Ella Minnow Pea: 20th Anniversary Illustrated Edition

In this special anniversary edition, Mark Dunn is joined by talented illustrator Brittany Worsham in an illuminating, beloved story relating to language and freedom and human dignity in an era of political oppression.

First published by MacAdam/Cage in 2001, Mark Dunn's novel Ella Minnow Pea celebrates its twentieth anniversary under the roof of Penguin/Random House and the British publisher Methuen. Over the years it has become a mainstay of book clubs and middle-school and high-school English classes, has inspired a stage musical LMNOP, and is the recipient of multiple accolades, including winning the 2001 Borders Original Voices competition for fiction.

Set on a fictional island off the coast of South Carolina, Ella Minnow Pea takes readers to the homeland of the late Nevin Nollop, the inventor of the pangram "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." Lionized for this achievement, he's been honored with a monument featuring this famous phrase. But life for Nollopians drastically changes when the tile containing the letter "z" topples from the statue and island authorities interpret the fall as a message from Nollop from beyond the grave. They waste no time in banning this letter from all use. As other tiles fall, additional laws are passed which put increasing communicational constraints on the islanders, and ultimately undermine all the freedoms they had heretofore taken for granted. It is up to a young woman named Ella to restore order and sanity to the nation of Nollop, using the very tools used by Mr. Nollop to win the day.

Readers, both longtime fans of the book and those newly discovering its power and literary merit, will cherish this special keepsake edition.

Author: Mark Dunn
Publisher: Dzanc Books
Published: 05/02/2023
Pages: 210
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 7.90h x 5.10w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9781950539611

About the Author
Worsham, Brittany: - Born and raised on the Westside of Detroit, Brittany learned art from her mother and storytelling from her father. As a child and teen, she constantly disappeared into the works of fiction, only to reemerge armed with nearly infinite excuses for mischief and reasons to stay optimistic.
Brittany continued to study art and eventually pursued illustration and nonprofit development. In 2018, she packed her sketchbooks and started her own adventure in rural Vermont. There, she joined the AmeriCorps VISTA program to alleviate poverty and ease the effects of the opioid crisis in the region through access to educational and creative programming. She later worked as a preschool teacher during the pandemic. Working with children helped her rediscover her love children's literature, collaborative creativity, and hand sanitizer.
Brittany returned to the Midwest last May and currently lives in Chicago with her cat. Her most recent project is illustrating the 20th Anniversary edition of Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn. She also writes mystery and speculative fiction for children and young adults.
All of her artworks are made using traditional mediums. Occasionally she uses digital programs to enhance her pieces or sketch ideas. She even handwrites the first draft of her stories on paper or iPad. Dunn, Mark: - Mark Dunn
is the author of twenty published plays and a dozen works of fiction and non-fiction,
most recently Texas People's Court: The Fascinating World of the Texas
Justice of the Peace published in 2022 by Texas A&M University Press
and the play The Puzzle with the Piazza (Concord Theatricals) which he made
available for royalty-free streaming productions for theaters during the
pandemic. His plays Belles, Five Tellers Dancing in the Rain, A Delightful
Quarantine, and The Glitter Girls have together received over
three-hundred productions throughout the world.