Teacher, coach, writer, lawyer, film and TV buff, satirist, world traveler....
Born Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, I moved to Arizona when my father retired from the service. Earned a BA in Journalism (Magna Cum Laude) from Arizona State University, where I was a two-year letter winner in track & field and cross country. Awarded a journalism internship with the Arizona Republic, then turned down a full-time position in order to attend graduate school at the University of Texas. At Austin, I earned an MA in Radio-Television-Film, essentially creating my own screenwriting curriculum. ... Moved to LA in '82 to break into Hollywood. Acted as my own rep because I could not get an agent since I was not yet produced. Spec scripts included M*A*S*H, Family Ties, Hart to Hart, Remington Steele. M*A*S*H script served as introduction to the writers at Happy Days, but could not convert that to a gig. Was told I could pitch to Hart to Hart when picked up for the next season, and a week later they were cancelled. Remington Steele script was buried on Producer's desk for a year, then I was informed they had just finished shooting similar episode. Was told I could pitch to Paper Dolls in season 2 but that they could not hire new writers in season 1; they of course didn't make season 2. Pitched original sitcom pilot (By the Book) to Paramount. Wrote another sitcom pilot that was not produced. ... Later, wrote Vietnam black comedy that has earned RECOMMENDED status in writing contests. Based upon my vast experience in sports, wrote a spec episode of Arli$$ (and had several more outlined). Robert Wuhl called my house to tell me that he loved the script but HBO had just cancelled the show. ... In 2007, began working for a Phoenix-based producer, where I negotiated with agents to purchase the rights to Dave Barry's novel Tricky Business so I could write the adapted screenplay. Unfortunately, the production company was either under-capitalized or completely fraudulent, so I'm left with an excellent film adaptation of a novel whose rights I do not own. A few years later, wrote a spec episode of iCarly which, as far as I can tell, never got read. Was in the process of editing a Canadian suspense/slasher screenplay when the writer died. In June 2016, I self-published The Adminisphere, a satirical novel about public education, described as a "biting critique of what is working and what is not working in education today."
In addition to my MA, I have earned an MBA and JD. Licensed attorney in Arizona, but have worked as a public school teacher for more than 20 years. Married to another teacher, with a 16-year-old son. I have broken my nose 15 times. My favorite color is orange.
“A debut comic novel that parodies the labyrinthine bureaucracy of the public school system. Debut author Prather has a real talent for comedic writing, and he possesses a deep knowledge of the obstacles that public education faces today.... [W]onderfully rich characters.... [O]ften hilarious and astute....”
– Kirkus Reviews
FICTION & LITERATURE
THE ADMINISPHERE
BY John Prather • POSTED ON June 11, 2016
A debut comic novel that parodies the labyrinthine bureaucracy of the public school system.
After finishing a graduate school degree program in law and business at Eastern Oregon University, Greg Samson finds himself without any promising employment prospects. However, his best friend, Randy Smith, is the athletic director at Shadowcliff High School in Sweetwater, Arizona, and he helps him find a job as a track coach there. Greg also ends up teaching English and video-production classes and becomes the supervisor for both the yearbook and the business education program. He quickly learns that the world of public education is a well-intentioned but self-destructively incompetent one, full of bureaucratic absurdity. The school’s principal, Connie Rumsford, seems committed to fostering a culture of “compliance and submission,” treating students and their parents as clients to be indulged at the expense of real education. Rumsford also obsessively quotes “master teacher” Elden Ray Fong on issues from pedagogy to sound sleeping habits—a reflection of the fashionable obsession with academic theory. Greg is largely a cheerful idealist and manages to become an effective teacher, but he finds that real progress is thwarted at every turn; he works inside a system that’s designed to produce a veneer of success—one that’s measurable in quantitative terms but ignores actual learning. Debut author Prather has a real talent for comedic writing, and he possesses a deep knowledge of the obstacles that public education faces today, including those created by overzealous parents. At one point, for example, Rumsford refuses to let Greg fail a student for cheating for fear of legal action from the teen’s father and even demands that Greg write the offending student a letter of apology. Prather is clearly influenced by Franz Kafka’s work—Greg’s name, for example, is obviously inspired by that of the main character of The Metamorphosis, and he teaches Kafka to his Advanced Placement students—and he follows that author’s footsteps in ably lampooning technocratic hubris. Problematically, though, his wonderfully rich characters aren’t provided much of a plot; instead, the story meanders somewhat aimlessly at far too great a length.
An often hilarious and astute, if overlong, satire.
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
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