A Paper Orchestra

In his debut collection of personal essays, Emmy-nominated screenwriter Michael Jamin (King of the Hill, Just Shoot Me, Beavis and Butt-Head, Wilfred, Maron, Rules of Engagement, Tacoma FD) recounts the true stories of a sensitive, anxious man searching for the things that are most important: identity, love, forgiveness, and redemption. 


A cross between David Sedaris and Neil Simon, Michael discovers his unlikeliest moments of growth: he fakes his way onto a college-football team to experience a moment of grace; gets caught lying during a Hollywood power meeting; takes advantage of the pandemic lockdown to repair his relationship with his daughters, breaks up with a woman because she can’t stop saying “just kidding.”


An audaciously funny yet achingly poignant memoir, A Paper Orchestra will have you rethinking the smallest, almost forgotten moments of your life.

“Good lord, how it made me feel happy, sad, and connected all at once… If one defines comedy as making sense of life and getting a visceral reaction out of its reader, it’s a triumph.”

—Vulture, Best Comedy Books of 2024