"Parks and Recreation" jumps into the book business with "Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America"
Leslie Knope, upbeat deputy director of the Parks and Recreation department in Pawnee, Ind., is penning a bold new book about her favorite place on earth. 鈥淧awnee: The Greatest Town in America鈥� will hit shelves this October.
The only thing is that Leslie Knope doesn鈥檛 actually exist. Nor does Pawnee. But in TV land, that鈥檚 not a problem.
Ms. Knope, in fact, is the blindingly cheerful star, played by Amy Poehler, of the NBC comedy 鈥淧arks and Recreation,鈥� set in the fictional Midwestern town of Pawnee, Ind. Knope鈥檚 voice in the book is not her own, but that of authors Michael Schur, co-creator and executive producer of 鈥淧arks and Recreation,鈥� and Nate DiMeo, a former public radio producer and founder of the podcast 鈥淭he Memory Palace.鈥�
鈥淭he ever-expanding town of Pawnee has become its own character in our show, and we're thrilled that we got to accelerate that expansion in one giant, goofy 240-page comedy book,鈥� .
The book, from NBC Universal and Hyperion Books, will explore fictional events in the fictional town鈥檚 fictional history, such as the time all of Pawnee was on fire, or the brief period in the 1970s when the town was taken over by a cult leader named Zorp, or its ongoing raccoon infestation (all fictional).
If you鈥檙e noticing a trend here, you鈥檙e not alone.
NBC (the undisputed leader in this trend) has mastered the art of building extensive (fictional) fantasy worlds around its hit shows.
There鈥檚 the , on the website of the hit NBC series, the latest issue of which includes employee Pam Halpert (played by Jenna Fischer) sharing big news, Dunder Mifflin-style: 鈥淗i everyone! I have a very important, exciting announcement. I hope you're sitting down... Are you ready? I, Pamela Halpert, will be taking over ... the Dunder Mifflin newsletter!!鈥�
Fans can also follow ; check out the amateur film masterpiece made by former boss Michael Scott (played by Steve Carell); and even join the , climb the corporate ladder, and earn Schrute bucks (Sb$) to use on merchandise like a stapler suspended in Jell-O.
You can also get a(courtesy of NBC鈥檚 鈥�30 Rock鈥�), collegiate tees and gear emblazoned with the Greendale Community College logo (NBC鈥檚 ), or an assortment of gag gifts like a toilet bowl mug from the catalogue (the fictional company outsourced to India in NBC鈥檚 鈥淥utsourced鈥�).
Not Getting it? You have to see the show to join the club (8,209,686 strong at this point, judging by .
That is, of course, NBC鈥檚 point, whether it鈥檚 a Dunder Mifflin newsletter or a book celebrating Pawnee 鈥� which, as Leslie Knope likes to point out, has gone through a number of slogans in its storied past: "Pawnee, the Paris of America"; "Pawnee, the Akron of Southwest Indiana"; "Pawnee, the factory fire capital of America"; "Pawnee: Welcome, German soldiers"; and "Pawnee: first in friendship, fourth in obesity."
鈥淧awnee: The Greatest Town in America鈥� is particularly unique in that it combines what the best of television and (fictional) literature can do in one goofy, tongue-in-cheek (supposedly nonfiction) book: build a fictional place in our imaginations, populate it with fictional characters so vivid that we think they鈥檙e real, and then invite us inside.
Sounds like the makings of a good book. Or a good TV show. Or a good book about a good TV show.
Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.
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