NEW YORK, June 21, 2017 – Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, will publish WEST WINGING IT: An Unpresidential Memoir by Pat Cunnane, it was announced today by Jennifer Bergstrom, Publisher.  The West Wing meets Veep in this funny and fresh insider’s look into President Barack Obama’s years in the White House.

At 22 years old, Pat Cunnane went from working a part-time job at a warehouse to a position at the White House. For the next six years, he worked by President Obama’s side in a number of positions, most recently as his Senior Writer and Deputy Director of Messaging, where he wrote in the president’s voice, helped plan the President’s events, and accompanied the president on many significant visits across the country and around the world.   WEST WINGING IT pulls back the curtains on what it’s really like to work in the West Wing, revealing an office where both the historically momentous and the hilariously mundane occurred every day.

From the silly to the serious, Cunnane recounts the behind-the-scene highs and lows of the West Wing, from the elation of 2012 to the despair of 2016.  At its core, WEST WINGING IT is a fish-out-of-water story—only these fish are trying to run the United States of America.

“This book draws an intimate portrait of President Obama that few were privy to—the funnyman, the dork, the loving dad, and the loyal husband, written by a millennial who had the opportunity to witness history,” said Bergstrom.

“It’s a fun portrait of a remarkable time and an extraordinary President, featuring a bunch of brilliant, quirky staffers bursting in and out of frame,” said Cunnane.  “I’m thrilled to be working with the team at Gallery to tell this story.”

Cunnane graduated magna cum laude from the University of Miami Honors School, where he studied political science, journalism and screenwriting.  He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, has written for The New Yorker, and currently works as a writer on Designated Survivor, starring Kiefer Sutherland.   The Mark Gordon Company is already attached to produce WEST WINGING IT for television.

Editor Natasha Simons acquired North American, Open Market, and Audio rights from CAA.   WEST WINGING IT is scheduled for publication in June 2018.

 

GALLERY BOOKS is an imprint dedicated to publishing a variety of must-read books on a wide array of topics.  Launched in February 2010, Gallery is designed to showcase established voices and to introduce emerging new ones—in both fiction and nonfiction genres.   Some of Gallery Books’ bestselling titles include The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer, The Woman in Cabin 10 and In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware, Binge by Tyler Oakley, Selp Helf by Miranda Sings, Five Presidents by Clint Hill, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, and Love Anthony by Lisa Genova.

SIMON & SCHUSTER, a part of the CBS Corporation, is a global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across all printed, electronic, and audio formats.  Its divisions include Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Simon & Schuster Digital, and international companies in Australia, Canada, India and the United Kingdom.  For more information, visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com