“A devastating and rich exploration of trauma, art-making, love, and the unmistakable hauntedness of what we cannot control, yet long to. I want everyone to read this book.”
– Chelsea Bieker, author of Godshot and Heartbroke
“Schlottman acutely nails the misty, gold-hued atmosphere of the 1980s, and deeply explores themes of class and privilege...This thought-provoking work will put readers on the lookout for what the author does next.”
– Publishers Weekly
“With a clear, empathic gaze, and with a sharp, startling intelligence, Kerri Schlottman's Tell Me One Thing traces two paths—that of artist, and that of subject—through the cruel disparities of the Reagan eighties and beyond. The result is a book that asks enduring questions about what art is for and what we, all of us, owe one another. Tell Me One Thing is phenomenal.”
– Matthew Specktor, author of Always Crashing in the Same Car
Tell Me One Thing is a portrait of two Americas, examining power, privilege, and the sacrifices one is willing to make to succeed as it tells the story of a provocative photograph, the struggling artist who takes it, and its young and troubled subject. Traveling through the 1980s to present day, Tell Me One Thing delves into New York City's free-for-all grittiness while exposing a neglected slice of the rural rust belt.
EARLY PRAISE
JAKOB GUANZON
author of Abundance
Divergent yet inextricable, the paths and aspirations of a photographer and her young subject leap and shatter through the passage of four decades and at the mercy of American dearth, all of which Schlottman relays with understated grit and unflinching humanity.
Kerri Schlottman’s vivid writing skillfully recreates 1980s New York City and rural Pennsylvania; we’re invited to witness both the heady art-world scene of the era and the foundations being set for the opioid epidemic. It’s such a smart and well-crafted novel, bursting with life. I couldn’t put it down.
These characters are so realistic, we start rooting for them moments after meeting them. Best of all, for all of their hard times, this book is full of unexpected moments of fulfillment, surprising flashes of grace.
AMY SHEARN
author of Unseen City
SHEPHEN P. KIERNAN
author of The Baker's Secret
EVENTS & INTERVIEWS
A picture is worth a whole novel with Kerri Schlottman
First Look Feature
BOOK LAUNCH
BOOK CLUB BAR, NYC | JANUARY 31, 2023, 8PM
with author JAKOB GUANZON
HOMETOWN LAUNCH
SIDETRACK BOOKSHOP, ROYAL OAK, MI | FEBRUARY 4, 2023, 7PM
NEIGHBORHOOD LAUNCH
WORD BOOKSTORE, JERSEY CITY, NJ | FEBRUARY 9, 2023, 7PM
with author AMY SHEARN
AUTHOR MEET & GREET
ROUGH DRAFT BAR & BOOKS, KINGSTON, NY | FEBRUARY 13, 2023, 5PM
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“In the parallel universes of two unforgettable characters, Schlottman renders on the page a simple and beautiful expression of our shared humanity.”
– Cinelle Barnes, author of Monsoon Mansion: A Memoir and Malaya: Essays on Freedom
Kerri Schlottman is the author of Tell Me One Thing from Regal House Publishing. Her writing has placed second in the Dillydoun International Fiction Prize, been longlisted for the Dzanc Books Prize for Fiction, and was a 2021 University of New Orleans Press Lab Prize semifinalist. For the past 20 years, Kerri has worked to support artists, performers, and writers in creating new projects, most recently at Creative Capital in New York City where she helped fund projects by authors Paul Beatty, Maggie Nelson, Percival Everett, and Jesse Ball.
“At once the expansive story of two women navigating two disparate, intersecting lives, and a thoughtful meditation on the transtemporal power of photography, Kerri Schlottman's Tell Me One Thing is that rare book: an art world novel with heart.”
– Rachel Lyon, author of Self-Portrait with Boy