In 1999 the writer Adria Bernardi, who had won in 1998 with In the Gathering Woods
, selected Better Than Home
by Joe Hill as the contest winner. Better Than Home
is a wonderful story narrated by a seriously neurotic boy, who realizes how strange his behavior is but can do nothing to change it. His warm relationship with his baseball manager father is in every way the heart of the story. Working with Joe Hill during the publishing process was a delight. He was the kind of young talent we were founded to discover.
Like all books from this press, Better Than Home
was published as a limited edition chapbook. Everyone who entered the contest received a copy. Additional copies went to the author and cover artist; quite a few went as freebies to promote the author. About 150 remained and have been given to students or sold from time to time, until Spring 2006, when Joe Hill's success with 20th Century Ghosts
generated interest, especially because Joe kindly directed people to the White Eagle Coffee Store Press from his website.
