Latest Office Book Is a Career Essential (maybe)

Students can attend an exclusive Q and A and book-signing with Brian Baumgartner, New York Times best-selling author and “The Office” cast member, at The University of Scranton on Friday, Nov. 20. The event will include “important career advice” taken from his latest book, “The Dunder Mifflin Employee Manual: How to Succeed in Work – and Life – According to The Office.”

Baumgartner visited campus for exclusive student Q and As and book signing with students with the publication of each of his previous books: “The Night Before Christmas at Dunder Mifflin.” “Seriously Good Chili Cookbook,” and “Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office,”

This year’s Scranton visit comes just three days after publication of “The Dunder Mifflin Employee Manual,” which he co-authored with Ben Silverman, Golden Globe Award–winning executive producer, and Warren Lieberstei, The Office writer and producer.

“The Dunder Mifflin Employee Manual” is an “hilarious, officially licensed workplace survival guide written in the voice of Dunder Mifflin’s HR department,” according to a press release from the publisher, Mariner Books. It draws “on business principles, hard-earned wisdom and workplace disasters that made America’s favorite paper company tick.”

Copies of the book will be available at the University’s bookstore and at stores nationwide prior to the campus event. Copies of the book will also be available at the Q and A and book signing event on campus Nov. 20.

Preregistration is required to attend the Q & A, which begins on Nov. 20 at 3 p.m. in the Moskovitz Theatre of the DeNaples Center. A book signing immediately follows at 4 p.m. Both events require Royal cards for access. Seating is limited. Faculty and staff may also register to attend.

The first 75 students registering for the event will receive a free copy of “The Dunder Mifflin Employee Manual.” Students can also submit questions for consideration for the Q and A when registering for the event.

Michael Ritterbeck ’09, director of the University’s Center of Student Engagement, will serve as host for the Q and A.

Baumgartner played Kevin Malone on The Office, which originally aired on NBC from 2005 to 2013, and was among the most popular shows on Netflix. Episodes can now be seen on Peacock. He was among the cast members who visited the University for The Office Convention in 2007 and The Wrap Party in 2013. He was also on campus for the taping of his popular podcast on the history of The Office, which was the precursor to his first book, “Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office.”

A public book-signing event with Baumgartner for area residents is planned the evening of Nov. 20 at the Everhart Museum. Visit everhart-museum.org for details.