Bonnie Jo Campbell books

Bonnie Jo Campbell is an American author and editor from Michigan, known for her rural literary fiction and her role as series editor of the Made in Michigan Writers book series.

Anthologies

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Our Working Lives 2000 Buy
Dog is My Co-Pilot 2003 Buy
Monsters of Literary Sightings 2012 Buy
Fiction4theFuture 2012 Buy
Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury 2012 Buy
Healing Visions 2023 Buy

Collections

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Women and Other Animals 2002 Buy
American Salvage 2009 Buy
Mothers, Tell Your Daughters 2015 Buy

Made in Michigan Writers Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Blue-Tail Fly 2006 Buy
Broken Symmetry 2006 Buy
The Women Were Leaving the Men 2007 Buy
After-Music 2008 Buy
Wide Awake in Someone Else’s Dream 2008 Buy
Trespassing 2008 Buy
The Lost Tiki Palaces of Detroit 2009 Buy
If the World Becomes So Bright 2009 Buy
American Salvage 2009 Buy
By Cold Water 2009 Buy
As If We Were Prey 2010 Buy
Birth of a Notion; Or, the Half Ain’t Never Been Told 2010 Buy
Voices of the Lost and Found 2010 Buy
An American Map 2010 Buy
In Which Brief Stories Are Told 2011 Buy
At The Bureau of Divine Music 2011 Buy
Love/Imperfect 2011 Buy
The Light Between 2012 Buy
To Embroider the Ground with Prayer 2012 Buy
The World of a Few Minutes Ago 2012 Buy
Allegiance 2012 Buy
Booker T & Them 2012 Buy
Practicing to Walk Like a Heron 2013 Buy
Earth Again 2013 Buy
Living Together 2013 Buy
Making Callaloo in Detroit 2014 Buy
Quality Snacks 2014 Buy
Love, Sex, and 4-H 2015 Buy
Know the Mother 2016 Buy
Sharp Blue Search of Flame 2016 Buy
I Want to Be Once 2016 Buy
States of Motion 2017 Buy
The Forgetting Tree 2017 Buy
The Lake Michigan Mermaid 2018 Buy
Field Recordings 2018 Buy
Meet Behind Mars 2018 Buy
Eden Springs 2018 Buy
I Got To Keep Moving 2018 Buy
Welcome to Replica Dodge 2019 Buy
Ragged Anthem 2019 Buy
Unblinking 2019 Buy
The Desk on the Sea 2019 Buy
Shades: Detroit Love Stories 2019 Buy
Gut Botany 2020 Buy
You’re in the Wrong Place 2020 Buy
A Fine Canopy 2020 Buy
You Are My Joy and Pain 2020 Buy
How Other People Make Love 2021 Buy
When the Heart Needs a Stunt Double 2021 Buy
Gun/Shy 2021 Buy
The Lake Huron Mermaid 2024 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Q Road 2002 Buy
Once Upon a River 2011 Buy
The Waters 2024 Buy

Bonnie Jo Campbell is an American writer from Michigan whose fiction draws heavily on rural life in the Midwest. Her short story collection American Salvage was a National Book Award finalist in 2009, and her novel Once Upon a River (2011) follows a young woman surviving on her own along a Michigan river. Her writing tends to focus on working-class characters, small-town tensions, and the hard edges of life in places far from big cities.

Beyond her own fiction, Campbell has been the series editor of the Made in Michigan Writers series published by Wayne State University Press. That series has grown to over 50 titles since 2006, featuring poetry, fiction, and nonfiction from writers with Michigan connections. Her editorial work has made her an important figure in Michigan’s literary community, separate from her own creative output. Her most recent novel, The Waters, was published in 2024.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Bonnie Jo Campbell written?

Bonnie Jo Campbell has written 63 books across four series.

What was Bonnie Jo Campbell's first book?

Bonnie Jo Campbell’s first book is Our Working Lives, published in 2000.

What is Bonnie Jo Campbell best known for?

Bonnie Jo Campbell is best known for her short story collection American Salvage, which was a National Book Award finalist in 2009, and her novel Once Upon a River. She is also the series editor of the Made in Michigan Writers series published by Wayne State University Press.

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