Welcome to SneezingCow.com

(This is a pinned post summarizing the SneezingCow basics…scroll down for newer posts.)

Mike’s two most recent books: Improbable Mentors & Happy Tangents and Forty Acres Deep. (Indie booksellers scroll down to lower left for wholesale info). All the other books (including Population 485) and CDs and DVDs and T-shirts and can koozies and whatnots.

The Voice Mail page. (This is the weekly podcast — for free samples, click on the episodes without the miniature padlocks.)

Mike’s ability to spin his 20+ books and wide range of life experiences into humorous and heartfelt live presentations have put him in great demand as a public speaker. In addition to his one-man theater shows, Mike has delivered entertaining keynote addresses at conferences for software companies, hospitals and health care organizations, fire and EMS providers, farming and agricultural groups, national and regional utility cooperatives, business and economic development entities, governmental agencies, mental health organizations, dental hygienists, faith-based organizations, logging conventions, book festivals, MFA programs, libraries, and countless others. If you’re interested in retaining Mike for your event, please contact his booking agent here.

The mailing list signup (explained very specifically). We hope you’ll consider joining; it’s old-fashioned but way more loyal than social media. It’s also the best and most direct way to know when Mike’s got something new or is performing near you.

Upcoming live events.

Bon Dylan Intro

Bon Dylan intro continued

Not Dark Yet

Man In Me/Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You/Lay Lady Lay

Tangled Up In Blue/Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door/Man In Me

(Somehow I managed to write two “Man In Me” intros. ???)

With God On Our Side/New Morning

Angelina/Feel My Love

Standing In the Doorway/Don’t Think Twice

Spanish Boots of Spanish Leather/When He Returns/Shot of Love

Trying To Get To Heaven/Most Of The Time/All Along The Watchtower

Peaceful Persistence Shirts in the Wild

Note from Mike: When my friend RT first showed me the cover he designed for my book Peaceful Persistence, I told him I thought it looked a little too dated. A little too 1970s or something. But in the end I decided to go with RT’s instincts. And since then, I’ve lost count of the number of people who’ve approached the book signing table, pointed at Peaceful Persistence, and said, “I love the cover on that one.” It got to happening so often, we decided to make a T-shirt version. And we’ve been printing them ever since. So here’s to RT, here’s a big thank you to Trinity Lutheran Church, here’s to Spike Carlsen, and here’s to me being wrong again.

Recently, Trinity Lutheran Church in Stillwater, MN put on a great event with the author Kao Kalia Yang as part of their “Refugee Voices” series. The event was co-presented by the church’s Missions Team, the Stillwater Public Library, and the Stillwater Public Library Foundation. For those who were unable to attend in person, the program was livestreamed and broadcasted by Valley Access Channels (VAC). Valley Bookseller sold the books.

While Michael was not able to be in attendance that day, the event volunteers sported their Peaceful Persistence Leaf t-shirts. You can grab yours here in either Leaf or Asphalt. You can also grab the long sleeve version here.

Michael Perry’s Coop on WPR’s “Chapter A Day”

Please note: Readings are archived for one week following the broadcast day of the last chapter due to publisher
copyright restrictions.

“I think of Coop as an attempt to honor my parents. There’s a lot of silly stuff in there about grown-up goofy me trying to raise pigs and chickens and babies, sure, but woven throughout is the story of how my city-raised parents–the two most humble and charitable people I have ever known–struck out to raise a family on a small northwestern Wisconsin farm. Over time that family would grow to include legions of children, many of them with special needs and challenges. Ours was a childhood spent milking cows and slinging manure and shearing sheep and skidding logs, but also a childhood spent free-ranging the surrounding swamps and woodlands, reveling in the last of the true “old-timers,” and beginning a journey of faith and doubt that continues to this day. Through it all, I went to bed every night knowing every one of us was loved. It’s always an honor to have one of my books read on “Chapter A Day,” but I am especially pleased that in this case the story revolves around the Mom and Dad who raised me. Me, and countless other children, often more than a beat-up old Volkswagen van could hold.

“Chapter A Day” Details

• Starting Wednesday, September 23 through Tuesday, October 13, 2026, Jim Fleming will read Michael Perry’s Coop for a half hour each weekday on Wisconsin Public Radio.
• The show airs live on the radio on the following shows at the times below:
• WPR Music: 7:00 pm (CT)
• WPR News: 9:30 pm (CT)

Where to listen

• Your local station can be found here: https://www.wpr.org/find-your-station. The reading will also air on WNMU FM 90 in Marquette, MI.
• If you miss a chapter on the radio, you can listen to it here: https://www.wpr.org/shows/chapter-day

Photos of Pets Enjoying Mike’s Work

We love it when folks send us photos of their pets enjoying Mike’s work–although truth be told, only chicken looks truly interested. If you have photos of your four-legged (or beaked) family members ignoring or napping on one of Mike’s books, we’d love to see it.

Whoa! Just came across this. Back when the Long Beds were “The Town of Sam[p]son.” (I’m from New Auburn but our farm was in the Town of Sampson.) Billy’s gone, those other two fellows are busy with other projects, but I’ll be playing a 3-day tour throughout Wisconsin (Stoughton, Eau Claire, and Spencer) with the contemporary Long Beds this October. Event details are available here: https://sneezingcow.com/events/