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Utopia PR declared best humor book in 2021 IndieReader Discovery Awards

Published by Adam on June 3, 2021

No need to spin this news… My dystopian satire novel Utopia PR just won best humor book in the 2021 IndieReader Discovery Awards!

Watch my extremely humorous acceptance video:

Thank you very much to IndieReader for declaring Utopia PR this year’s best humor book, and for thinking that I’m funny — something that I will be sure to bandy about to all my friends and family. I’m so happy to bring a little laughter into our dark times.

Please check out my IndieReader Q&A about the win and this recent interview on podcast Car Con Carne for more about the writing of the award-winning novel. Utopia PR recently joined Biblioboard’s Indie Pennsylvania library eBook collection. And it just received these glowing words from Foreword Reviews: “Sharp and witty, the novel Utopia PR is a free range political send-up set in a chaotic, perplexing, and familiar future world.”

Read the award-winning Utopia PR today!

Check Local Bookshops

About IndieReader

IndieReader launched the IRDAs in 2011 to help notable indie authors receive the attention of top publishing professionals, with the goal of reaching more readers. Noted Amy Edelman, author and founder of IR, “The books that won the IRDAs this year are not simply great indie books; they are great books, period. We hope that our efforts via the IRDAs ensure that they receive attention from the people who matter most. Potential readers.”

Past and present sponsors for the IRDAs include Amazon, Reedsy, Smith Publicity and NY-based literary agents Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. Judges have included publishers (from Penguin Group USA and Simon & Schuster), agents (from ICM, Dystel), publicists (from Smith Publicity), and bloggers (from GoodeReader).

Best Humor Book

Utopia PR, which received a glowing verdict by IndieReader’s reviewers, is a sci-fi satire about a public relations rep seeking work-life balance while managing crisis after crisis for a dystopian president.

Public-relations extraordinaire Blake Hamner (the n is silent) put off his honeymoon for his big break: joining a major political campaign for president. Now, the “Hammer” struggles to make time for his marriage as Crisis Communications Manager for Our Leader, who since taking power has become increasingly mad and totalitarian.

The Hammer starts to reconsider his career choices when one of Our Leader’s savage steel hounds attacks the Comms team at a press conference. He’d love to talk about his erratic job with his wife, Triple-N news anchor Maria Worthington, but they have a rule: the broadcast journalist doesn’t ask Blake for inside information about his work, and the spin doctor doesn’t use their relationship as leverage on what Maria reports. They say you shouldn’t keep things from each other in a marriage, but it’s OK—the only secrets between Blake and Maria are professional.

When a revolutionary levels grave allegations against Our Leader—and accuses Blake of distributing disinformation and propaganda to cover it up—the PR rep who thought he could talk his way out of any crisis finds himself utterly trapped in a dystopian job.

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The Wanderer and the New West is on sale for Audiobook Month

Published by Adam on June 2, 2021

June is Audiobook Month! I’m thrilled to announce that you can lasso the sound version of my Dystopian Western novel The Wanderer and the New West on sale for just $4.99!

That’s a 60% savings from the following audiobook stores:

Nook Audiobooks

Apple Books

Google Play

Actor James Sasser provides the stellar narration for the audiobook edition. See below and here for a synopsis and more information about my third novel.

Audiobook cover for The Wanderer and the New West by Adam Bender

A rogue vigilante known only as the Wanderer seeks redemption in a lawless, near-future America that fully protects the rights of armed citizens to stand their groundagainst mass shooters and motorcycle gangs.

When the Wanderer opens war against injustice in the state of Arizona, his violent yet principled actions attract the attention of journalist Rosa Veras, writer of a subversive blog about America’s return to the Wild West. Rosa’s investigation into gun corporation Breck Ammunition awakens the ire of CEO Gerard Breck … and brings the Wanderer to her door.

Meanwhile in Liberty, ex-Sheriff Ben Martin attempts to return lawless to Rosa’s hometown by forming a ragtag militia of ex-cops. Things start to unravel as Martin loses track of the difference between criminals and anyone who gets in his way.

Named to Kirkus Reviews‘ Best Books of 2018, The Wanderer and the New West won gold for Dystopia in the 2018 Readers’ Favorite Awards and best Western Fiction in the 2018 National Indie Excellence Awards.

Adam Bender reads… Dystopian and Horror

Published by Adam on May 17, 2021

When I’m not writing, I’m reading … or doing other stuff. But let’s go with reading.

It seems like I’ve been reading a lot of dark, surreal takes on the world lately, which maybe speaks to the times. Please see my recent Goodreads reviews below, and let me know in the comments if you’ve read any of these books or recommend others (Maybe something lighter, like Utopia PR)

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Ballad of Black Tom is an engaging Lovecraftian tribute with a refreshing Black perspective. While running errands for purveyors of the dark arts, protagonist Charles Thomas Tester shows us the unfair prejudices and dangers he experiences in everyday life just because of the color of his skin. This novella by Victor LaValle may contain a demonic Sleeping King, but its true horror comes from police who shoot first and justify their violence after the fact. It was a quick read but not a story that will be forgotten fast. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A beautifully bleak and surreal dystopian novel. The concept of people unwillingly forgetting objects, animals and more everyday things is compelling, and the disappearances become more horrifying as the book goes on. I enjoyed the natural and small village imagery — it was a nice contrast to the typical futuristic city in the genre.

The book reminded me a little of Kafka in the way that the people of this world seem frustratingly helpless to fix their situation. A novel within the novel similarly follows an utterly trapped character.

The conclusion left me with more questions than answers. Luckily, I read this with a discussion group — there’s certainly a lot to discuss here! It’s not exactly a book to lighten one’s spirits, but it’s a haunting story that will keep you thinking about it long after you finish.

Lakewood by Megan Giddings
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the way that The Handmaid’s Tale used the dystopian genre to address women’s issues, Lakewood taps the horror genre to probe a lesser known history of medical experimentation on African Americans.

In an impressive debut, Megan Giddings shows how poor-paying job options and high medical bills can combine to leave people vulnerable to exploitation. Giddings writes in an approachable style with likable characters that pulled me into the story and kept me excited to read more.

Fans of socially aware scary movies like Get Out will certainly dig Lakewood. I’m excited to see what Giddings writes next.

Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun summer read if you’re into monster stories. Follows the classic horror trope of people getting trapped somewhere with a monster, but the sasquatch mythology and found-journal / non-fiction approach makes it a lot of fun. It also feels pretty relevant to current events that are happening now after Max Brooks wrote the thing. Prescient!

I’d read it at the beach if I felt comfortable going during a pandemic! (Note: I wrote this review in September 2020. Feeling better about the beach now!)

Check out my Goodreads page for more views and visit my bookshop to buy these and other books I recommend. Happy reading!

Utopia PR laughs its way into the Indie Pennsylvania library collection

Published by Adam on April 14, 2021

I’ve lived in Pennsylvania for a large portion of my life. I grew up in Bucks County, going to school at the Council Rock district. I left for college in Washington, DC, where I later got a journalism job. Then, my wife and I moved to Australia for a few years. Pennsylvania pulled me back to Philadelphia. It’s a great commonwealth.

This is a long way to explain how delighted I was to learn that my new dystopian satire novel Utopia PR is now part of the Indie Pennsylvania library collection curated by Biblioboard through its Indie Author Project! My other novels are also part of the collection previously known as SELF-e. Here’s a brief description of IAP:

The Indie Author Project (IAP) is a publishing community that includes public libraries, authors, curators, and readers working together to connect library patrons with great indie-published books. IAP has helped hundreds of libraries engage their local creative community and assisted in getting more than 12,000 indie authors into their local libraries. Most importantly, the project has worked with top curation partners and librarians to identify hundreds of these as the best indie eBooks available to readers—so they can be sustainably circulated to library patrons with confidence.
indieauthorproject.com

Utopia PR in paperback — Find my book at Barnes & Noble in Philadelphia!

In other exciting news, I found out just yesterday that Barnes & Noble will soon be stocking the Utopia PR paperback at its Rittenhouse Square location in Philadelphia, plus a couple other stores in the region! This is thanks to a new B&N policy allowing its stores to locally curate what’s in the store.

As a self-published author who spent many hours in B&N stores growing up, this is a big deal for me! You can also of course order my humorous sci-fi novel on the Barnes and Noble website from anywhere in the country. You should also be able to ask your local store to order a copy for you if you’d prefer to pick it up.

More of an independent bookstore person? I recently opened a storefront for all of my books on Bookshop.org, which shares part of its revenue with local indie stores. My bookshop also includes lists of novels that influenced me and other books that I recommend. Be sure to check it out!

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Utopia PR author dishes about Dystopian Comedy on Car Con Carne

Published by Adam on April 8, 2021

Well, that was fun. This week I had the pleasure of going on the Car Con Carne podcast to talk about my new novel, Utopia PR!

Car Con Carne is so called because, in better times, host James VanOsdol would interview folks from the Chicago area in his car and eat meat. Alas, we ate nothing succulent. On the bright side, the pandemic Zoom-style format made it a lot simpler for a Philly guy like me to join the show!

We had a fun conversation about where I got the ideas for my critically acclaimed political satire, what I like about the dystopian genre, why social media is overwhelming yet inescapable, and how I’m a really just a big comic book nerd.

You can watch the podcast recording in its full webcam glory below, or listen to the radio-style podcast wherever podcasts are podcast. (See below the video for a selection of links.)