Jake Aurelian graduated from the University of Illinois in 2000 with a degree in Media Studies/Communication & Rhetoric. Aurelian has taught English and media at the college level, and to date, has authored eight books (fiction, non-fiction and children's) and over 500 pop culture articles. On Halloween 2012, Jake Aurelian took an obscure character from his fiction books, an angry clown named Ripper, and turned the character into a stand-up comedy and online comedy video gimmick; billed as "an unpredictable cartoon character come to life," Ripper the Clown morphs truth, fiction, pop culture and social commentary into comedy chaos. As his clown alter-ego, Aurelian performs material from his books; no other author has done anything even remotely similar, and the clown character quickly gained notice from NBC, award-winning movie producers and notables within the entertainment industry. Ripper's zombie (spoof) novel, The Life & Mimes (& Zombie Apocalypse) of Ripper the Clown: The Autobiography of an Unconventional Zombie simultaneously redefines and spoofs the zombie genre. The Life & Mimes... has won the following literary awards: Finalist, Comedy/Humor: 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards First Place, General Fiction: 2014 Halloween Book Festival. Runner-Up / 2nd Place, General Fiction 2014 London (England) Book Festival Runner-Up / 2nd Place, General Fiction: 2014 Hollywood Book Festival Honorable Mention, General Fiction, 2014 Great Midwest Book Festival (Chicago) Honorable Mention, General Fiction, 2014 New England Book Festival Honorable Mention, General Fiction, 2015 Los Angeles Book Festival Smile Politely review of The Life & Mimes... http://smilepolitely.com/arts/undead_... Buzz magazine interview: http://readbuzz.com/life/2014/clowing... Ripper the Clown on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Ripperth... Aurelian's collection of gritty, quirky short fiction, "Dead Wrestlers, Broken Necks & The Women Who Screwed Me Over: A Main Event of Fiction and Photography" (2011) has received rave reviews on Amazon.com for its diversity of fiction genres, "the immaculate writing," the laugh-out-loud humor, "crazy scenarios" and the author's "addictive" storytelling. "Dead Wrestlers..." was the recipient of a Finalist Award (Short Fiction) in the 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and received 2nd Place/Runner Up (General Fiction) in the 2012 Hollywood Book Festival. After reading "Dead Wrestlers, Broken Necks & the Women Who Screwed Me Over," legendary and iconic pro wrestler, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, posted on his Facebook page: "This is a very good book, folks, savvy stuff ... get your copy TODAY!" Aurelian's "Living Well is the Best Revenge" (2012, crime fiction) received 1st Place (General Fiction) at the 2013 Hollywood Book Festival, Honorable Mention at both the 2013 New England Book Festival and 2013 London [England] Book Festival. In addition, "Living Well..." was the recipient of a Finalist Award (Novella) in the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Told in a true crime style, most readers believe that "Living Well is the Best Revenge" is an intense work of non-fiction. "We Leave With Our Guns Out!" (2012, short fiction, bad romance) received Honorable Mention (General Fiction) at the 2013 Hollywood Book Festival. He is the co-author of Michale Callahan's "Too Politically Sensitive" (2009, true crime/political); featured on three episodes of CBS' "48 Hours" and "On the Case with Paula Zahn." The illustrated "Obama-Wama-Ding-Dong: A Children's Book for Adults About the Political Climate of America" (2012) is a reflective look at Barack Obama's meteoric rise to fame and presidency coupled with analysis of the mainstream media's unhealthy obsession with Obama. Aurelian's "Children's Book for Adults" format was called "profound" by Right On! Weekly and has been featured on the nationally syndicated George Jarkesy S