When John Brandon started his first novel, Arkansas, he was boxing up perfume samples for fashion magazines by day since he had found that teaching high school was not conducive to writing. The page lay empty after a day of kids, books and computers. Factory work, often from early morning to early afternoon, left time for a nap and a long evening of writing. All through the writing of Arkansas, and his latest novel, Citrus County, the Florida Gulf Coast native worked cross-country on perfume samples to plastic bowls to diploma frames to potato chips–just to name a few.

In an interview with his publisher, McSweeney’s, John reflects on the moment he got the word that his writing was to be published:

“I remember being at work, at the windshield warehouse, and getting a call from the managing editor of McSweeney’s and having to step outside to talk. You were asking me about the grand themes of Arkansas, and my boss was yelling at me to talk on the phone on my own time. It was a great moment.”

Even though Shelby and Toby, two of the main characters in Citrus County, are at that tender time of junior high school, they both seem to be set on a path for self-destruction. Mr. Hibma, their geography teacher reads this quality very well in his students probably because he also seems to be resigned to his own fate. In a conversation with Shelby, Mr. Hibma tries to comfort her by telling her that you never know what will screw a person up–it may even be something good that leaves a person in ruins. His ponderous thinking leads him to wonder “if anything that happened was really good”.

Kelly writes on the Lemuria Blog about the inertia of Citrus County:

“. . . they continue to stay, aware that their inertia is conscious; their parents or grandparents moved to Florida from somewhere, some years ago, yet no matter how long they live there they will always consider it to be outside themselves, a place that should be mocked and degraded but that they are loath to leave.  What John Brandon has done in Citrus County is to create a culture around this quiet dissatisfaction, where sometimes something really bad has to happen in order to relieve the everyday, mundane misery. Toby thinks he knows just what that is — it’s the only thing he’s ever been meant to do.”

After reading John Brandon’s debut novel, Arkansas, the late Barry Hannah called to tell him how much he loved his book and offered him the John and Renée Grisham Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi for 2009-10. Praise for Brandon’s writing includes not only Barry Hannah but also other well-known writers chosen for the First Editions Club.

“Pursues relentlessly what each of us might find daily in a Florida town . . .  The purity of thought and of unadorned line are remarkable.” -Barry Hannah

“John Brandon is my favorite new writer. His debut, Arkansas, was hilarious and at the same time disturbing in its detached violence. It set a high bar, and Citrus County nudges the bar even higher. This is a writer to watch, to reread and to envy.” -Tom Franklin

“Citrus County is a real charmer . . .  The book makes you laugh even as it breaks your heart. It may be, among other things, one of the best books about junior high ever written.” -Dan Chaon

John Brandon’s book tour consisted of visits to Square Books in Oxford and Lemuria (July 13, 2010). Citrus County will be on the front page of The New York Times Book Review this coming Sunday. The novel is already in its second printing at McSweeney’s with the initial print run for Citrus County at 6,000 books. The initial print run for Arkansas was 5,000. We also have signed first editions of Arkansas available.

While continuing his teaching at the University of Mississippi, John Brandon is at work on his third novel set in New Mexico.


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