DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 7, 2026--
Forget Wall Street wolves and Silicon Valley unicorns—meet the C-suite circus at PwnShop, where chaos reigns, egos clash, and a Reddit-fueled rocket ride sends a dying retailer “to the moon.”
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In Skinny Dipping at Low Tide, debut author M.F. Hamlin delivers a biting, laugh-out-loud satire that fuses the irreverence of A Confederacy of Dunces with the financial intrigue of Liar’s Poker. This roman à clef peels back the mahogany doors of PwnShop’s “bored” room during its meme-stock moment, exposing the absurdity of corporate America when logic takes a permanent vacation from sanity.
Meet Nick Haller—Harvard MBA, wannabe musician, and reluctant gladiator in the coliseum of capitalism. As pandemic pandemonium collides with activist agendas and Reddit armies, Haller’s earnest plans for redemption end up on the cutting-room floor—while his net worth skyrockets faster than you can say “diamond hands.”
Book Details & Testimonial
Skinny Dipping at Low Tide marks Hamlin’s first foray into fiction – a bold debut that blends satire, business intrigue, and cultural commentary. This 336-page novel promises a wild ride through the surreal world of meme-stock mania.
Published by Permuted Press and distributed by Simon & Schuster, the release date of Skinny Dipping at Low Tide is set for January 13, 2026. All proceeds from the book will support the Causeways Program at the University of Virginia, focused on inspiring future leaders to foster constructive engagement and drive positive change.
Skinny Dipping at Low Tideis an unparalleled, modern American classic from a truly original voice in M. F. Hamlin. It is equal parts diary and field notes on a screwball time in modern business – but has an elegance and irreverence that never ceases to please the reader. It is a unique literary ride that makes you laugh and think and admire the ‘shoveled words.’
Hamlin weaves a compelling, partially gonzo approach to storytelling that jumps backwards and forwards with perfection, buttresses character development with wickedly adept writing, and brings you into the complexity of an incredibly likable leading man’s journey of sense making of life and business, compelling the reader to think about their own zig zag journey of muck and luck.
Gosh, I hope he is already writing another book. The literary community needs more originality, candor, risk taking, and instinct to tell a really good story with remarkable characters, in a style that just does not exist in the book world. This story is a gift from someone who has truly found their calling as an artist of words, playing literary jazz with all the right notes. Bravo Hamlin. Encore, encore...
MATT WEBER – Emmy-winning and New York Times published humorist
About the Author: M.F. Hamlin
Before skewering corporate culture, Hamlin spent nearly a decade in Nashville’s music scene with Arista Records and Sony Music Publishing. After earning his MBA at Harvard, he climbed the ranks in retail and e-commerce, serving as CMO at Guitar Center, EVP roles at Tailored Brands, and Chief Customer Officer at GameStop. Today, Hamlin lends his expertise to boards and arts organizations, including the Dallas Theater Center and the University of Virginia, where he champions leadership development through the Causeways Program.
In Skinny Dipping at Low Tide, debut author M.F. Hamlin delivers a biting, laugh-out-loud satire that fuses the irreverence of A Confederacy of Dunces with the financial intrigue of Liar’s Poker.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A judge disqualified a Trump administration federal prosecutor from overseeing investigations into New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling Thursday that he is not lawfully serving as an acting U.S. attorney.
U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield blocked subpoenas requested by John Sarcone, the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York. The judge said the Department of Justice did not follow statutory procedure after judges declined to extend Sarcone’s tenure last year.
Schofield joined several other federal judges across the country who have ruled that actions taken by top federal prosecutors were invalid because of unusual methods that the Trump administration used to get them the jobs. People were given the power of a U.S. attorney outside of the normal U.S. Senate confirmation process or were allowed to serve until federal judges in their district could decide whether they could stay.
“When the Executive branch of government skirts restraints put in place by Congress and then uses that power to subject political adversaries to criminal investigations, it acts without lawful authority. Subpoenas issued under that authority are invalid. The subpoenas are quashed, and Mr. Sarcone is disqualified from further participation in the underlying investigations,” the judge said in her decision.
Schofield said Sarcone is not lawfully serving as acting U.S. attorney and that any “of his past or future acts taken in that capacity are void or voidable as they would rest on authority Mr. Sarcone does not lawfully have.”
James, a Democrat, had challenged Sarcone’s authority after he issued subpoenas seeking information about lawsuits she filed against Republican President Donald Trump, claiming he had committed fraud in his business dealings, and separately against the National Rifle Association and some of its former leaders.
Justice Department lawyers argued Sarcone was appointed properly and that the subpoenas were valid. James claims the inquiry into her lawsuits is part of a campaign of baseless investigations and prosecutions of Trump’s perceived enemies.
James’ office issued a statement calling Thursday's ruling “an important win for the rule of law.”
“We will continue to defend our office’s successful litigation from this administration’s political attacks,” the statement said.
Emails seeking comment were sent to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice.
Last month, a panel of judges from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sitting in Philadelphia sided with a lower-court judge’s ruling disqualifying Alina Habba from serving as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor.
In November, a federal judge dismissed criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and James after concluding that the hastily installed prosecutor who filed the charges, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed to the position of interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
A similar dynamic has played out in Nevada, where a federal judge disqualified the Trump administration’s pick to be U.S. attorney there. And a federal judge in Los Angeles disqualified the acting U.S. attorney in Southern California from several cases after concluding he had stayed in the job longer than allowed.
In New York, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Sarcone to serve as the interim U.S. attorney in March. When his 120-day term elapsed, judges in the district declined to keep him in the post.
Bondi then appointed Sarcone as a special attorney and designated him first assistant U.S. attorney for the district, moves that federal officials say allow him to serve as an acting U.S. attorney.
The judge, who sits in New York City, took issue with the Justice Department's actions.
“(O)n the same day that the judges declined to extend Mr. Sarcone’s appointment, the Department took coordinated steps — through personnel moves and shifting titles — to install Mr. Sarcone as Acting U.S. Attorney. Federal law does not permit such a workaround,” she wrote.
Sarcone was part of Trump’s legal team during the 2016 presidential campaign and worked for the U.S. General Services Administration as the regional administrator for the Northeast and Caribbean during Trump’s first term.
Schofield said the federal government could reissue the subpoenas at the direction of a lawfully authorized attorney.
Joshua Naftalis, a Manhattan federal prosecutor for 11 years before entering private practice in 2023, said Schofield was agreeing with the other judges who have disputed the authority of designated top prosecutors.
“It’s always a big deal when judges say that the U.S. attorney doesn’t have the authority,” he said.
He said subpoenas aren’t typically issued by a single prosecutor so the ruling might not directly affect other investigations brought through the prosecutor’s office.
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Associated Press writer Larry Neumeister contributed from New York.
FILE - John Sarcone, acting U.S. Attorney for Northern New York, leaves Manhattan federal court, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Michael Sisak, File)
New York Attorney General Letitia James arrives at City Hall for the public inauguration swearing-in ceremony of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
