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.
Tree Light Books, the handmade chapbook I run, added another title to our catalog today: Tasha Cotter’s Girl in the Cave. An exploration of the south-central Kentucky landscape and a journey through the caves that lie underfoot, Girl in the Cave delves into the land and how it shapes our perspective.
These poems are thoughtful and inquisitive, both accented and driven by a curious landscape of caves, and “constantly surprising” (Charles Rafferty). Julie Hensley has said “The speakers in these poems follow and mourn the fissures of their pasts, knowing all the while each split makes a future upthrust possible. Cotter is a master at recreating the trapdoor effect of sudden, deep recollection.”
Additional praise, numerous interviews and publications can be found here. Beautiful, handmade (even hand-sewn!) chapbooks can be found here.
