Welcome to BrayBree Publishing!
It’s been my dream to start a publishing company almost as long as I’ve been reading books.
As a kid, I was fascinated not only with the contents of the books I read, but their overall design–the cover art, the interior page layout, the illustrations. I worked at Kinko’s Copies in my hometown of Jackson, Tennessee, while in college and had the good fortune to meet local historian and genealogist Jonathan K.T. Smith. It was my job to make copies behind the counter, and Mr. Smith would bring in his “homemade” books to be copied. These were typewritten manuscripts he had prepared, with taped-down Polaroid photos and clip art throughout. Normally, this meant an extra charge to hand-place pages on the copier glass that couldn’t be fed automatically into the machine. But Mr. Smith wrote about history and genealogy–my favorite subjects–so I never charged him extra (though I couldn’t help but make an extra copy for myself!)
Mr. Smith was doing exactly what I wanted to do–creating books–and donating copies to family history rooms at area libraries. So I decided to do the same with a few lengthy college papers I had written. These “homemade books” of mine became the prototypes for my books Hurst’s Wurst: Colonel Fielding Hurst and the Sixth Tennessee Cavalry U.S.A. and The Peg Leg Politician: The Life, Wit, and Political Humor of Adam Huntsman.
Thankfully, technology has caught up with my creativity and imagination since those days at Kinko’s. I’ve enjoyed creating books that I’ve written, but now I want to do the same for other historical writers. This is why John Talbott and I have founded BrayBree Publishing.
We are actively seeking quality manuscripts about the history of our backyards and home state of Tennessee. Please read our Submissions page (under the Contact tab at the top of the pages) to learn more about what we’re looking for. This is the start of a great adventure for us, and we hope talented first-time and established authors will join us!