Othmer, James P.

PERSONAL:

Married; children. Education: New York University, M.F.A.

ADDRESSES:

Home—NY. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Has worked various jobs, including sports reporter, news reporter, essayist, press release writer, scriptwriter, and executive creative director for Young & Rubicam.

WRITINGS:

The Futurist (novel), Doubleday (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor to periodicals, including the Virginia Quarterly Review, Madison Review, Crab Orchard Review, Sonora Review, and Chattahoochee Review.

ADAPTATIONS:

The Futurist has been optioned for film by Reason Pictures.

SIDELIGHTS:

James P. Othmer is a former advertising executive whose first novel, The Futurist, focuses on J.P. Yates, a pundit whose speaking engagements take him around the world as he gives presentations for governments and corporations. Although widely respected for his views on everything from God to politics to living a long life, Yates realizes something unpleasant about himself after his girlfriend leaves him. Before a speaking engagement in Johannesburg, he gets drunk, leading him to realize that he is a charlatan. When he gives his speech, he tells his audience that he actually does not know anything about anything. Not surprisingly, Yates is decried as a fraud. However, he also gains notoriety and popularity for his candor, and a secret government group hires him to travel around the world and ferret out why people are anti-American. A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that the satiric novel targets well-known pundits, from newspaper columnists to corporate moguls, but added that "the real target of this blistering tale is the American government's post-9/11 arrogance." The reviewer went on refer to the book as "a stylish winner." Adam B. Vary, writing in Entertainment Weekly, called the novel "at turns glib, trenchant, cynical, heartfelt, daffy, and harrowing."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 15, 2006, Keir Graff, review of The Futurist, p. 30.

Entertainment Weekly, June 9, 2006, Adam B. Vary, review of The Futurist, p. 141.

Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2006, review of The Futurist, p. 257.

Publishers Weekly, March 14, 2005, John F. Baker, "Swift Sale for Futurist Debut," p. 10; March 13, 2006, review of The Futurist, p. 34.

ONLINE

Agony Column Book Reviews and Commentary,http://trashotron.com/agony/ (November 6, 2006), Rick Kleffel, review of The Futurist.

Ernie Schenck Calls This Advertising,http://eschenck.typepad.com/ (November 6, 2006), Ernie Schenck, "An Interview with James P. Othmer."

James P. Othmer Home Page,http://www.jamespothmer.com (November 6, 2006).