Andrew Shaffer (pronounciation: SHAY-fer) and cats MoonPie and Sweet Guillermo Jones.
Biography
Andrew Shaffer is the New York Times bestselling author of Hope Never Dies: An Obama Biden Mystery, Secret Santa: A Horror for the Holidays Novel, and over twenty other books in multiple genres for both adults and children, including mystery, humor, and poetry.
He is a five-time Goodreads Choice Award nominee and a two-time finalist in the Humor category. His books have been optioned for film and TV by CBS/Paramount, FOX, Freeform, and Secret Hideout.
As an artist, his illustrations have appeared in Heavy Metal magazine, The Rumpus, Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, and on book covers worldwide. He has illustrated multiple children’s picture books, including Mothman’s Merry Cryptid Christmas.
Shaffer attended the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and studied comedy writing at The Second City, Chicago’s famed improv school. An Iowa native, he lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with his wife, novelist Meg Shaffer.
His latest novel is the cozy mystery Feel the Bern: A Bernie Sanders Mystery from Penguin Random House. His most recent book is a coloring book, the Literary Cats Coloring Book from Running Press.
More: Wikipedia: Andrew Shaffer • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) • Instagram: @andrew_shaffer
Literary Agent
Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown (Kids’ Books)
Brandi Bowles at UTA (Adult Books)
ART & ILLUSTRATION
Art Portfolio • Book Cover Design • Greeting Card Store
Bylines (Magazines/Websites)
McSweeney's Internet Tendency • Mental Floss • Maxim • Time • The Daily Beast • Book Riot • The Huffington Post • The Rumpus • Suicide Girls • Inc.
CHILDREN’S BOOKS / picture 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)
The Secret Pet (Bad Books for Bad Kids) (8th Circle Press, 2024)
CHILDREN’S BOOKS / JOKE books
Oh My Goth: Jokes for When You Feel Dead Inside (Bad Books for Bad Kids) (8th Circle Press, 2023)
COLORING BOOKS
Literary Cats Coloring Book (Running Press, 2025)
FICTION — NOVELS / HORROR
Secret Santa: A Horror for the Holidays Novel (Quirk Books and Blackstone Audio, 2020)
FICTION — NOVELS / MYSTERY
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)
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 — FILM & TV TIE-INS
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 — OUT OF PRINT)
How to Survive a Sharknado and Other Unnatural Disasters (Three Rivers Press and Random House Audio, 2014 — OUT OF PRINT)
Poetry
Look Mom I’m a Poet (And So Is My Cat) (8th Circle Press, 2021)
Not Today, Satan (Maybe Tomorrow) (8th Circle Press, 2023)
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 greeting cards
Author photo copyright 2025 Andrew Shaffer.
Author Photos FOR PRESS
Standard: B&W • Color • Extra Spooky
Photo Credits: Courtesy of the Author
Awards and Distinctions
IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards Gold Award Winner, for cover design and illustrated interiors of The Headmaster by Tiffany Reisz (2025)
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
Cat Writers’ Association
Lexington Writer’s Room
Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA)