to these five fine writers who we’re so thrilled to be publishing in the future!
Pumped to announce these developments in our publishing queue at Tree Light Books! J. Scott Brownlee’s winning manuscript is heart-wrenching and beautiful and just so happens to contain “Wildflower Choir,” the first poem by Brownlee I ever read. The manuscripts of the finalists are tender and electric and solemn and philosophical and language-driven and lovely. Cannot wait to publish these books, y’all.
We decided to up the ante on the pre-order and throw in free postcard-size prints of Chicago mural artist Sick Fisher’s “Mangy Bear,” which he painted in response to Kathleen Rooney & Elisa Gabbert’s “A Bear with a Severe Case of Mange,” which first appeared way back in Ghost Ocean 3, which was before Bernie Sanders was a household name and before Donald Trump clogged hearts and national news coverage. Simpler times.
It’s been invigorating working on this chapbook with C.J., and the praise the chapbook has garnered is both well-deserved and truly connected to the spirit of the book. You can add the book to your Goodreads (and why wouldn’t you?), so that after you finish the wild ride that is Cloud the Shape of Bedroom, you can be sure that all your other bookish buds know just how much fun you had.
And in case you need further convincing, remember these limited edition chapbooks are hand-sewn with love, and I’ve endured numerous paper cuts to get C.J.’s high octane poetry into your hands.
