NEW YORK, MARCH 19 – Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, will publish WALKING DISASTER, a memoir from Deryck Whibley, the founder and primary songwriter of the band Sum 41 on October 8, 2024.

On the forty-first day of summer 1996, Sum 41 was born. At the center of the band’s story is songwriter, lyricist, rhythm guitar player, and front man Deryck Whibley. Raised in a single parent household under difficult circumstances, Whibley found solace and an avenue for his musical gifts in punk rock.

Whibley grew up rebellious, and the no-rules credo of true punk allowed him to express himself as a teen, while Kurt Cobain’s music taught him melodic songwriting. Playing in a band soon became his life’s calling. Whibley goes deep into his personal history, divulging details on his four-year marriage to pop singer Avril Lavigne, his early years in Canada, the formation of the band, and never-before-discussed traumas and triumphs involving prominent figures within the music industry.

Whibley has always been at home in his band’s ecosystem, bringing their high-energy shows to crowds around the globe. By 2001, Sum 41 was a certified hit maker (“In Too Deep,” “Fat Lip,” and “Still Waiting,”) and the soundtrack to coming of age for millions of fans. With fifteen million records sold, Sum 41’s eighth and final album Heaven :x: Hell will be released on March 29, 2024 via Rise Records.

Heaven :x: Hell is the most ambitious album from Sum 41 yet and features “Landmines”, which rose to No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart. The band’s final worldwide tour, Tour Of The Setting Sum, includes stops in the United States, Japan, Mexico, Germany, Italy, and more.

On editing Whibley’s memoir, Editor Rebecca Strobel commented, “Deryck’s fans know what a talented lyricist he is, so it should come as no surprise that his book is charming, gritty, and deeply personal.”

Gallery Books acquired USCOM and audio rights from Lisa Gallagher at DeFiore & Company Literary Management Inc. Simon & Schuster Audio will simultaneously publish the audio edition. In addition, UK rights have been sold to Little, Brown UK.

Information about the book is available for consumers here.

ABOUT DERYCK WHIBLEY

Deryck Whibley is a Canadian musician: a singer-songwriter and record producer who plays rhythm guitar and keyboards. He is the founder and primary songwriter of the band Sum 41 since 1993.

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GALLERY BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, is an imprint dedicated to publishing a variety of must-read books on a wide array of topics. Launched in 2010, Gallery is designed to showcase established voices and introduce emerging new ones—in both fiction and nonfiction. Gallery Books is the publisher of The Woman in Me by Britney Spears, Taste by Stanley Tucci, Straight Shooter by Stephen A. Smith, Making It So by Patrick Stewart, The Longest Race by Kara Goucher, My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy by Clint Hill, The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren, The It Girl by Ruth Ware, The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer and Anna: The Biography by Amy Odell, among others.

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CONTACT:
Sydney Morris, sydney.morris@simonandschuster.com