Andrew Shaffer (pronounciation: SHAY-fer). Photo courtesy of the author. Copyright 2020.
Biography
Andrew Shaffer is the New York Times bestselling author of Hope Never Dies: An Obama Biden Mystery, the international bestselling parody Fifty Shames of Earl Grey, and eighteen other books in multiple genres, including mystery, horror, and humor. He is a five-time Goodreads Choice Award nominee and a two-time finalist in the Humor category.
He is creative director and co-founder of 8th Circle, LLC, home to the publishing imprint 8th Circle Press and the production company Dime House Pictures. His award-winning illustrations have appeared in Heavy Metal magazine, Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, and on book covers worldwide.
Shaffer attended the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and studied comedy writing at The Second City, Chicago’s famed improv school.
An Iowa native, Shaffer lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with his wife, novelist Meg Shaffer. He teaches and mentors writers in person and online at Lexington's Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning.
His latest novel is the cozy mystery Feel the Bern: A Bernie Sanders Mystery, out now from Ten Speed Press and Penguin Random House Audio. His latest children’s book is Mothman’s Happy Cryptid Halloween, the second in a trilogy of holiday-themed Mothman picture books. His first coloring book, Literary Cats Coloring Book, will be released by Running Press in February 2025.
More: Wikipedia — Andrew Shaffer • IMDB • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Social Media
BookBub • Facebook • Goodreads • Instagram • OnlyFans • (no TikTok or X/Twitter)
FICTION — NOVELS / HORROR
Secret Santa: A Horror for the Holidays Novel (Quirk Books and Blackstone Audio, 2020)
FICTION — NOVELS / MYSTERY & THRILLER
The Day of the Donald: Trump Trumps America (Crooked Lane Books and Blackstone Audio, 2016)
Feel the Bern: A Bernie Sanders Mystery (Ten Speed Press and Penguin Random House Audio, 2022)
Hope Never Dies: An Obama Biden Mystery (Obama Biden Mysteries Book #1) (Quirk Books and Audible, 2018)
Hope Rides Again: An Obama Biden Mystery (Obama Biden Mysteries Book #2) (Quirk Books and Audible, 2019)
FICTION — NOVELS / PARODY
Catsby: A Parody of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (8th Circle Press, 2016)
Fifty Shames of Earl Grey (writing as “Fanny Merkin”) (Fifty Shames Book #1) (Da Capo Press and Tantor Audio, 2012)
Fifty Shames Gone Grey: An Earl Grey Novella (writing as “Fanny Merkin”) (Fifty Shames Book #2) (8th Circle Press, 2nd ed. 2021)
The Telltale Hardon and Other Perversions (writing as “Edgar Allan Pole”) (8th Circle Press, 2016)
Non-fiction — BIOGRAPHIES
Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love (Harper Perennial, 2011)
Literary Rogues: A Scandalous History of Wayward Authors (Harper Perennial, 2013)
Non-fiction — HUMOR
Ain’t Got Time to Bleed: Medical Reports on Hollywood’s Greatest Action Heroes (Insight Editions, 2017)
Ghosts from Our Past: Both Literally and Figuratively: The Study of the Paranormal (Three Rivers Press and Random House Audio, 2016)
How to Survive a Sharknado and Other Unnatural Disasters (Three Rivers Press and Random House Audio, 2014 — OUT OF PRINT)
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like F*ck This (8th Circle Press, 2nd ed. 2021)
Justin Bieber: First Tweets 2 Forever: My Memoir: A Parody (8th Circle Press, 2nd ed. 2021)
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
The Clowns in the Woods (Bad Books for Bad Kids) (8th Circle Press, 2024)
Mothman’s Merry Cryptid Christmas (Cryptid Holiday Classics #1) (8th Circle Press, 2023)
Mothman’s Happy Cryptid Halloween (Cryptid Holiday Classics #2) (8th Circle Press, 2024)
Mothman’s Very Cryptid Valentine’s (Cryptid Holiday Classics #3) (8th Circle Press, Forthcoming December 2025)
Oh My Goth: Jokes for When You Feel Dead Inside (Bad Books for Bad Kids) (8th Circle Press, 2023)
The Secret Pet (Bad Books for Bad Kids) (8th Circle Press, 2024)
COLORING BOOKS
Literary Cats Coloring Book (Running Press, 2025)
Poetry
Let’s See Them Poems (8th Circle Press, 2020 — OUT OF PRINT)
Look Mom I’m a Poet (And So Is My Cat) (8th Circle Press, 2021)
Not Today, Satan (Maybe Tomorrow) (8th Circle Press, 2023)
The Summer of ’82 (I Still Like Beer) (writing as “Bart O’Kavanaugh”) (8th Circle Press, 2018)
Quotes
"A pro at parodies." — The Associated Press
"Fans of Carl Hiaasen’s comic crime novels will have fun." — Publishers Weekly on Hope Never Dies: An Obama Biden Mystery
"Always funny." — LitReactor
"Every bit as amusing (and straight-faced) as the film franchise that spawned it." — Entertainment Weekly on How to Survive a Sharknado and Other Unnatural Disasters
"Funny.... Everyone should follow this guy [on Twitter]." — Nicholas Sparks
"Witty.... Clever...." — USA Today on How to Survive a Sharknado and Other Unnatural Disasters
"The literary equivalent of a good Saturday Night Live skit." — The Hollywood Reporter on Fifty Shames of Earl Grey
"Un-American." — Stephen Colbert on Shaffer's Order of St. Nick greeting cards
MORE BIBLIOGRAPHIES
Literary Agent
Author Photos
Standard: B&W • Color • Extra Spooky
Photo Credits: Courtesy of the Author
ART & ILLUSTRATION
Original Art and Prints for Sale on Etsy
The Headmaster by Tiffany Reisz
FILM & TV PROJECTS
Shaffer’s books have been optioned by CBS/Paramount, FOX, Freeform, and Secret Hideout
Bylines (Magazines/Websites)
McSweeney's • Mental Floss • Maxim • Time • The Daily Beast • Book Riot • The Huffington Post • The Rumpus • Suicide Girls • Inc.
Teaching and Mentoring
The Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning (Lexington, KY)
CV/Resume: Download PDF
Awards and Distinctions
ABA Indie Bestseller, Feel the Bern (2022)
Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee, Look Mom I’m a Poet (and So Is My Cat) (2021)
IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards Silver Award Winner, for publishing and cover design of The Pearl by Tiffany Reisz (2021)
Goodreads Choice Awards Semifinalist, Secret Santa (2020)
Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist, Hope Rides Again (2019)
ABA Indie Bestseller and Barnes & Noble Bestseller, Hope Rides Again (2019)
Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist, Hope Never Dies (2018)
New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, ABA Indie, and Barnes & Noble Bestseller, Hope Never Dies (2018)
New York Times Bestseller, How to Survive a Sharknado and Other Unnatural Disasters (2014)
Goodreads Choice Awards Semifinalist, Fifty Shames of Earl Grey (2012)
Professional Memberships
The Authors Guild
Horror Writers Association (HWA)
Lexington Writer’s Room
Mystery Writers Association (MWA)
Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA)