Shelton Hull
Words by Shelton Hull
A Rough Guide to Local Literature in 2024
R.I.P. to Leonard Riggio, who died this past Aug. 27. You’ve probably never heard of him, but he most assuredly made significant contributions to your life. Why is that? Because he’s the guy who bought a single bookstore in New York City in 1971, then acquired another bookstore chain in 1986. The former was Barnes & Noble (founded 1883), and the latter was B. Dalton (founded 1966). The B. Dalton at the old Jacksonville Landing was my first real job, and it’s unlikely that I’d be doing this kind of work if that hadn’t happened. At their peak, B&N had about 725 stores, and B. Dalton had another 779, until Borders emerged to severely damage their market share; a few years later, the rise of Amazon basically killed them both.
The point of all that is to note that all those stores tended to feature local titles prominently, and you may be surprised to know how much local content is being generated every year. It’s very difficult to compile an accurate, comprehensive list of such material for you, the readers, but that’s a good thing, for readers and writers alike. It’s much easier to produce and distribute stuff like this on the independent level, and that is giving fresh exposure to voices that might not otherwise find full expression. You can find lists like this in local media, all over the country, and it’s pretty uniformly fascinating.
(Broadly-speaking, such trends are doubly or triply true when it comes to local music, and for that you should seek out our news partners at the Jacksonville Music Experience, or JME, an affiliate of WJCT crew along with the Independent HD4, etc. They have been aggressively compiling and curating local music for almost five years now, so between them and “Folio,” you’ll have all the ideas you need. And since the vendors are local, too, you don’t have to waste time and money on shipping. But this article is about books, and so we’ll get back to that now.)
Arguably the most interesting — and most important — local title of 2024 is “Occupancy 250: Fans, Bands and Fried Chicken: The Stories of Einstein A Go-Go”, which collects the recollections of dozens of denizens who passed through the doors of one of the most influential live venues of the past 40 years, not just here in Northeast Florida, but in the whole Southeast.
The past year has also seen big growth in the zine sector. Lindsay Anderson’s “Mischief on the River” has become essential reading for Duval’s underground zine, especially her recent special spin-off about the original Sun-Ray Cinema. It was produced in a limited run, with the last copies left available at Happy Medium Books Cafe, a definite collector’s item.
We’ve also seen new zines like “Anomaly Periodic News,” “School Paper” and “Alternate Routes”, building on the city’s rep for stylized weirdness, as well as new issues of Johnny Masiulewicz’ “Happy Tapir.” A lot of this material was distributed, even debuted, during the Modern Love Market, which is doing its final events at Rain Dogs on Sunday afternoons this month. It’s the end of a long, proud tradition at the very center of alternative culture in this city, so do pay respects.
Also working effectively in that medium is Emily Malo, whose PropShop imprint has released a slew of titles this year from writers like Thony Aiuppy, Eva C., Andrew Kozlowski, Ellen O’Grady, Stressing the Fire, Elizabeth Tremblay and Dan Waily, along with Miss Anderson who runs the Duval Comic and Zine festival at the Main Library every June.
Meanwhile, musician and photographer Charlie Shuck has made waves with a slew of quality titles issued by his City Bus Print, established in Murray Hill earlier this year, including the debut collection from new Jax By Jax leader Kathleen Gilmore, “Sticks, Stones, and Charlatans.” He’s also released material by Rambler Kane, Megan McKenzie and Steve Who. All this, in addition to his own steady output of music, writing and photography, all of which is excellent.
Sam Cox’s “I Will Give Them an Everlasting Name” chronicles the lives of the Holocaust survivors who settled in Jacksonville. The book has special interest to “Folio” fans, having been edited by Marlene Dryden, who was the copy editor here for many years, as well as investigative reporter Susan Armstrong, who wrote many fine articles for us too.
Sohrab Homi Fracis’ last novel, “True Fiction,” was critically acclaimed, more so than probably any other local release, and his newest novel, “Go Home: Repurposing the Insult,” looks likely to build on his creative and commercial momentum.
Duval’s loss was Tacoma’s gain, as writer and musician Joe Gaskin became our latest local legend to leave for brighter pastures when he moved away in August. He leaves behind a beautiful legacy as the creator of Hello Mr. Joe, a kids’ show concept in which Gaskin, himself a member of our city’s iconic roster of cool librarians, taught kids musical lessons about themselves and the world around them, with a particular emphasis on the natural beauty of their own community. “Teemu the Emu” (illustrated by Deja Gee) was actually published in late 2023, and “Shoo, Shoo You Skeleton” (illustrated by Eli Saragoussi) the year before, but I include them here, because it should have been a bigger deal at the time. So get them now!
Without question, this city’s most prolific author in this era has been the indispensable Tim Gilmore, who authors the JaxPsychoGeo blog. His 24th book is “The Wilderness and Willie Browne” about the legendary local hermit. He’ll be selling and signing copies of it at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Jacksonville on Dec. 12.
Artist, nutritionist, cyclist and dietician Lindsay Hamman does it all, and this year that includes writing two cookbooks: “Cozy Soup” and “The Rad Dish Vegan Cookbook.”
Mark Krancer is one of the city’s most in-demand photographers, and his life story is one of the most compelling you’ll ever hear. Some of his best work is collected in “Photographic Memory”, which he’ll be signing copies of at Happy Medium on Dec. 11.
The last couple of years have seen a renewed focus on St. Augustine, which has its own unique history. Some of the most interesting stuff is compiled in “Secret St. Augustine: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful and Obscure,” written by Elizabeth and William Randall. It’s a must-read for locals, and visitors will find it even more useful for navigating America’s oldest city.
With the predations of AI front and center in the minds of creators, it’s the perfect time for “Copyright Artfully Explained: The Illustrated Legal Reference for Visual Artists”, a new book by Deborah Reid and Mary Atwood. It explains in detail how to ensure proper legal protections for your work. Useful advice for anyone, including authors.
Armand Rosamilia has written over 150 books, working mostly in the realm of action and crime thrillers. His most recent release, “O.T.T.”, is his fifth volume of short fiction so far. This comes just a few weeks after the release of “Hidden Cave: A Cryptid Thriller.”
Tim Tebow is arguably the most famous of our region’s many contributions to pop culture, and he continues doing great work in and out of the sports world. But his wife, Demi-Leigh, has had a very interesting life of her own, and she details that story in her debut book, “A Crown that Lasts: You Are Not Your Label.”
Women Writing for Change has been working to amplify female voices in local literature for a full decade now, and some of the best stuff is collected in “Metamorphosis: The Art of Change”, the sixth volume of their annual anthology series. They’ll be releasing it on Dec. 6.
While there’s certainly been an uptick in the amount of local writing being published, there has also been a notable increase in the number of local bookstores and related retailers who are serving that market. The past year or so has seen the arrival of Cafe Resistance, Femme Fire Books, Happy Medium Book Cafe and Solune. That’s in addition to existing places like Chamblin, Reddi-Arts and the Jacksonville Public Library. It’s been a great year for local writers, myself included, and here’s to more of the same in 2025.
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