New York Times bestselling and award-winning author John Kenney spoke with us about life as an ad-man, writing humor for The New Yorker, and the paperback release of his latest novel I SEE YOU’VE CALLED IN DEAD.
John Kenney is the bestselling author of three novels and four books of poetry, including Love Poems (For Married People), a New York Times bestseller. His first novel, Truth In Advertising, won the Thurber Prize for American Humor. He is a longtime contributor to The New Yorker magazine’s Shouts & Murmurs column.
His most recent novel, I See You’ve Called In Dead (available in paperback June 2nd), is described as “The Office meets Six Feet Under meets About a Boy” and was an instant bestseller. The book follows Bud Stanley, an obituary writer who accidentally publishes his own obituary and begins attending strangers' funerals to find meaning of life.
In a starred review Booklist said of the book, “I See You’ve Called in Dead is a witty and heartwarming reminder of the bottomless despair, limitless absurdity, and undeniable joy of the human experience.”
John Kenney has worked as a copywriter for more than 25 years at Ogilvy, McGarry Bowen, and Publicis. He has created campaigns for American Express, Citi, Chevron, Heineken, and Cadillac, to name a few.
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In this file John Kenney, Milena, and I discussed:
His past life as a high profile copywriter
10 years of rejections from the New Yorker
Why he still has impostor syndrome
The personal inspiration behind his latest novel
Writing self-deprecating poetry
Why he’s writing a memoir about rewriting his mother's obituary
And a lot more!
Show Notes:
byjohnkenney.com
I See You've Called in Dead by John Kenney (Amazon)
John Kenney Amazon Author Page
John Kenney on Instagram
John Kenney for The New Yorker
Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer
diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram
Kelton Reid Instagram
Kelton Reid on Twitter
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