"Catfish Days" author signs at Book Mart
Mike McCall was at the Book Mart on Main Street on March 23 signing copies of his book, "Catfish Days."
Harry M "Mike" McCall is a Jackson native, and has spent his life writing and editing publications in Mississippi. He graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi and his career spanned from the "Clarion Ledger," "Memphis Commercial Appeal" and the "Sun-Herald" in Biloxi. McCall is a co-founder of the Mississippi Business Journal, and has been the editor of the Catfish Journal, a bi-monthly journal, for 25 years.
McCall's book was released on Dec. 14, 2016. It tells of his experience working with people in the catfish business during the boom of the industry.
"I have been working with the industry for 26 years, and love it, I love working with the people," McCall said. "It's just a fascinating business, and, so, I decided to write a book about it."
McCall's sales have been focused in Mississippi, one of the biggest producers of catfish in the United States. "Catfish Days" is not only written for catfish farmers, but also for people outside of the business. It covers topics from marketing of catfish products to the politics of the business.
"It's a unique business," McCall said. "Catfish is the biggest sector of aquaculture in the U.S. It has a lot of different elements."
McCall said he shares the story of how the industry developed, with interviews of around 50 people.
"It's more about what was than what is today in the catfish business, but I do bring my reader up to date," McCall said. "There are factoids in the back of the book, and some places where you can get catfish recipes."