Party Like It's 2044

Joni B. Cole teaches creative writing and is a frequent speaker at academic programs, conferences, and social-service organizations across the country. She is the author of seven books, including Good Naked: How to Write More, Write Better, and Be Happier, Revised and Expanded Edition and Toxic Feedback: Helping Writers Survive and Thrive, Revised and Expanded Edition (both from UNM Press), and she is a contributor to The Writer and the host of the podcast Author, Can I Ask You?

• We'll Never Have GuatemalaThe Other WomanOur Old HouseDear Mr. ImpalerWinning WomenLet It LieParty Like It's 2044But Enough about MeSpirit Animal TricksLike a Punch to the KidneysRecalculating . . . Recalculating . . . RecalculatingThe Seven-Year BitchWhy Cotton Mather Was a Hero: A Five-Paragraph EssayFLAWSOME! Hot as HellThe Grandpa RobeDear Ex (Ex?) FriendClearing the AirNo Podium for Old Men: A Transcript of the Introductory Remarks at the "Diversity Enhancement Award" Ceremony at Walter S. Walters CollegeConversation InterruptusLambies in Jammies!Testing NegativeMy Four-Mile Run: The Official, Ordinary TourQueen Be120 Seconds: A Too-Short MovieWill Work For . . .One Day at a TimeSave the DateThe Weird PlaceThe Real Reasons Writers Hate AmazonThe Age of AuthenticitySocial GroomingAppreciationsAbout the Author

Here is a voice giving us a welcome break: vibrant, provocative, funny, and flavorful--Cole's self-ironic, audacious wit both cheers and consoles. Showing a delicate compassion for her subjects and 'toastees' while never letting herself off the hook, Cole's deep and generous thinking makes room for fresh air: worth breathing deeply."— Joan Frank, author of Late Work: A Literary Autobiography of Love, Loss, and What I Was Reading"Fabulously readable and thoroughly engaging, it is Cole's voice that makes her stories sing. Whether she's leading us into laughter or holding our hand through dazzling moments of emotional recognition, Cole takes writing seriously while taking herself lightly, and thereby illuminating the world with these brief, memorable essays."— Gina Barreca, author of They Used to Call Me Snow White, But I Drifted: Women's Strategic Use of Humor "Full of wit, honesty, and hilarious tangents, Joni's writing makes me feel like I'm sitting in a cozy corner of a coffee shop listening to my funniest friend spill her guts. Party Like It's 2044 had me laughing and gasping--'I can't believe you just said that!'--and had everyone else in the coffee shop wondering, Why is that girl in the corner laughing and talking to herself?"—Kristen Mulroone, coauthor of Gilmore Girls: The Official Cookbook"Cole writes what so many of us are secretly thinking, from the insecurity to the snark. With keen observation and irresistible wit, she is the Seinfeld of single authors of a certain age."—Leslie Lehr, author of A Boob's Life: How America's Obsession Shaped Me . . . and You