Friday, August 29, 2025
Monday, August 25, 2025
Publishing Portal--August 25, 2025
The latest news from Eckhartz Press, and a chance to peek into some of the great previous offerings from our humble little publishing company.
Cantigny Park
=The iconic Wheaton, Illinois landmark will once again host an Eckhartz Press author.
=September 4, 6:30-7:30 in the Cantigny Visitor's Center Theatre, A book talk by Jeff Reiter about The Best of Words on Birds. Register here.
Printer's Row Litfest
=The 40th anniversary Printer's Row Litfest will be quite the literary event. You can meet up to eight different Eckhartz Press authors.
Saturday September 6
=From 10am--12:30pm, Eric Litt will be signing and selling copies of his Eckhartz Press books Oscars Biggest Mistakes and Worth a Second Look. He will be in the Chicago Writers Association tent.
=From Noon-1pm, Mark Wukas will be on the center-stage discussing his novel The Kiss of Night along with other Chicago authors James Stewart III, Defiant Acts, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr., The El in conversation with Vincent Francone.
=From 12:30-3pm, Larry Rosenbaum will be signing and selling copies of his book The Flip Side. He will be in the Chicago Writers Association tent.
Sunday September 7
=From 10am--2pm, Jeff Reiter will be signing and selling copies of his book The Best of Words on Birds. He will be in the Chicago Writers Association tent.
=From 2pm-6pm, Mark Wukas will be signing and selling copies of his book The Kiss of Night. He will be in the Chicago Writers Association tent
=There are several other Eckhartz Press authors you might bump into this weekend, including Randy Richardson (Lost in the Ivy, Cheeseland, Cubsessions), Donald G. Evans (An Off-White Christmas), and Eckhartz Press publishers Rick Kaempfer and David Stern. Randy is the president of the Chicago Writers Association and Don is the head of the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. Rick will be there on Saturday. Dave will be there on Sunday.
Urban Birding Festival
=This is a new event for Eckhartz Press, but we're confident the right Eckhartz Press author will be there...
=September 12-14, Jeff Reiter (The Best of Words on Birds) will be manning a table, signing and selling copies of his book.
Illinois Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
=At previous ceremonies, Eckhartz Press author John Records Landecker (Records Truly is My Middle Name) has been recognized. This year, Eckhartz Press will be on stage once again.
Naperville Irish Fest
=What's the use of having an Irish author if you can't appear at the Irish Fest?
The Steppenwolf
=Looks like our newest author Tony Fitzpatrick (book available for pre-order soon) is going to help us class up the joint.
This event is like the best kind of road trip, with landmarks and rest stops appearing as poems, dispatches and works of art which explore Tony's childhood as a "no-goodnik" in suburban Chicago, to discovering comics, poetry and an appreciation for nature and finding sobriety and community with some of America's greatest musicians, artists and poets along the way.
This production follows the publication of Tony's
newest book, The Sun at the End of the Road: Dispatches From an American
Life, a collection of dispatches, haiku, poetry, collages, etchings and
drawings, edited by Marika Mashburn, designed by Danny Torres and published by
Eckhartz Press in Chicago, Illinois.
There are a few more events already scheduled for October. Keep an eye on this space for upcoming information.
=This week in 1976, Boston released their iconic debut album. Naturally they made an appearance at The Flip Side.
=Larry Rosenbaum is one of the famous brothers who owned the legendary Flip Side Records locations in Chicago. His birthday is this week (August 25). Have a great birthday Larry!
=Another Eckhartz Press author is celebrating a birthday this week (August 27). Happy birthday to I Bear Witness author Dan McNeil.
Tom Shaer
=Although Tom hasn't technically written a book for us, he has been a very valuable editor on several projects. Tom was instrumental in editing three Eckhartz Press books: Last Comiskey (where he also served as emcee at the launch party), Chili Dog MVP, and Ike and Me. Tom is also celebrating a birthday this week (August 27).
=Another short audio clip featuring Mark Wukas from his interview at Max and Benny's in Northbrook. In this clip, Mark talks about his favorite writer, James T. Farrell.
=This week Windy City Reviews posted their excellent review of Mark's book. Full review is here. This is a short excerpt...
This book is not a who-done-it type of mystery novel, nor is it meant for a quick summer beach-read. This is a thoughtful novel that challenges the reader to think about important issues, like whether the ends justify the means, and if so, when. If you enjoy the literary fiction genre, this book is for you.
=This Friday (August 29) Celtic Knot author Bob Conlon will appear on the Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast with Vicki Atkinson and Wynne Leon. We will post the link on our facebook page when the interview goes live.
=South African poet Maggie Watson reviewed the Eckhartz Press memoir Surviving Sue this week, and she did in poetic form...
Vicki’s courage and strength shine throughout this book,
and I could sense empathy for her mother despite what she suffered.
All mental illness has a root cause, I believe, and often requires
a deeper level of understanding
I applaud Vicki for writing this book with grace and sprinkles of humour, too.
These things are not easy to survive, but somehow we find the strength
to do so, and sharing our story is part of the healing.
Joe Jackson vs. Chicago American League Baseball Club
=This week in 2023, David Fletcher was making the rounds talking about his new book Joe Jackson v. Chicago American League Baseball Club. The book is a trial transcript of the Shoeless Joe trial in Milwaukee from 1924. Amazing historical document. One of the shows he appeared on was the Baseball Talk podcast.
=This week in 2006, author Rick Kaempfer wrote about his time as Steve & Garry's producer for the first time ever. A few of these stories later made it into the book The Loop Files.
=This week in 2021 (August 29), Paul Banks made an appearance at the Manchester United fan club meeting at Fado's in Chicago. Everyone watched the Man United game, and at halftime Paul spoke to them about his book Transatlantic Passage. It was the earliest Guinness that Eckhartz Press publishers Rick and Dave ever consumed (well before noon).
=This week in 2019 (August 25), Rick Kaempfer appeared on Rick Kogan's WGN Radio show to talk about his book EveryCubEver. At the time, Roger Badesch was working as Kogan's newsman. It was during this show that Roger announced he too was working on a book for Eckhartz Press. That would later turn into The Unplanned Life. (Photo: Rick Kaempfer, Roger Badesch, Rick Kogan)
=Every member of the 1972 White Sox is featured in the Eckhartz Press book Chili Dog MVP. One of them was born this week (August 27) in 1946, former catcher Ed Herrmann. Unfortunately Big Ed passed away in 2013.
=This week in 2017, Lee Kingsmill's book Safe Inside was officially released by Eckhartz Press. We took that opportunity to do a Q&A with Lee. You can read that here. Lee's book later was named an honorable mention winner for the Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year.
=Eckhartz Press was asked to publish the literary journal of the Chicago Writers Association, and we have done so four times now. This week in 2023 (August 29), the 4th volume of the book came out. That book will also be available in the Chicago Writers Association tent for Printer's Row Litfest.
=One of the contributors to the first volume is celebrating a birthday this week. Happy birthday to NY Times Best Selling author James Finn Garner (August 29)
Sunday, August 24, 2025
Minutia Men
The latest episode of Minutia Men has dropped. Mascots in the news, performative males, a bratwurst dispute, the world’s oldest chicken, and how a chicken nearly killed Elvis are among the minutiae topics discussed this week. https://t.co/rl6XVSJxjk
— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) August 23, 2025