Michael Perone supports the idea that reading should be entertaining. The award-winning author works during the day as a senior editor for a nonprofit in Manhattan, but when he gets home, his stories come to life.
In 2022, he released his debut novel, Danger Peak, an action-adventure story, which went on to receive The Fall 2022 BookFest Award. His follow-up release, the coming-of-age/sci-fi mind-bender, Déjá View, won First Place at the Spring 2024 BookFest Awards. The icing on the cake: his short story collection, The Electric God and Other Shorts, was the recipient of the Spring 2025 BookFest Award and the 2024 Firebird Book Award, where it won First Place.
His newest novel, Is There Life After College? takes readers on a journey of post-graduation self-discovery.
“Since childhood, college valedictorian Mark Jans has measured life in lessons and letter grades. But after graduation,” the synopsis shares. “He trades academia for the unknown and escapes to New York City, eager to enroll in the ‘School of Hard Knocks.’ There, he meets Astra—a mysterious, street-smart punk who lives for the moment and hides more than she reveals. Despite their differences, the two are drawn to one another by a shared longing: to be truly seen.”
Our modern school system prepares young adults to be successful test-takers, essayists, and mathematicians, but it doesn’t offer a crash course in navigating life after college. Perone felt similarly after graduating from college, putting his thoughts to paper in the form of a story, a habit he’s carried since childhood.
“This book is based on two novellas I wrote right after I graduated from college, as I was asking myself the question: Is there a life after college? And I thought, I don’t know. Let’s find out. Let’s write a book about it,” Perone explained in an interview with Fire Island News.
Drawing on his own experiences, he set the scene for Is There Life After College? in 1990s New York, filled with references to transistor radios and payphones. By omitting social media from his imagined world, he lets a real, raw, question-as-old-as-time take root: what does someone do after getting their diploma?
“The real world and school are completely different things. The main character, Mark, starts the book off thinking he knows everything; he’s the college valedictorian, he’s breezed through academia,” Perone explained. “He thinks the ‘hard part’ is over, but discovers it’s only just begun.”
When Mark escapes to New York, he meets an intriguing love interest who further questions his beliefs. The twists and turns unfold as you dive into the full story Perone lays out.
Although most people would rather scroll through a social media feed than open a novel, the indescribable emotion that comes from reading a well-written body of work is exponentially more fulfilling than any 10-episode television drama. Perone’s descriptive storytelling will certainly help spark your love for picking up that book instead.
A launch party for Michael Perone’s novel “Is There Life After College?” will be held at the Published Bookstore and bar, at 47 Green St., in Huntington Village on Sunday, Sept. 20, at 2 p.m.
