SLIDESHOW: Parchman Band book goes to press at MAGCOR

Last month, Tim Duffy (Music Maker co-founder and Executive Director) returned to Mississippi for a major milestone in our collaboration with the Parchman Band: the printing of the first copies of The Parchman Band book at MAGCOR Industries in Jackson, MS!

“Special thanks to Chief Superintendent Marc McClure for following Houston Jones’ suggestion to have the Parchman Band book printed by his fellow Mississippi inmates,” says Tim. “I traveled with Marc and Houston to Jackson, MS to witness the running of the book. It was a transformational and beautiful experience I will never forget.”

Scheduled for public release alongside the band’s debut album in late February 2027, The Parchman Band chronicles the revival of the inmate blues band at Mississippi State Penitentiary through behind-the-scenes storytelling, song lyrics, and Tim’s tintype photographs. Much of the book (and all nine songs) was written by the musicians themselves, a chance for the band members to tell their own stories of growth and redemption behind bars. The book and album will also be accompanied by a short documentary film directed by Ethan Payne, who also filmed and edited the NAACP Image Award-nominated short Freeman Vines.

“The Parchman Band’s lyrics serve as a collective testimony to the human spirit’s capacity for renewal, moving beyond the hardships of prison life to provide a roadmap for personal transformation,” says Tim. “The men of the Parchman Band are living proof of what can happen when people are offered purpose and dignity.”

The first copies of the book are going to the community who most urgently needs to hear this message: incarcerated individuals at Parchman and the entire Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) system. The 750 books printed last month will be distributed to every prison library in MDOC system. The first shipments went out at the end of August.

Inmates also participated in the printing of these books at the MAGCOR Print Shop in Jackson. MAGCOR Industries is a non-profit based that provides rehabilitation work programs and reentry services to equip incarcerated individuals with real-world job skills, foster successful reentry, reduce recidivism, and strengthen communities in Mississippi and beyond. Like their other programs, the print shop helps inmates gain a sense of purpose while learning marketable skills to prepare for their eventual re-entry into society.

Take an exclusive look behind the scenes in this slideshow of photos by Tim Duffy, taken at the MAGCOR Print Shop and at Parchman during his most recent visit. Stay tuned: We have so much more to share about this project this fall!