Mike Birbiglia's New Book To Be Published 10/12, Comedy Tour Announced

By: Gabrielle Sierra Sep. 08, 2010

Mike Birbiglia has written his first comedic memoir entitled SLEEPWALK WITH ME and Other Painfully True Stories (Simon & Schuster; October 12, 2010; $24.00).

Birbiglia is an accomplished comedian whose resume includes several specials on Comedy Central, a bunch of best-selling comedy CDs, and numerous appearances on talk shows including Late Show with Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The View, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. He is a frequent contributor to Public Radio International's This American Life, The Moth Radio Hour, and a regular on The Bob & Tom Radio Show.

In 2009, he teamed up with Broadway legend Nathan Lane and award-winning director Seth Barrish in a stage show called Sleepwalk With Me. The New York Times praised Birbiglia's off-Broadway hit as "simply perfect" and "about more than it's about." The show won the Nightlife Award for Outstanding Engagement by a Comedian and received Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, and Outer Critics' Circle nominations as Best Solo Show. The play transcended joke-to-joke comedy and wove humor into a single, compelling, story.

In SLEEPWALK WITH ME and Other Painfully True Stories, Birbiglia brings his vast experience as one of America's foremost comedic storytellers and gives us a series of comic, self-deprecating essays about his childhood ambitions and adult delusions that led to a life-threatening sleepwalking incident.

It all started in Mike's childhood...

First he failed at becoming a professional break-dancer. Then he failed at becoming a rapper. He wanted to open a pizzeria where third graders could hang out, but when he got older his friends pointed out that was kind of creepy.

Mike made plans to become the starting point guard for the Boston Celtics, and the only things standing in the way were his stubby fingers and total lack of athletic ability. Sure he could run a 50-yard dash in under 12 seconds, but it turns out that's not very fast.

Mike was the altar boy atheist, the busboy who was unafraid of germs, and that strange kid wearing the cowboy hat in the parking lot at The Steve Miller Band concert.

Mike tried to kiss a girl but it did not go well. Sure, the Drakkar Noir lured her in, but he didn't have a plan after that.
Mike was lied to, cheated on, duped, and dumped.

He learned what urologists do, and he did not like it.

Mike called the wrong people the wrong things. He got punched, kicked, thrown out of class, and received a couple death threats.

And when a teacher asked him if he was some kind of a comedian, he thought, Now there's an idea.

Mike's serial delusions ultimately led to a series of incredible sleepwalking incidents and fortunately he lived to tell about it.

Birbiglia will appear in theatres and concert halls throughout the country this fall as part of his "Painfully True Stories Tour," performing stories from SLEEPWALK WITH ME and Other Painfully True Stories, as well as pieces from his forthcoming one man show, My Girlfriend's Boyfriend.

SLEEPWALK WITH ME and Other Painfully True Stories will be released October 12th (Simon & Schuster; $24.00).

About the Author

Since receiving the prestigious "Author of the Month" award in third grade, which was really "Author of Four Months" because no one took the picture down for a while, Mike Birbiglia has worked as an actor, comedian, and storyteller. He is best known for his critically-acclaimed 2009 off-Broadway show Sleepwalk with Me, his Comedy Central one-hour special, "What I Should have Said Was Nothing," He has also recorded two critically-acclaimed CD for Comedy Central Records and is a talk show regular. He is a regular contributor to This American Life, The Moth Radio Hour, and The Bob and Tom Radio Show. Birbiglia lives in a fourth floor apartment with a broken elevator in New York City with his wife, Jenny. This is his first book.

About the Book

Title: SLEEPWALK WITH ME and Other Painfully True Stories
Author: Mike Birbiglia
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: October 12, 2010
Price: $24.00
ISBN-10: 1-4391-5799-5
ISBN-13: 978-1-4391-5799-2

Visit Mike Birbiglia's website at www.birbigs.com
Visit Simon & Schuster on the web at www.SimonSays.com.

The concert Tour is as follows

10/13 - BOSTON, MA - WILBUR THEATER

10/14 - PHILADELPHIA, PA - KESWICK THEATER

10/15 - WASHINGTON, DC - WARNER THEATER

10/16 - CHICAGO, IL - VIC THEATER

10/19 - SAN FRANCISCO, CA - PALACE OF FINE ARTS

10/21 - LOS ANGELES, CA - WILTERN THEATE

10/22 - SEATTLE, WA - MOORE THEATER

10/23 - PORTLAND, OR - ALADDIN THEATER

11/4 - ATLANTA, GA - VARIETY PLAYHOUSE

11/5 - CHARLOTTE, NC - KNIGHT THEATER