Quess
The Arkansas Trav'ler
From the backyard pits of Birdeye, Arkansas to two-time World Champion — this is the story of Jim Quessenberry, the man they called The Arkansas Trav'ler.
Forty years on the competition circuit. Championship wins in Memphis, Kansas City, and Ireland. A sauce so good it outlived him. By Michael Quessenberry — Jim's story, in Jim's own words.
Secure checkout. Softcover + free digital edition — print ships late 2026; PDF/ePub on launch day.
"Jim Quessenberry is a serious contender for the Barbecue Hall of Fame. He pioneered competition BBQ when it was still the wild west — and he won."
— The BBQ Central Show
The Story
This Isn't
a Cookbook.
It's the story of a man who grew up cooking whole-hog in Birdeye, Arkansas — a town so small you blink and miss it — and somehow ended up winning the world championship twice. On two different continents.
Jim Quessenberry didn't start with a recipe book. He started with a pit, a fire, and a stubborn streak that wouldn't quit. He built the Arkansas Trav'ler competition team from the ground up, competed at Memphis in May before it was famous, and took his sauce to Ireland before most people knew BBQ traveled.
Quess: The Arkansas Trav'ler is his son's attempt to get all of it down — the stories, the technique, the philosophy, the characters — before the smoke clears for good.
Birdeye, Arkansas
Jim learns whole-hog BBQ from his family — the kind that takes all night and feeds the whole county.
Memphis in May — Year One
Jim enters his first Memphis in May competition before it became the Super Bowl of Swine. He doesn't just show up. He competes.
The Arkansas Trav'ler
The team hits the national circuit. Jim hauls a custom-built whole-hog smoker across the country and wins.
World Champion — Twice
The Irish Barbecue Championship in Lisdoonvarna, Ireland. Jim crosses the Atlantic and brings home two world titles for the USA.
BBQ Hall of Fame Semi-Finalist
The American Royal names Jim among the Top 9 Barbecue Hall of Fame contenders — alongside Aaron Franklin.
The Legacy Lives
His sons keep the fire alive. Sauce Beautiful is on shelves. And this book is finally getting written.
Inside the Book
What You'll Get
The Origin Story
Arkansas in the 1960s. Whole-hog over a pit dug in the ground. A family tradition that became a calling.
The Competition Years
Memphis in May, the Jack Daniel's Invitational, Kansas City — inside the wild-west era of competition BBQ.
World Champion — Twice
How a team from Birdeye, Arkansas crossed the Atlantic and won the Irish Barbecue World Championship. Twice.
The Sauce Beautiful Story
Where Sauce Beautiful came from, what Jim put in it, and why his sons are still bottling it today.
Smokestack Lightning Tapes
Direct transcriptions from the interview recordings — Jim in his own words, uncut.
The Legacy Chapter
What it means to carry on a pitmaster's legacy. Written by Michael, who grew up watching the fire.
Friends & Family
The Same Generosity, Between Covers
Michael still slides bottles to folks at cookouts and fundraisers — the way Jim always did. Lee bottled that spirit here: bundle Quess with Sauce Beautiful and Pick 3 combos at friends-and-family pricing.
— Cook that sumbitch. We'll eat it.
Pre-Order Pricing
Lock In Your Price
Every format goes up at launch. Digital edition (PDF + ePub) is included with every purchase — delivered on launch day.
Digital
Ebook
Delivered to your inbox on launch day
Launches at $9.99
- ✓ PDF + ePub formats
- ✓ Delivered to your inbox
- ✓ Read on any device
Softcover
Print ships on release day · digital on launch day
Launches at $19.99
- ✓ Perfect-bound softcover
- ✓ Full-color photo insert
- ✓ Free digital edition (PDF + ePub) on launch day
- ✓ Free US shipping
Premium
Hardcover
Print ships on release day · digital on launch day
Launches at $28.99
- ✓ Case-laminate hardcover
- ✓ Full-color photo insert
- ✓ Free digital edition (PDF + ePub) on launch day
- ✓ Built to last on the shelf
Collector's
Signed Copy
Very limited — print + digital from the family
Launches at $39.99
- ✓ Signed by Michael Quessenberry
- ✓ Numbered edition
- ✓ Free digital edition (PDF + ePub) on launch day
- ✓ Ships separately, tracked
Secure checkout. Every purchase includes the digital edition (PDF + ePub) on launch day. Print editions ship at launch (late 2026).
What They're Saying
Jim's Legacy, In Their Words
"Jim Quessenberry is a serious contender for the Barbecue Hall of Fame. He pioneered competition BBQ when it was still the wild west."
The BBQ Central Show
BBQ Hall of Fame Feature, 2019
"Barbecue historian and legend. Jim's whole-hog technique and his Arkansas roots made him one of the most distinctive voices in American BBQ."
Ardie Davis
BBQ Historian & Author
"He didn't just compete — he showed up with a whole philosophy. That propane-assisted whole-hog rig was twenty years ahead of its time."
Smokestack Lightning Tapes
Interview, 1987
About the Author
Michael Quessenberry
Michael Quessenberry is Jim's younger son and the author of Quess: The Arkansas Trav'ler. He grew up on the competition circuit — in family footage from 1989, a five-year-old Michael is already learning the craft at the pit.
The book documents Jim's journey from the backyard pits of Birdeye, Arkansas to two World Championships in Ireland — written by someone who was there for part of it and spent years reconstructing the rest from recordings, notebooks, and memory.
His brother Lee is publishing partner and brand manager — the digital presses, pre-order, and story architecture on this site. Their mother, Donna, taught kindergarten and helped market the original sauce line in the 1990s. The household always mixed classroom discipline with championship fire. This book is that inheritance in hard covers and PDF.
Questions
When does the book ship?
Is the digital edition really included with every purchase?
How does the pre-order work?
Is this a cookbook?
Will the signed copies sell out?
Do you ship internationally?
Don't Miss
the Pre-Order Price
Prices go up at launch. Lock in your copy of Quess: The Arkansas Trav'ler now — the story of a man who refused to lose, and a family keeping the fire alive.
Secure checkout. Digital edition included with every purchase. Print ships at launch. Signed editions are very limited.
