Taylor Sheridan can do it all, I guess, and that now includes making a knife out of a toothbrush.
Simon & Schuster revealed on Tuesday that it will publish the debut book from the Yellowstone creator, How to Not Die in Prison. Up until three years ago, Paramount owned Simon & Schuster; until recently, Paramount also had Sheridan securely under its corporate umbrella.
How to Not Die in Prison is described by the publisher as “a no bullsh*t, darkly funny survival guide to life in a maximum-security prison.” Sheridan has never been to prison — but his co-author has. How to Not Die in Prison is cowritten with “prison-hardened ex-con” Tom Nelson, and will publish on June 23, 2026.
“There is no book of rules for life in prison — until now. How to Not Die in Prison teaches readers everything they need to know to make it out alive, from how to survive a prison riot, a lockdown, a stabbing, a hit, and solitary confinement to how to get a job, not go insane, make prison ramen, give a prison tat, and (allegedly) make a shiv,” the description continues.
Sheridan’s personal association with anything close to all of that is his Jeremy Renner-starring series Mayor of Kingstown.
“You might wonder what in the world gives me the knowledge or wisdom to write a survival guide to prison,” Sheridan writes in the book’s introduction. “Well, I’ll tell you — absolutely nothing. I’ve never been to prison. But, like every man, I’ve certainly wondered how I would survive if circumstances ever put me there. That morbid curiosity sent me on a journey to understand the politics and dangers of prison. When researching for Mayor of Kingstown, I learned very quickly it’s way better to avoid going to prison than figuring out how to survive one.”
“I wish I could’ve heeded Taylor’s advice all those years ago and read the F*cking Book, but that’s exactly the point: there was no Fucking Book to speak of because I hadn’t yet been spit out through the system and gained the knowledge that my co-author currently refers to as wisdom,” Nelson wrote. “Hey, one of us has written hit TV shows and Academy Award-nominated movies, and the other has spent much of his adult life behind bars in medium and maximum-security prisons. If that’s what makes for good wisdom and entertainment, I’ll take it.”
Next month, Sheridan’s movie deal moves from Paramount to NBCUniversal; his TV deal will follow in a few years. All-in, the NBCU contract has the potential to make Sheridan as much as $1 billion.
Sheridan, a former actor, has created a slew of hits for Paramount, though none as large as Yellowstone. Paramount made a big mistake licensing those streaming rights over to Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming platform. Other Sheridan shows, all of which exist on Paramount+, include Tulsa King and its coming spinoff Nola King, Yellowstone prequels 1883 and 1923, and Landman. And there are more where those came from.
His films include Wind River, Sicario, and Hell or High Water.
