Kenneth Chanko

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Kenneth Chanko

Goodreads Author


Born
in Manhattan, The United States
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May 2012

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Kenneth Chanko's debut novel, "Exit Tickets," eleven years in the works, was inspired by his ten years of teaching in Manhattan and South Bronx public schools. A former entertainment journalist, whose byline has appeared in The New York Times, New York magazine and Entertainment Weekly, Chanko switched careers in his mid-40s to become a New York City public school teacher.

"Exit Tickets" has been hailed by Publishers Weekly as "a powerful, realistic portrayal of life in the American public education system," with the novel being awarded PW's "Editor's Pick" in its December 1st, 2025, issue. And Kirkus Reviews, in its Nov 15 issue, praised it as "a masterful tapestry of strife and resiliency."

Chanko is currently working on a sequel to "Exit T
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Average rating: 4.25 · 24 ratings · 15 reviews · 1 distinct workSimilar authors
Exit Tickets: A Novel

4.25 avg rating — 24 ratings — published 2025 — 2 editions
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Rubber Room Writings

If I hadn’t been arrested on Valentine’s Day in 2014, you wouldn’t be reading this. There’d be no blog because there’d be no book.

Not that I want to spoil your reading of my debut novel—I know you’re eager to get your hands on "Exit Tickets" (pub date: Nov 18)—but that agonizing experience provided me with the time to start scribbling and informed the plot of "Exit Tickets."

Not, however, while I w Read more of this blog post »
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Published on November 14, 2025 04:41 Tags: the-origin-story-of-exit-tickets
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Kenneth Chanko is on page 86 of 174 of Vigil
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The Missing Half by Ashley Flowers
The Missing Half
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Kenneth Chanko started reading
Vigil by George Saunders
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The Gate by Natsume Sōseki
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A Beginner's Guide to Japan by Pico Iyer
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Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy
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McCurdy's novel was certainly an easy-enough read, but it became a tad repetitive, and the quality of writing and its observations didn't sustain my interest. Far richer, though for sure the stories are different (but with certain similar themes), wa ...more
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Counternarratives by John  Keene
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Abandoning a Cat by Haruki Murakami
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More of Kenneth's books…
Groucho Marx
“Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.”
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