We have a cover! It's bright. It's colourful. And it is next:
But that's not the only bit of good news. No, Jerry Lewis Told Me I Was Going To Die is also available for pre-order!
The book won't ship until May 6th, the official launch date, but anxious readers can ensure themselves of a copy by visiting the webpage my publisher has set up for me: https://store.latitude46publishing.com/products/jerry-lewis-told-me-i-was-going-to-die?variant=43896169234646
Major online retailers like Indigo and Amazon have the book available for pre-order too—merely type the title or my name into the search bar and voila! If the internet isn't your thing then give your favourite independent bookseller a visit. Local bookstores can get Jerry Lewis Told Me I Was Going To Die, just ask the nice person working the cash, and then look around for a bit. There are wonders to be found amidst the shelves of even the smallest mom and pop book shops!
Speaking of small but wonderfully impressive, my publisher Latitude 46 Publishing has plenty of great books available for purchase. Be sure to check out their selection of titles—all with Northern Ontario connections. Click on the following:
But since this is my website we're going to focus on me and my book. So here is my biography:
Born with spinal muscular atrophy, Matthew Del Papa has been in a wheelchair since the early 1980s. A graduate of Laurentian University (MA Humanities), past president of the Sudbury Writers’ Guild, and currently on the board of directors for Wordstock Sudbury Literary Festival, he has been writing steadily since 2005. An amateur local historian and part-time columnist, his work has been published in newspapers and magazines, as well as anthologies such as Spooky Sudbury (Dundurn Press, 2013) and Nothing Without Us Too (Renaissance Press, 2022). He lives in Capreol.
The book is described:
Jerry Lewis Told Me I Was Going To Die is a collection of humorous essays centered on life with a disability. Meant as a wry look at the obstacles faced while growing up in a small town in Northern Ontario.
For many people even the thought of being disabled is a nightmare. Matthew gets that fear. Sitting where he does, in a wheelchair for the past 40 years, he knows first-hand that living with a disability is not easy. But, rather than dwell on his physical impairments, he has chosen to laugh at life’s ridiculousness. Whether it’s his ongoing feud with William Shakespeare, his elevator meet-cutes with famous celebrities, or his love-hate relationship with public transportation, Matthew finds the humour inherent in being disabled. Filled with determination, hilarity, and even the odd insight, Jerry Lewis Told Me I Was Going to Die is a giant raspberry to the disease that shaped him, but cannot define him.
Disability may be his lot, but he decided long-ago not to let it be his fate.
I am, of course, extremely proud of the final product. The response has been humbling. Early readers have said plenty of nice things but the following blurb sums the book up nicely:
Reading through Del Papa’s memories, I can almost hear him say, “Picture it. Capreol, 1978.” His unfiltered, touching, sometimes self-deprecating, and often funny-as-heck anecdotes show us how he tenaciously navigates through the many layers of ableism without skipping a rimshot. —Cait Gordon, Co-editor of Nothing Without Us and Nothing Without Us Too
Pre-order now or pick up a copy in person at my launch. The paperback retails for $22.95.