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.
"Philadelphia writer Adam Bender’s new novel Utopia PR, a political satire set in a dystopian Washington, DC, offers a brisk and entertaining sendup of politics and the media, two machines driven by capitalism and ambition."
"Sharp and witty, the novel Utopia PR is a free range political send-up set in a chaotic, perplexing, and familiar future world."
Utopia PR is extremely well-written with humor, wit and imagination, and it’s a lighthearted, uplifting vision into the dark times we’re facing.
"It is a fun and efficient book, but also scary: like all good fiction, it uses sarcasm to make readers think about the world outside."
In a tale that’s reminiscent of political farces such as the HBO TV series Veep, Bender employs a smooth, amusing, and straightforward prose style that’s briskly paced ... Its tone is irreverent, and readers looking for a quick chuckle will likely enjoy Bender’s winking comedy, which is punctuated with genuinely sweet, sincere moments.
A dystopian novel laced with intrigue, science fiction, romance and humor. .... I recommend this book to fans of dystopia who would appreciate a comedic writing style and the underlying themes of marital challenges, finding your purpose, diversity and manipulation through social media.
Adam Bender talks about his new dystopian satire #UtopiaPR on the latest episode of the Car Con Carne podcast by James VanOsdol!
Listen to the podcast anywhere you get podcasts! Video version available on YouTube and Facebook.
Blake Hamner (the n is silent) blogs about some of his favorite reviews of his new book Utopia PR.
It's here! My dystopian satire Utopia PR is now available for your reading pleasure. After writing three fairly dark novels, I decided to have a little bit of fun for my fourth book. Utopia PR is a sci-fi satire about a public relations rep seeking work-life balance while managing crisis after crisis for a dystopian American president.
Utopia PR is now available at libraries across Pennsylvania as part of Biblioboard and Indie Author Project's Indie Pennsylvania collection!
Utopia PR is a sci-fi satire about a public relations rep seeking work-life balance while managing crisis after crisis for a dystopian president.
Check out the eBook from your local library today!
It’s finally here! The audiobook edition of my dystopian satire Utopia PR!
I am so happy with how the audiobook came out. Tristan Wright put all his comedy chops into the reading of the wild PR team that has to spin for the President, who is known by the people as Our Leader. We received a ton of great reviews on NetGalley before today’s publication. After 40 honest reviews there, it has an average score of four stars!
All that great feedback follows the original written version winning an award for best humor in last year’s IndieReader Discovery Awards.
Utopia PR is a sci-fi satire about a public relations rep seeking work-life balance while managing crisis after crisis for a dystopian president. PR 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.
Utopia PR got an honorable mention for its wonderful cover design by Bailey McGinn in IndieReader's summer cover awards!
On Thursday June 3rd, IndieReader, one of the original review services for self, hybrid and independently published authors, announced the winners of the tenth annual IR Discovery Awards (IRDAs) for 2021. Utopia PR by Adam Bender won in the humor category.
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).
Utopia PR received this glowing verdict from IndieReader reviewers:
"Adam Bender’s UTOPIA PR is not a story about a dystopian future, politics, nor morality but mainly about the power of the word–of information, of rhetoric, of argument–and the ability to persuade people. Narrated by a skilled and intelligent protagonist who speaks directly to the reader/viewer, it is a fun and efficient book, but also scary: like all good fiction, it uses sarcasm to make readers think about the world outside."
Utopia PR 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.
“Thank you very much to IndieReader for declaring that I’m funny -- a decisive ruling that I will be sure to bandy about to all my friends and family,” said Utopia PR author Adam Bender. "I’m thrilled to bring a little laughter into our dark times.”
Adam Bender is an award-winning journalist and author of speculative fiction that explores modern-day societal fears with a mix of action, romance and humor. Learn more about the author at WatchAdam.blog and follow him on Facebook (wethewatched), Twitter (@WatchAdam) and Instagram (@WatchAdam).
