J.J. Colagrande photo
Audio By Carbonatix
Miami author and Miami Dade College professor J.J. Colagrande assures his new book of short stories, Are You Hungry?, will be the 20th and final book released by his publishing house, Jitney Books. “[It] will be the last one that I publish as the guy that did everything: edit the book, the layout, the cover design, a lot of the marketing, setting up a book launch,” he tells New Times.
Forgive me if I don’t quite believe him. I first met Colagrande eight years ago at a Wynwood bar, a couple of weeks after Hurricane Irma hit. He told me he wouldn’t publish my novel, The End of the Century — he was too burned out from publishing five books the previous year.
A couple of beers in, he changed his mind, and one month later, he had the book all laid out with a beautiful cover featuring art by local artist Amanda Valdes. At the time, he had three more books in the Jitney pipeline, all released in 2018.
Several years later, he told me — once again — that he was through with publishing books. A local former professional athlete had jilted him at the altar after spending months getting his memoir ready for publication. Next thing I knew, though, Colagrande was releasing Magical Miami by Laura Drosdowech, an illustrated children’s book depicting kids wandering through our colorful city.
When news happens, Miami New Times is there —
Your support strengthens our coverage.
We’re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to you. If Miami New Times matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there.
The book fit Jitney’s mission to spotlight South Florida writers, with most of these based in Miami. In the beginning, the books all featured street art by local artists. Colagrande would drive around the city looking for murals. When there was one he found fitting for a particular book’s cover, he’d snap a pic and ask the artist for permission.
Colagrande came up with the idea for Jitney Books after finding success with his own book, Headz, published by Buffalo, New York, publisher BlazeVox Books. He sold 5,000 editions of that novel — about bohemian youth attending a music festival — by attending music festivals himself and selling copies out of his backpack.
He set out to replicate that same marketing plan with Jitney. Instead, the publisher found its own level of success online, with JitneyBooks.com. “There are no ads, we don’t change authors’ words, we allow almost anyone to publish, but stay local,” says Colagrande. “So far, we have published 1,600 articles from over 120 local writers.”
The immediacy of shorter works drove him to make his latest book, his fourth, a collection of 19 short stories. But that doesn’t mean it was easy.
“Writing short fiction seems easier than writing novels, but it’s not,” he says. “It’s enjoyable, but challenging; every sentence has more impact and weight. This collection was a process of pure love, and that inspires me, gives me joy. The stories themselves draw inspiration from the theme of hunger, revolved around personal connection, like father-daughter relationships, what we will and won’t do for romantic love, the power of art, the risks of addiction, and social issues like income inequality.”
He’ll discuss the collection at Books & Books Tuesday evening. “I have created about 20 slides — one for each story — and I will go through the slides and try to explain the themes. I expect an ongoing conversation with those in attendance,” he says.
In addition, as it’s done for several years, Jitney will have a tent at the Miami Book Fair later this month, where its 20 releases, including Are You Hungry?, will be available for purchase.
Twenty is certainly an impressive number to go out on, but here’s hoping Colagrande will get a second wind. Again.
Are You Hungry? An Evening with J.J. Colagrande. 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 11, at Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; 305-442-4408; booksandbooks.com. Admission is free with RSVP via eventbrite.com.
Jitney Books at the Miami Book Fair. Friday, November 21, through Sunday, November 23, at Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami. Admission is free on Friday; tickets cost $12 to $18 on Saturday and Sunday via miamibookfair.com.
