Jim Ruland - Mightier Than the Sword

ATTENTION ALT LAKE CITY! Join us in-store for an afternoon exclusive Saturday 11/14/26 at 2PM for an author reading/signing from the "Punk Whisperer" himself, Jim Ruland. Weller's is psyched to host him while he extends beyond music journalism to showcase his prose fiction novel, *Mightier Than the Sword*.

**Jim Ruland - Punk Whisperer**

**LET’S GO DO SOME CRIMES**: His new novel *Mightier than the Sword* will be published by Rare Bird on October 27, 2026. It’s about four English teachers who rob a bookstore in Northern Arizona in 1993 and plunge into a world of darkness and double-dealing.

**WAIT, WAS THAT A *REPO MAN* REFERENCE?** Indeed it was. His book about *Repo Man*: the movie, the soundtrack, the Gen X of it all–will be published in summer 2027.

For the latest news and updates about his projects, plus reviews of books, music, and books about music, subscribe to Message from the Underworld.

**Jim Ruland** is an old punk who lives by the sea. He is the author of the LA Times bestseller *Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise & Fall of SST Records*, which was named a best book of 2022 by *Rolling Stone, Pitchfork,* and *Vanity Fair*, the co-author of *Rumors of My Demise* with Evan Dando, *Do What You Want* with Bad Religion, *My Damage* with Keith Morris of Circle Jerks and OFF!, and *Giving the Finger* with Scott Campbell, Jr. of Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch.

the award-winning novel *Forest of Fortune* and the short story collection *Big Lonesome.* He is

Jim writes about punk and pop culture for *Razorcake —* America’s only non-profit independent music zine. He also writes book reviews and author profiles for the *Los Angeles Times*. Jim’s work has appeared in numerous publications, including *The Believer, Electric Literature, Esquire, Granta,* and *Oxford American,* and has received awards from *Reader’s Digest* and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Jim is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and has worked for advertising agencies, entertainment enterprises, and the gaming industry. He is available for copywriting, ghostwriting, editing, and consultation. He lives in Southern California and is an avid enthusiast of punk rock music, tattoo culture, and strong coffee.

**Mightier Than the Sword -**

**What do a gambler, a poet, a punk, and a writer of westerns have in common?** Four college professors embark on a crime spree in Northern Arizona in 1993. They start by robbing an off-campus bookstore, but when things don't go as planned, the book bandits are drawn into a bigger, bolder caper involving corrupt university officials, drug-dealing frat boys, Navajo ex-cons, and a mysterious golden pen. Steeped in the lore of the West, *Mightier Than the Sword* is a twisty, pulp take on the dirtiest job of them all: working as a part-time professor in a college town.