DAVID KITZMILLER

WRITER, AUTHOR, POET, SONGWRITER

WELCOME TO THE TOASTER UNIVERSE

From the creative mind of David Kitzmiller 

The Toaster Universe began long before the first book or album. It traces back to David Kitzmiller’s early years...

The name “Toaster Universe” reflects the role the object played throughout Kitzmiller’s life. In the period leading up to A Step Away from Bathing with a Toaster, the toaster represented the point where his internal voice had nearly gone silent — a moment shaped by years of instability, exhaustion, and emotional collapse. It was the object that marked how close he had come to losing himself entirely.

Upon reflection, Kitzmiller recognized that the toaster had been present long before adulthood. It symbolized the conditions he was born into — a childhood marked by abuse, fear, and the need to find a way out. Kitzmiller describes it as being "born with a toaster in the bathroom,” not because of the object itself, but because the circumstances of his early life created an environment where escape felt like the only option.

Writing became the alternative. Poetry offered Kitzmiller a way to step outside those circumstances, to create something instead of being defined by them. Every book, poem, and project that followed grew from that decision. The Toaster Universe is the body of work built from choosing creation over collapse, and from bringing those works “from the toaster” rather than being consumed by it.

That universe grew…

The "Dealing with the Toaster" Memoir Series.

This foundational nonfiction series documents the specific personal history of David Kitzmiller, shaping the thematic architecture of the entire catalog. Rather than simple autobiography, these works serve as a deliberate study of his personal evolution, charting a clear trajectory from environmental survival to absolute creative control.

• Born with a Toaster in the Bathroom: A detailed exploration of Kitzmiller’s formative environments. This text examines the volatile early conditions of his childhood that initially necessitated writing as a tool for navigation, establishing the psychological backdrop for the projects that followed.

• A Step Away from Bathing with a Toaster: Documenting a critical turning point in Kitzmiller's adult life in Australia, this volume records the end of a prolonged creative absence. It serves as the precise line of demarcation where passive endurance shifted into an active, lifelong commitment to multimedia production.

Poems from the Toaster (Volume I, II, and III)

Poetry is the original architecture of the entire catalog, serving as the foundational medium David Kitzmiller utilized from the age of twelve to navigate and decipher a complex world. Rebuilt and refined in adulthood, this section represents a definitive departure from traditional verse, transforming standard text into an immersive multi-sensory gallery.

Lauded as a six-time Critic’s Choice winner and recognized with top honors at the Northeastern Poetry Summit, Kitzmiller’s poetry collections break the boundaries of the printed page.

• Poems from the Toaster (Volumes I, II, and III): Comprising over ninety distinct pieces per volume, every poem is engineered as an individual visual asset. By seamlessly marrying raw typographic design, stark photography, and fine-art illustration, this award-winning series forms the vital creative bridge that carries Kitzmiller’s authentic voice out of personal history and into his fictional and musical expansions.

Fiction represents the dimension of the catalog where imagination takes absolute control, allowing David Kitzmiller to explore the profound "what if" questions that parallel a lifetime. Free from the constraints of autobiographical reality, these works examine alternate trajectories, unmapped choices, and the complex psychological landscapes of characters operating under unpredictable circumstances. 

Nameless Cowfish: The Years Between The Stations

• Nameless Cowfish: The Years Between The Stations: Kitzmiller’s debut novel follows the gritty evolution of a garage band out of Sheridan, Indiana. This text dissects the volatile space between early artistic ambitions and late-stage life outcomes. While entirely fictional, the narrative maintains strict thematic continuity with the rest of the catalog, examining how formative experiences alter the course of creative lives.

• The Multimedia Intersection: In a deliberate blurring of art and reality, the fictional band featured within these pages serves as the direct inspiration for a real-world, physical tribute album released through Ace of Toaster Records, establishing a rare, physical crossover between literary text and independent discography.

Ace of Toaster's Independent Discography & Production.

Music is not a passive accessory to the written word; it is a parallel physical medium for the exact same artistic voice. Operating as an independent label imprint, Ace of Toaster Records serves as the sonic landscape of the entire portfolio—translating the emotional weight, grit, and rhythms of prose into physical and digital audio production.

• The Production Era: Demonstrating immense creative output, Kitzmiller orchestrated an ambitious studio era tracking and archiving nearly one hundred songs across four distinctly stylized sonic footprints. This extensive catalog maps out a vast, multi-genre ecosystem where rigid industry categories give way to the overarching power of the lyric. 

• The Curated Collaborations: To preserve the gravity of the text, these tracks feature a rotating cast of premium Nashville studio collectives and vocalists—including The James Fields Band, Some Guy Named Tim, and Tyler Travis & The Strummers. They seamlessly fuse instrumentation with Kitzmiller's poetic architectures across acoustic alternative rock, industrial heavy metal, minimalist dream-pop, and midwestern outlaw country.

Corporate & Creative Inquiries.

For media requests, rights licensing, collaboration proposals, or official correspondence regarding the Norman Kitzmiller Publications portfolio, please utilize our primary point of contact.

A Note from Management: If you have arrived at this catalog because you are currently going through your own dark spaces, please know that you do not have to carry it alone. Critical mental health and crisis support networks are actively listed on our About page.