Ken Jennings - Writing

Brainiac

Ken's first book is titled Brainiac, and lest you think the title immodest (or an infringement upon long-standing DC Comics trademarks), it also bears the unwieldy subtitle Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs.

In the wake of his record-breaking Jeopardy! experience, Ken became fascinated with trivia—its history, its appeal, and its ubiquity in 21st-century American life. He spent the next year criss-crossing the country, trading questions and answers with America's most die-hard trivia subcultures. Brainiac traces that journey, from the slightly soused trivia faithful of Boston's Irish pubs to the hotshots and hotheads of the academic quiz bowl circuit, from a weekend quiz marathon spent with the radio-trivia-mad residents of tiny Stevens Point, Wisconsin, to a backstage peek at Ken's six-month streak on America's top-rated quiz show. Ken also tells, for the first time, the 300-year story of the rise of trivia, from the coffeehouses of 17th-century London to the Trivial Pursuit and Who Wants To Be a Millionaire fads of recent years. Along the way, he also grapples with more philosophical questions: Why do we love trivia so much? Is trivial knowledge the same as intelligence? And is trivia just a waste of time, or does it serve some loftier, not-so-trivial purpose after all?

Brainiac will be released by Random House (on their Villard Books imprint) on September 12, 2006, but you can already pre-order it from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Powell's Books.

Read Excerpts

From Chapter 1: What is Ambition?
From Chapter 7: What is Composition?
From Chapter 13: What is Tradition?

Early Praise for Brainiac

"Brainiac is Ken Jennings's personal tour through the wide world of trivia—insightful, informative, and written with a strong dose of humor and humility. Good quiz questions, too. I loved this book."
Will Shortz, crossword editor, The New York Times
"We all know Ken Jennings is the smartest person in the world. But who knew he was also a funny and engaging writer? Imaginative and informative, Brainiac appeals to the trivia-loving geek in all of us."
A. J. Jacobs, author of The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
"I haven't watched Jeopardy! for twenty years, but I loved this book. Jennings is smart, funny, and fantastically obsessed. Best of all, he can write."
Mark Obmascik, author of The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession
"Brainiac is much more than a behind-the-scenes memoir by America's quiz-show king. It's a thoughtful and lively exploration of a subculture where knowledge actually is power—and no detail is ever too small."
Stefan Fatsis, author of Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players

Six Degrees of Ken Jennings

In the meantime, you can read Ken's column in every bimonthly issue of mental_floss, America's finest trivia magazine. 6° of Ken Jennings is a Kevin Bacon-like game in which readers challenge Ken to link two virtually unrelated people, places, or things via a chain of six odd trivia factoids. In past issues, he has linked Eminem to M&M candies, Pope Benedict XVI to Benedict Arnold, and lint to Lent. Next issue: Silly String meets string theory.

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