About

I’m a writer and full-time father living in Northern California.

I was born in Boston in 1977, got my undergrad at Sarah Lawrence, and received my master’s in creative writing from the late lamented Goddard College in 2009. I went on to work in magazine and software publishing—in magazines, I worked primarily for Boston Review and then culture, the word on cheese. My first book was The Deaf Baby Instruction Manual, a guide for hearing parents of deaf and hard of hearing children, published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2026.

Featured Work

The Deaf Baby Instruction Manual, a guide for parents of deaf and hard of hearing children from birth through kindergarten

2026
Cover of a book, The Deaf Baby Instruction Manual, showing a happy Black infant on a white background, staring straight out at the reader. Across the top of the page, three cameo scenes appear of families interacting with their children.

The DBIM is a direct and approachable guide for parents of deaf or hard of hearing children.

About 90% of all deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) children are born to parents with typical hearing, so for many moms and dads, their baby will be the first DHH person they've ever met.

In The Deaf Baby Instruction Manual, Will Fertman provides the essential information parents need to support their kids from birth through kindergarten and beyond. Fertman not only draws on his own experiences as the father of a deaf child but also includes insight and advice from the experts: Deaf educators and researchers who have both the topic knowledge and first-hand experience growing up DHH. The manual begins with a quick-start guide to get parents oriented with the basics, and then dives into day-to-day caregiving, family dynamics, medical and educational topics, and parental self-care. Fertman tackles complex issues-from learning sign language and navigating IEPs to considering cochlear implants and avoiding language deprivation-with honesty and humor, breaking out key information into FAQs for easy reference and adding dad jokes along the way.

The first years of a deaf or hard of hearing child's life are critical to their later success, and The Deaf Baby Instruction Manual gives families Deaf-approved, research-supported dos and don'ts, empowering them to raise happy, healthy kids.

Other Works