About

Michael Shawn Keller

“The biggest mistakes I made were when I was in the closet. I don’t want kids to make the same mistakes and end up getting hurt or sick.”

Writer and speaker in Sonora, Kentucky — husband to Jonathan, father to Jack and Amariah.

Michael Shawn Keller with his son, Jack

Michael Shawn Keller was born and raised in a small city in Connecticut, the middle of a large family — five brothers and two sisters. He lives now in Sonora, Kentucky, with his husband, Jonathan, their son, Jack, and their daughter, Amariah.

For a long stretch he was a business owner, hustling. The work now is slower: family life, and a new chapter toward becoming a special education teacher — while he keeps writing books and showing up to speak. He has always liked helping other people smile, and he still believes we should learn something new each day, whether we are two or ninety-two.

He came out later than he wished he had. The years in the closet, and the drinking that went with them, are part of why he writes and speaks now — especially for young people who should not have to make the same mistakes. Jonathan, and the rest of his family, met that truth with love. A lot of the time, he says, the fear is larger than the room.

He enjoys reading, writing, traveling, camping in Lincoln, Maine, and being around Jonathan, Jack, Amariah, and friends — laughing. Each book is on a topic he feels is truly important. Together we can learn and grow from each other, while having a few hearty laughs along the way.

The book in the world

Room 308 at the Dead Sea.

The novel leaves Kentucky. Readers take it with them — even to water that holds you up. That is the point of a signed copy: a real book, in a real life, not a file on a phone.

A reader floating in the Dead Sea holding Room 308 by Michael Shawn Keller
Reading Room 308 in the Dead Sea.
Room 308 standing on stone above the Dead Sea
The paperback on the ledge, salt water and desert behind it.

A writing life

The books, in order.

  1. 2010

    Life in a Week — first edition

    A kitchen-table book about spirituality when the slogans fall away. Sold out.

  2. 2016

    Bullies Among Us

    A short challenge for school and work. The cartoon bully was never the whole story.

  3. 2017

    Room 308

    The coming-out novel. Inner homophobia, a vampire best friend, a Maine winter.

  4. 2022

    Saliendo Del Closet

    Room 308 in Spanish — the same door, another language.

  5. 2024

    Life in a Week — second edition

    The week, rewritten so you can live it. This is the copy Mike still signs.

  6. Now

    Sonora, and the talks

    Family, special education, and rooms that need language they can use the next day.

Mike holding the English and Spanish editions of Room 308

Why the books exist

“The biggest mistakes I made were when I was in the closet. I don’t want kids to make the same mistakes and end up getting hurt or sick.” That is the through-line — from Room 308 to Bullies Among Us to Life in a Week. The work is personal, and it is meant to be useful.