Young Donald just passed Jane Eyre on the Goodreads "Best for Book Clubs" list  (suck it, Charlotte Brontë!). It’s now #28 out of more than 8,000 books on that list.

Thanks for all the fabulous support! If you haven’t had a chance yet to rate or review Young Donald, you can do that at:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54772271-young-donald

Michael

I’m very happy to report that Young Donald has steadily made its way up many Goodreads Lists, and is now:

#1 in "Books Set in High School"

#1 in "Fiction Set in 1960s"

#2 in "Boarding School Stories" (damn you, Harry Potter!)

#2 in "Trump Tell-alls" (even though it’s not a tell-all, I’ll take it!)

#3 in "New Authors to Read" (out of more than 4,000!)

https://www.goodreads.com/list/book/54772271

Thanks to all who voted for the book, and, if you haven’t had a chance to rate or review Young Donald yet on Goodreads, I would be thrilled if you did! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54772271-young-donald

Thanks so much to the 43 participants in the Young Donald book discussion yesterday on Zoom (with exclusive, VIP after-party on Microsoft Teams!). 

With special thanks to the host, Henry Coyle, and the commentators, Annie Elliott, Simran Dhungel, Tom Wright (live from Lapland), Nandini Assar, Gianfranco Bertozzi, Andrea Paipa, Elaine Taylor-Klaus and Dr. Mike McAlister. 

Just in time for your holiday tequila shots (that’s not just my family’s tradition, right?), the Young Donald shot glasses have arrived! Anyone who posts an online review will be entitled to a glass. Same offer to anyone who just wants to come over on a nice day and do outdoor shots with me.

Where to review?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54772271-young-donald

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54772271-young-donald

Well, Donald still hasn’t conceded in the 1963 Homecoming King race at his military school, proving the more you know about young Donald, the less old Donald will be able to surprise you!

I think everyone (in the US, at least) should have received the book by now (with e-copies sent out by email from Inkshares on October 6). If you have not yet received a copy you were expecting, please email: hello@inkshares.com.

In case you missed the Washington Post piece on the book:

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/donald-trump-satire-michael-bennett/2020/10/17/8047e932-03f4-11eb-897d-3a6201d6643f_story.html

Once you have read the book, if you like it, please consider:

(1) mentioning it or the Washington Post piece on Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In or elsewhere (even in actual conversation with live people, if you are into that); and

(2) Posting a review (or just rate the book if reviews are not your thing) on:

(a) AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Young-Donald-Michael-Bennett/dp/1950301133

and

(b) GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54772271-young-donald

Thanks again for your support! Would love to hear any reactions to the story!

Michael

I’m excited to report that my essay related to Young Donald appears in the Washington Post Arts & Entertainment section this weekend:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/donald-trump-satire-michael-bennett/2020/10/17/8047e932-03f4-11eb-897d-3a6201d6643f_story.html

Or, if that link runs you into a paywall, you can read it here:

http://freepdfhosting.com/66fd91643b.pdf

Like a hospital patient pumped full of dexamethasone, I am experiencing irrational euphoria today that Young Donald is finally out! The e-book went out today and paperbacks go out soon.

If you like the book, please review it on Goodreads and Amazon:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54772271-young-donald

https://www.amazon.com/Young-Donald-Michael-Bennett/dp/1950301133

And, if for some reason you don’t like the book, please ask yourself whether you are really qualified to provide literary criticism...come on, not all of us are!

Thanks so much again for the wonderful support! And a huge, special thanks to the Grand Patrons listed in the back of the book, and some others, like the brilliant creative director Jamie Wright and my literary agent (whose commission is paid entirely in beer) Henry Coyle.

Michael

Young Donald is coming out on October 6! 

 If you like the book when you get it, you can:

 (1) put a glowingly positive review on Amazon;

https://www.amazon.com/Young-Donald-Michael-Bennett/dp/1950301133

 (2) recommend it to friends (especially friends in large Zoom book clubs);

 (3) talk favorably about the book in an inappropriately loud voice if you find yourself near my target audience (e.g., anyone wearing an Oberlin sweatshirt, carrying a PBS tote-bag or wearing a mask in a red state).

 And, if you don’t like the book, remember what your mother told you do when you have nothing nice to say about something.

 If you ordered a physical book and have moved since then, please change your address on Inkshares!

Young Donald is very close to publication now. With the help of the brilliant team at Inkshares, the story is strong, the design is sweet and it’s almost ready.

But, like a localized spike in COVID cases after a Trump rally, these things simply take time to develop. The book is set to come out in October. In the meantime, if you cannot wait, let me know and I’ll read it to you over the phone.

Thanks again for all of your fabulous support!

Every few weeks, someone will ask me “what ever happened with Young Donald?” or (passive-aggressively) “did your book come out and I totally missed it?” or (just aggressively) “can I get my $20 back?”

Well, like a lonely man sitting in an underground bunker waiting for the Secret Service to tell him it’s safe to come out, the Young Donald manuscript has been locked away (in the intense editorial process) for some time now, waiting for the right moment to emerge into the world. Very good progress is definitely being made and with some luck that moment is coming (soon-ish). But, it is still months away, I’m afraid.

In the meantime, please stay safe, feel hopeful and inspired by the world’s sudden focus on racism and social justice and find time to get outside and enjoy some masked recreation and/or protest. And, as always, I’m sure the Ukrainian hackers that control Young Donald’s twitter account would appreciate your support.

 Michael

 https://www.inkshares.com/books/young-donald

 https://twitter.com/novel_young