About John Paul Brammer
I’m John Paul Brammer, an author and illustrator from rural Oklahoma currently based in Brooklyn. My work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Guernica, Catapult, and many more. I’ve also illustrated for The Audubon Society, Hearst, and Oklahoma Today Magazine.
Presently, I’m working on my second book, a graphic novel, and publishing essays, reviews, columns, and art here on Substack. In 2022, I received the Betty Berzon Emerging Writer award, and was shortlisted for the Brooklyn Public Library Prize for nonfiction.
For a sample of what I do on this platform, take a look at ‘Six Sentences I Can’t Forget’ and ‘Will Anyone Ever Love Me?’
You can keep up with me on social media @jpbrammer on Twitter and Instagram!
About ¡Hola Papi!
It started as a joke: What if ‘Dear Abby’ was a gay Mexican man on Grindr?
¡Hola Papi! was meant to be a satirical take on the advice column. To be frank, I found the idea of a stranger on the internet doling out wisdom to be pretty ridiculous. I launched the column at Grindr’s media outlet Into in 2017 with the intent of fashioning myself as a kind of rodeo clown in the advice-giving space, but then, something unexpected happened.
As it turns out, Grindr is a place full of people looking for connection. My column was sent out through the app all over the world, and the response was overwhelming. I got hundreds of letters, letters expressing loneliness, letters about ‘coming out’ to unaccepting family and friends, letters about breakups and moves to new cities and unfulfilling jobs.
I realized pretty quickly that I had stumbled upon an important and underserved niche. I had the opportunity, however small, to speak directly to my community, to make people feel heard and, hopefully, say something in reply that they might find useful. I was still going to crack jokes, though.
That’s ¡Hola Papi!
Since its launch, the column has lived at Condé Nast, Out Magazine, and now, Substack. In 2021, my memoir-in-essays of the same name was published to Simon & Schuster’s flagship imprint. It was twice selected as editors’ choice in the New York Times Book Review, a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award, and has since been optioned by production company Funny or Die for development into a TV show.
✨ Paid Subscribers Get
Access to exclusive columns and a guaranteed answer to any letter they send in.
Access to a monthly ‘lightning round’ column that answers even more letters.
Access to ‘¡Hola Papi! Unanswered,’ a series where I talk about letters I felt I couldn’t answer. Subscribers will be invited to join the community and offer their thoughts.
Access to more exclusive essays, reviews, and artworks, with the ability to personally request topics and subjects.
Sneak peeks of forthcoming book and television projects.
Thank you so much for your support. It means the world to me.
John Paul
