Here’s something I should have brought to your attention a bit earlier. But better late than never.
The Montana Quarterly, the Livingston-based magazine that recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, has published a book of collected pieces under the title, “Montana, Warts and All,” which also happens to be the magazine’s motto. Here’s the official blurb for the book: “Elegant. Literate. Compelling. It’s the definitive new book about Montana’s people, places and culture, curated from the first decade of Montana Quarterly magazine.”
I’m happy to say I’ve got two pieces in the book: “The Shonkin Sag,” which also happened to be the first story to run on Last Best News, and “The Stoneville Saloon,” the wonderful alcohol and chili emporium down there in Alzada. This isn’t the Stoneville Saloon story that appeared in my book, but a later story I wrote for the Quarterly.
“Montana, Warts and All” also has stories from Last Best News contributors Craig Lancaster and John Clayton, in addition to pieces from Quarterly editor Scott McMillion and Quarterly regulars like Jeff Welsch, Tim Cahill, Alan Kesselheim and Jeff Hull.
Here’s another blurb from the back of the book, which nicely captures what the Quarterly has been up to in the past decade: “Don’t look here for profiles of trophy homes. You won’t find them. What you will find is the real deal: Montanans wrestling a living from hard ground, doing what they can to keep the place wild and livable for people and beasts, telling truths, helping each other, keeping their small towns alive against all odds.”
Here’s a look at the complete table of contents. (Do I need to mention that Christmas is coming up? Place your orders now, right here.)
