Big Chicken

“Big Chicken” is a novella about an unusual larger-than-life barnyard chicken. This chicken tale spans a number of years and includes a cast of colorful characters, including rural farmers and urbane New Yorkers. Complete with illustrations, the story takes readers on a crazy merry-go-round trip from a farm in Tennessee to a bar in Midtown Manhattan, with several zany stops along the way.

“Big Chicken” is a novella about an unusual larger-than-life barnyard chicken as told by Danny Ron Shortt, a Tennessee caricature artist-turned New York art director. In some respects, it's a "story about a story." Danny Ron finds himself telling the story in question to his co-workers in a New York bar. The story—a tale of a chicken—spans a number of years and includes a cast of colorful characters, including rural farmers and urbane New Yorkers. Complete with illustrations, "Big Chicken" takes readers on a crazy merry-go-round trip from a farm in Tennessee to the bar in Midtown Manhattan, with several zany stops along the way.

After graduating with a Fine Arts degree (with an emphasis in watercolor illustration) and a minor in journalism from Carson-Newman College in 1974, David Skinner served as writer, reporter, and artist for The Sevier County Times, a weekly paper in the Smoky Mountains. In 1977, his love for art, design and music landed him in New York City, where he became the cartoonist and paste-up artist, and, eventually, Art Director, for Record World, an international music trade magazine. After five years at Record World, Skinner went to work for Doubleday, art directing their prestigious Literary Guild Magazine. In 1984, he relocated to Atlanta, where he co-founded Indelible Inc., a print, design and advertising agency, and assembled a band called "Dog & Pony," for which he wrote the original songs. In 2005, Skinner began freelancing as a graphic designer, illustrator and writer. Also, since 2001 he has "e-published" SouthernReader.com, an online literary magazine.