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Author: Adam

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.

Bender's latest novel is Utopia PR, a speculative satire about a public-relations specialist who struggles to find work-life balance while managing crisis after crisis for a dystopian American president. It won the 2021 IndieReader Discovery Award for Humor.

Previously, Bender wrote The Wanderer and the New West, a near-future western about a rogue vigilante who seeks redemption in a lawless America that fully protects the rights of armed citizens to stand their ground. Named to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2018, the novel also won gold for Dystopia in the 2018 Readers’ Favorite Awards and best Western Fiction in the 2018 National Indie Excellence Awards.

Bender authored We, The Watched and Divided We Fall in a dystopian series about an amnesiac who struggles to conform in a surveillance society where the government keeps a Watched list of its own citizens. Also, Bender has published several short stories.

In his day job as a journalist, Bender covers telecom and internet regulation for Communications Daily. He has won awards for his reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Specialized Information Publishers Association, and the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing.

Bender lives in Philadelphia with his wife Mallika and son Rishi. He’s usually a rather modest and amiable fellow.

Learn more about the author at WatchAdam.blog and join The Underground email newsletter for news and info on Adam Bender's latest projects. Follow him on Facebook (wethewatched) and @WatchAdam on Instagram.

The Wanderer visits the library…

Maybe you wouldn’t expect to find a couple of gunslingers holed out in a library. However, in a town taken over by the Red Stripe Gang, the library might just be the best place to plot one’s next moves.

The “library scene” from The Wanderer and the New West

That’s a scene from my dystopian western novel, The Wanderer and the New West. You can read a piece of it in the picture above.

I’ve always loved libraries, that temple-like space where one can find a new book and–gasp–take it home for free! Growing up in Bucks County, PA, my favorite section was the 741s. I assume you’re up on your Dewey Decimal System? See, that’s where they kept all the comic book collections, including ancient tomes like Superman: From the ’30s to the ’70s (for the record, I read this in the late ’90s).

That’s why it’s so awesome to see my novel popping up in various libraries across the country. It’s thanks to the great Kirkus review (a favorite mag among librarians), my book’s distribution on library platforms like Overdrive, and most recently, an appearance at the 2018 American Library Association conference in New Orleans, courtesy of Booklife by Publishers Weekly.

The Wanderer and the New West at the 2018 American Library Association conference in New Orleans.
The Wanderer and the New West featured at the 2018 American Library Association conference in New Orleans, courtesy of Booklife.

As an indie author trying to get noticed, my hope is that readers will find my novels in libraries (eBook and print!) and give ’em a try. If they love one of my books, maybe they’ll recommend it to a friend! Sales are great, but I’d much rather know that more readers are getting a chance to enjoy the words I’ve written.

If you can’t find my novels in your library, please request them! You can refer librarians to this post or the official page for The Wanderer and the New West if they need more information. Please let me know in the comments below if you found my books in yours!

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And the award goes to… The Wanderer and the New West!

The Wanderer and the New West took the award for Best Western Fiction in the 2018 National Indie Excellence Awards!

The recognition follows Kirkus Reviews naming my dystopian western novel as one of its best indie books of the month for April 2018.

The Wanderer and the New West reinvents the Western novel with a dystopian outlook on a possible America that fully protects the rights of armed citizens to stand their ground against mass shooters and motorcycle gangs.

The novel is on sale now in paperback and eBook at your favorite online retailer! For a limited time only, get the EPUB edition at Smashwords for 50% off ($2.50)! Just use the coupon code AM26J at checkout. Deal expires 8/2/18.

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Credit: Reedsy

If you like the novel, please help Adam spread the word by leaving a review on Goodreads or the store where you purchased his novel.

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Divided We Fall Gets Some Library Love

Big news for library lovers! SELF-e by Library Journal selected my dystopian sci-fi novel Divided We Fall for a select pilot program with library eBook distributor OverDrive.

The addition to SELF-e Select on OverDrive means that Divided We Fall will be available free to 40,000 libraries and schools in 70 countries for one year. Also, Library Journal will promote my book in its magazine.

Divided We Fall reveals insurrection against a dystopian government that keeps a Watched list of its own citizens. Agent Eve Parker must arrest her fiancé after he loses his memory and becomes a revolutionary named Seven in a fight against the government. However, when she learns more about the President’s plan to broaden citizen surveillance, she begins to question just who is right.

Here’s more information about the pilot program from the email I received this week:

We have some exciting news! As you already know Divided We Fall was chosen by Library Journal as a SELF-e Select book, digitally placing it in every library participating in the SELF-e program on BiblioBoard, supporting nationwide discovery by new readers.

We are reaching out because Divided We Fall has now been selected for an even more refined collection, the best of the best, SELF-e Select on OverDrive.

SELF-e Select on OverDrive is a new one-year pilot project in partnership with industry leader OverDrive, who support a network of 40,000 libraries and schools in 70 countries. Beginning June 1, 2018 OverDrive partner libraries can enroll in the program at no charge. Following their enrollment libraries will offer the full SELF-e Select on OverDrive collection to their users for 12-months. After the conclusion of the program in July 2019, participating authors will receive usage data from BiblioBoard. As part of this collection, we will also be doing special advertising and promotion for your book with Library Journal, bringing more exposure to your book.

Pretty cool! Please look out for all my books in your local library. If you can’t find them, please request them from your favorite librarian!

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More Acclaim for The Wanderer and the New West

The Wanderer hits another bullseye with a great review from Publishers Weekly, plus Kirkus Reviews features the novel as an Indie Book of the Month!

Thanks to everyone who has picked up a copy (digital or physical) of my new novel, The Wanderer and the New West. I continue to be blown away by the kind words and excitement I’m hearing from critics and new readers about my Dystopian Western.

Recently, the Wanderer tossed his hat into the ring for the BookLife Prize by Publishers Weekly. While winners won’t be announced for several months, all entrants receive a critical assessment from Publishers Weekly, and I’m happy to report that I just received an 8 out of 10!

Here’s my favorite line: “Bender’s prose and ability to weave poignancy and humor throughout the story elevates his novel above others in the genre.”

Meanwhile, Kirkus Reviews featured my novel in their magazine for a second time, this time in a list of the “Indie Books of the Month” for April! if you don’t subscribe, here’s the online list.

Yep, that’s definitely one for the bulletin board.

Oh, this was pretty cool. My book appeared in the Spring Books issue of The New York Review of Books. I swear I didn’t plan this at all, but the cover story was all about American gun culture.

Critics are great, but I really love hearing what readers think. It’s been awesome seeing all of your reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. Please keep them coming! I’m an indie author with a limited marketing budget, so this is really the best way to help me spread the word.

Don’t have a copy yet? Check out the official page for more details on where you can buy my novel.

Charity & Events

I’m always excited to support a good cause. I donated a signed copy of The Wanderer and the New West for the annual Writers for Hope auction during Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April. The auction is organized by Kelly Johnson and proceeds went to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN).

Last weekend, I donated autographed copies of my three novels for a silent auction at the Delaware Valley Legacy Fund (DVLF) Heroes awards, started 11 years ago to honor individuals whose work and leadership advance the rights of the LGBT community.

Coming up, look out for the Wanderer at BookExpo 2018 in New York City from May 30 to June 1 as part of the New Title Showcase! Then, my novel will appear June 22-25 at the American Library Association 2018 conference.

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Adam Bender | adambenderwrites.com | watchadam.blog