Thank you

Our donation $, video of our launch party, and more

Final charity donation number:

• Proceeds from Hell Is a World Without You’s first three months will fund a final Trevor Project donation of over $50,000. (We sent the first $39K in December, another $6,979 just now, and the rest as royalties arrive.) To put this number into book-industry context: Well, it’s a really fucking good number (produced by sales that landed this book on USA Today, IndieReader, and Bookshop best-seller lists, plus thousands of sales that didn’t even count toward those lists), and now it’ll do some real-world good, benefiting the lives of LGBTQ youth. THANK YOU AGAIN!!!

New writeups of my novel from:

• Book and Film Globe: “Kirk pulls off a miracle by making such an insular part of American culture so universal.”

• Christianity Today: “Critical, if somewhat sympathetic. The setting of my childhood. AOL Instant Messenger transcripts were frankly too recognizable."

• Dirtbag Christian: “Not just a comedy. It’s got real heart, and I don’t say that lightly.”

• Sojourners: “Not just welcome representation for ex-youth group kids. Almost anyone can find themselves here.”

• Also, the esteemed (yes, extremely) Kirkus Reviews revealed their review — “Get it,” they said — will be among the 20% of their writeups to be featured in their print magazine.

• Want a review copy of the book? jasonkirkbook at gmail.

• Meanwhile, it debuted on USA Today’s Booklist Best-Sellers list, has ranked #3 on IndieReader’s sales list, and remains in the fiction top 10 at Bookshop … all without counting the ~1,900 copies we’ve sold by ourselves.

New event:

• Friday, April 5, 5-7 p.m. ET at A Novel Idea in Philadelphia during WrestleMania weekend. Signings (and perhaps doodles by my kid, as time permits). Free.

• Plus more events I’m hoping to announce soon. If your venue would like to host something, lemme know! I do not like fussing with logistics but love showing up!! jasonkirkbook at gmail.

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Here’s a newly uploaded video. I knew this night, the 2/16 Atlanta launch of by far the best thing I’ve ever made, would be easily one of the best nights of my life, and it more than delivered — thanks to everyone who participated and attended.

My Shutdown Fullcast co-hosts and I did one of my favorite DISASTERS episodes yet, I got to read part of my book live, we brought seven talented thespians onto stage for the best piece of theater I’ve ever seen, and other stuff happened!!

Per Monday Night’s bartenders, it was the most shockingly well-behaved group of 500 maniacs they’d ever encountered.

Jay Busbee: “What I loved about the whole night was the sheer joy that was in that room.”

(Also our Madison, Wisconsin event this past Thursday also went great, thanks to Matt Brown, Mason Mennenga, and Ryan Browne. We’ll get audio and/or video of that posted at some point as well.)

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My new podcast episodes with:

• The Distraction, a podcast hosted by Drew Magary and David Roth, who both grew up nothing like me

• Readirect, a book podcast hosted by Emily Rojas and Abigail Hawkins, who both grew up exactly like me

• Book podcast Lit Lit, the novel’s first-ever Spoilers Mode chat (plus insights into the writing process with one of my most generous pre-readers)

• Richard Deitsch on explaining hardcore religion and college football to normal people

• Tommy Tomlinson for NPR on, among other things, whether Christian rock actually sucks

• Mason Mennenga’s Blacksheep Podcast on the most underrated Christian metalcore bands

• USA Today’s For The Watercooler on Nicolas’ Cage Left Behind movie, easily the “best” Rapture movie ever

• Jamie Howard on my work background that led to this book (yes, including someone pooping on a Publix floor)

• Daniel Palmer on pro wrestling, religion, and working one’s self into a shoot

• Also, a print interview with Andrew Bucholtz on how sports journalism played into the novel’s process

• And a Vacation Bible School Patreon episode on stuff Emily and I have recently learned that relates to the book (but doesn’t require you to have finished reading yet)

• Got a podcast? Let’s do it, if I can. jasonkirkbook at gmail.

And one last event link: Some party attendees sent in book questions along with their Church Disasters. We weren’t able to get to those during the show, but I answered 17 of them on Goodreads. Post some more over there!