I See You've Called in Dead

John Kenney
I See You've Called in Dead

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Coming April 1, 2025

The Office meets Six Feet Under meets About a Boy in this coming-of-middle-age tale about having a second chance to write your life’s story. 

Bud Stanley is an obituary writer who is afraid to live. Yes, his wife recently left him for a “far more interesting” man. Yes, he goes on a particularly awful blind date with a woman who brings her ex. And yes, he has too many glasses of Scotch one night and proceeds to pen and publish his own obituary. The newspaper wants to fire him. But now the company’s system has him listed as dead. And the company can’t fire a dead person. The ensuing fallout forces him to realize that life may be actually worth living. 

As Bud awaits his fate at work, his life hangs in the balance. Given another shot by his boss and encouraged by his best friend, Tim, a worldly and wise former art dealer who is now confined to a wheelchair, Bud starts to attend the wakes and funerals of strangers to learn how to live.

Thurber Prize-winner and New York Times bestselling author John Kenney tells a funny, touching story about life and death, about the search for meaning, about finding and never letting go of the preciousness of life.

Buy Audiobook

Coming April 1, 2025

The Office meets Six Feet Under meets About a Boy in this coming-of-middle-age tale about having a second chance to write your life’s story. 

Bud Stanley is an obituary writer who is afraid to live. Yes, his wife recently left him for a “far more interesting” man. Yes, he goes on a particularly awful blind date with a woman who brings her ex. And yes, he has too many glasses of Scotch one night and proceeds to pen and publish his own obituary. The newspaper wants to fire him. But now the company’s system has him listed as dead. And the company can’t fire a dead person. The ensuing fallout forces him to realize that life may be actually worth living. 

As Bud awaits his fate at work, his life hangs in the balance. Given another shot by his boss and encouraged by his best friend, Tim, a worldly and wise former art dealer who is now confined to a wheelchair, Bud starts to attend the wakes and funerals of strangers to learn how to live.

Thurber Prize-winner and New York Times bestselling author John Kenney tells a funny, touching story about life and death, about the search for meaning, about finding and never letting go of the preciousness of life.

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John Kenney

John Kenney is the author of two novels and four books of poetry, including LOVE POEMS FOR MARRIED PEOPLE. His first novel, TRUTH IN ADVERTISING, won the Thurber Prize for American humor. The book was optioned and Kenney wrote the screenplay. Ryan Reynolds was attached to the film as was Notting Hill director Roger Michell. He is also the author of Talk to Me, also a starred Kirkus review. He is a long-time contributor to The New Yorker magazine’s Shouts & Murmurs. He lives in Larchmont, NY, with his wife, Lissa, and two children.

His book, I SEE YOU'VE CALLED IN DEAD, will be published April 1, 2025 by Zibby Books.

What people are saying...

"There are writers I turn to when I need a guaranteed laugh, and John Kenney is certainly among them. But John is also on a shorter, more rarified list of writers who can evoke a laugh and make you feel alive. That's no small feat given the title of his breathtaking new novel is I See You've Called in Dead. But that's John. And you will love him."

Steven Rowley

author of The Celebrants

“I See You’ve Called in Dead is a riotously funny, poignantly introspective novel that dives headfirst into the absurdity of existence. Bud Stanley is an obituary writer who gets everything wrong—including accidentally publishing his own death notice. From botched blind dates to philosophical musings about life and death, Bud grapples with love, legacy, and the existential (and satirical) weight of being alive. But seriously. . . read this, it is laugh out loud funny. Perfect for fans of dark, heartfelt comedy.”

Weike Wang

author of Rental House

"John Kenney's I See You've Called in Dead will be relatable to anyone who took the Talking Heads to heart and woke up thinking 'How did I get here?' His novel manages both heartbreaking loss and hilarious observational humor, while giving us a glimpse at the human condition, its unpredictable fleeting ecstasies, warts and all."

Annabelle Gurwitch

author of You're Leaving When? Adventures in Downward Mobility

“Wise, wry, and heartfelt, I See You Called in Dead is the most life-affirming novel about death you’ll ever read—and possibly the funniest. Kenney takes his hero, a middle-aged obituary writer in a rut, on a bumpy odyssey toward understanding that grief and joy are inextricably linked, and to try to separate them is to miss out on truly living. I adored this book!”

Jane Roper

author of The Society of Shame

"I absolutely adored this book! Kenney’s quick-witted, deadpan dialogue, paired with the inherent humor in the novel’s conceit and the protagonist’s unusual hobby of sitting in on strangers’ funerals, had me laughing out loud. Yet, just as often, I found myself in tears. This story delivers a fresh and poignant take on the midlife crisis narrative, one that brings to mind big-hearted questions not only about life, but about what it truly means to live."

Angela Brown

author of Olivia Strauss Is Running Out of Time