Jason Fitger

Julie Schumacher

At a struggling Midwestern liberal arts college, creative-writing professor Jason Fitger faces departmental budget cuts, institutional absurdities, and the stalled remains of his own once-promising career. Told entirely through his increasingly candid letters of recommendation, the novel turns academic bureaucracy, professional disappointment, and personal missteps into sharp, deeply funny observations. Beneath Fitger’s irascible wit lies a moving portrait of a man confronting the consequences of his choices while trying—often imperfectly—to advocate for his students. The result is a witty and inventive satire of higher education, literary ambition, and the fragile communities that sustain them.