Today we’d like to introduce you to Eleanor Scott
Hi Eleanor, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My experience working in independent bookstores inspired my interest in writing for alternative newspapers and small press publishing.
In 2002 while attending UTK as an undergraduate in English, I landed my dream job at The Book Eddy, a rare, used, and antiquarian bookshop in South Knoxville. I loved working in a shop full of obscure and unique books–from vintage sci-fi paperbacks with fantastic cover art to collectible leather-bound classics, from self-published poetry to first-hand accounts of the Civil War.
I loved to read, and at the bookstore I was exposed to all kinds of excellent writing, including books you might not immediately think of as great literature such as the unexpectedly beautiful writing of antiquarian medical journals, children’s textbooks, and even fishing guides. My duties included researching the history of publishing houses and learning the details of book construction. Working in the bookstore deepened my love of language, stories, and books as physical objects.
After earning my degree, I left Knoxville for several years to work in an independent bookstore in the Czech Republic, and then for an English as a foreign language (EFL) publishing company, editing classic novels for students. Most readers know of the big publishing houses like Penguin Random House or Simon & Shuster, but a whole underground world of small presses exists publishing unique and niche new books all the time.
Eventually I returned to Knoxville and my Book Eddy job until 2020 when the bookstore closed.
Through handling many books, I collected the qualities I admired and attempted to recreate those qualities in my own small press. In 2019 I co-founded Part Flamingo Press with my friend, the illustrator Adam Deal, Part Flamingo is a micropress publishing hardback illustrated phantasmagorical fiction. I enjoy having control over the size and construction of the book, how the covers and pages look and feel, and how the art and words are arranged on the page. Adam’s accomplished ink and watercolor paintings illustrate each book. Through Part Flamingo, I published a children’s picture book, Knoxville Mermaid, an illustrated edition of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dreams in the Witch House, and a poetry collection, Starlight in the Garden. Upcoming works include a graphic story collection, Possum of the Flowers, and a Children’s picture book, Quarry Monster.
One of my duties at the bookstore involved cataloging ephemera. With access to old newspapers, zines, and pamphlets, I became drawn to small presses, small stories, and especially local overlooked stories. I wanted to tell stories that had never been told, find ways to capture readers and compel them to consider small but important situations occurring in their community.
From 2011-2017 I wrote columns, blogs, and features for Knoxville’s weekly alternative newspapers, Metro Pulse and The Knoxville Mercury. My most-read story in Metro Pulse introduced a homeless man who built a stone cabin on the shore of a South Knoxville quarry lake. My most-discussed story in The Mercury followed a wild sparrow trapped inside a local Kroger. Since 2023 I have written columns for Compass, a daily online newspaper. My most recent piece explored a patch of invasive Japanese knotweed colonizing the bank of First Creek. Most of my pieces explore wildlife thriving in the margins of the city.
Although the worlds of the horror/fantasy fiction published through Part Flamingo may seem distant from the non-fiction columns written for the local paper, they share similar qualities. Sometimes, while focusing on a microcosm, fantastic magic seems very close.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My biggest struggle is finding the time to do all the projects I would like to.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Probably my best known work is the picture book, Knoxville Mermaid, a love letter to Knoxville’s waterways, and the magic and mystery of urban wild spaces. Adam Deal’s ink and watercolor illustrations bring the mermaid’s story to life.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
I’ve learned that more things are possible that you might think. When I began publishing, others in the industry encouraged me to print as cheaply as possible. But low-quality paperbacks, bound with staples do not hold the same kind of magic, so I’m glad I committed to clothbound hardbacks with gold foil details, like children’s books were routinely bound during the golden age of illustration.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.partflamingopress.com
- Instagram: @part.flamingo.press
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/partflamingo
