HORSE SHOW is galloping into 2025 by appearing on a slew (a Seattle Slew?) of “best of” and “year end round-up” lists!
Thank you to everyone who added my curious little book to your Goodreads in 2024, shouted it out via social media, reviewed it on Amazon, or otherwise shone your spotlight in its general direction. When you’re published by a small-but-mighty press like SFWP, word of mouth is priceless!
First up, the Jackson Center for Creative Writing at my alma mater Hollins University named HORSE SHOW its “Winter TBR” title on Instagram, writing:
“In her striking debut collection, Jess Bowers ’03 leads us into a museum of the forgotten and the extraordinary: the world of horses in American history. Through thirteen vivid and unrelenting tales, Bowers unpacks the intricate bond between humans and their equine companions, a relationship marked by care, exploitation, and awe. From the mare who defies scientific reason to the television palomino whose charm holds a strange power, HORSE SHOW is an exploration of obsolescence, grief, and nostalgia. Bowers’s prose is arresting, her humor sharp, her imagery unforgettable.”
>blushes fiercely<
Next, the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP), included HORSE SHOW in its “Fiction of 2024” round-up, alongside my pressmates Tara Campbell and K.E. Semmel. Check out CLMP’s whole reading list here!
Also, Wendy J. Fox’s July 2024 list of “15 Small Press Books You Should Be Reading This Summer,” including HORSE SHOW, was just named one of Electric Literature’s “Most Popular Articles of 2024,” which is so cool.
More exciting HORSE SHOW adventures are already on the books for 2025, including AWP in Los Angeles (!!!) and a virtual February reading at Goucher College, another beloved alma mater.
Watch this space!
Jess Bowers 