Tuesday, April 01, 2025
Monday, March 31, 2025
Publishing Portal--March 31, 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.
=The seventh (and possibly final) edition of EveryCubEver is out now! Author Rick Kaempfer will be making the media rounds in the coming weeks. Today (March 31) he is on WGN Radio with Bob Sirott. He'll be on two podcasts this week as well (we will post those when we get links), and he'll be on WLS Radio with Ray Stevens a week from today (April 7). Oh, and you'll undoubtedly find Rick at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon for the Cubs home opener. Remember to follow Rick on Facebook (Just One Bad Century), Blue Sky (rickkaempfer.bsky.social) and X (RickKaempfer) for daily EveryCubEver featurettes and updates.
=This Saturday is the Book Launch party for Mark Wukas and his brilliant new novel The Kiss of Night. It's been getting incredible reviews, and has been our best seller for the past few months. Wukas' dramatization of the daily life of a Chicago City News Bureau reporter really jumps off the page. Come on out and get a personally autographed copy from Mark. He'll be at is/was brewing from 1-3pm on Saturday. Details below...
Thanks to everyone who came out last Tuesday night for Jim Slusher's event at the Mount Prospect Public Library...
April 2nd is Children's Book Day, and though we aren't primarily a children's book publisher, we have published a few. Thank you to Ken Korber (featured in CEO Weekly), Tom Latourette, Scott Redman, Butch Zeppo, Dena Mendes, and Manton Clue for their contributions!
=Two big events that happened this week in history are chronicled in The Loop Files. Jonathon Brandmeier held a big party at the Chicago Theater for his 5th anniversary at the Loop (1988), and then at the same place for his tenth anniversary in 1993. The stories of those memorable broadcasts are told in the book. Here are a few photos too...
=Loop sportscaster Jim Shorts is also celebrating a birthday this week (April 1). Rick interviewed him live on the air in 1993. The translated transcript of that interview is here. Kevin made Rick do it in German.
=This week in 2018, Eckhartz Press staged our biggest book launch party ever for the release of Cubsessions by Becky Sarwate and Randy Richardson. It was standing room only at Murphy's Pub and a who's who of Cubs-related folks attended. It's clearly the only book launch party we've held that attracted the Budweiser Clydesdales.
=This week in 2013, John Landecker appeared on WCIU-TV to discuss his book Records Truly is My Middle Name.
=It was also a bittersweet week for John. His good friend Roger Ebert passed away. John appeared on Roe & Roeper's show on WLS Radio to talk about Roger. John also discussed Ebert in the pages of his book. We offered up that section as a free excerpt.
=April 4, 1968 was the day that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Landecker was doing a radio show with Martin's good friend Stevie Wonder when that news came across the wire. He tells the story in his book. You can read it here.
Jerry Krause
=The man Bulls fans booed even after his death, Jerry Krause, would have been celebrating a birthday this week. Would you believe that Krause appears in three different Eckhartz Press books? Chet Coppock devotes an entire chapter to Krause in Your Dime My Dance Floor. Rich King discusses the late Bulls GM in his book Ike and Me. He also tells that story in this podcast. And finally, Chuck Swirsky's Always a Pleasure also delves into the legacy of Jerry. He even has a picture.
=This week in 2014, Joel Daly appeared on the air at WGN Radio to discuss his memoir. It was an evening appearance on Pete McMurray's show.
=This week in 2009, his TV station (Channel 7/WLS-TV) aired this time capsule of Joel's career...
=This week in 2007, the American Army housing area in Heidelberg Germany known as Mark Twain Village was officially closed down. Several crucial chapters in the novel Back in the DDR take place there. RIP to a time and place gone by.
=This week in 2015, Kipper McGee's well respected analysis of the media in America, Brandwidth, was released.
.png)
=Both of these Chicago icons (Chet Coppock & Norm Van Lier) are no longer with us, but they live on in the pages of Chet's book. Norm would have been 78 years old this week (April 1).
.jpg)
Sunday, March 30, 2025
Monday, March 24, 2025
Publishing Portal--March 24, 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.
=The seventh (and possibly final) edition of EveryCubEver is now available for pre-order! Author Rick Kaempfer has revised and added more than 500 entries since the last edition, and included hundreds of classic photographs. He vows to only revise it again if the Cubs win the World Series. If you've already bought a previous edition, this is the year to update. If you haven't bought it yet and you're a Cubs fan, what's wrong with you? You can literally read about every...Cub...ever.
=Thanks to everyone who came out to the Chicagoland Record Show this past weekend to meet the authors of The Flip Side.
=Speaking of records, another records-related appearance is coming soon...
This week, a chance to meet two Eckhartz Press authors...
.jpg)
Next week you can meet another one...
=You won't want to miss Mark Wukas' big day. Coming soon (April 5)...click on photo to enlarge.
=This week in 2018 (March 26), the Gentile brothers (Jeffrey & Michael) appeared on Rick Kogan's show on WGN Radio to talk about their book Mob Adjacent. They have some exciting news about their book coming soon. That's all we're allowed to say at this point, but it will be a big deal. Consider yourself teased.
Records Truly Is My Middle Name
=We released John Records Landecker's memoir Records Truly Is His Middle Name on his birthday (March 28) in 2013. John certainly had a memorable birthday that year. He appeared on Johnny B's show on WGN Radio in the morning, then on the WGN-TV Morning show, then on the afternoon show on WBEZ.
=This week in 2014, we also released Randy Richardson's murder mystery, Lost in the Ivy. With Opening Day approaching, it's a good time to revisit this story. It's a snapshot in time, back to pre-gentrified Wrigleyville.
=This week in 2022, Eric Litt appeared on WGN-TV to talk about the slap heard round the world. He has become a well-known movie expert since releasing his first book with Eckhartz Press. Last year he followed that up with another excellent movie book, Worth a Second Look.
=This week in 2023 (March 24), acclaimed author David Berner reviewed Rick Kaempfer's novel, Back in the DDR....
"Matching history with Rudi’s awakening to the times makes Back in the D.D.R. a compelling story, giving the tale deep roots both emotionally and culturally. Rudi’s maturation comes alongside striking events in the world and reminds the reader how global history can impact a singular life, especially that of a 13-year-old boy."
=This week in 2022 (March 28), Kurt Begland reviewed Chili Dog MVP
=The next day, Chili Dog MVP authors Dr. Fletcher and John Owens appeared in Orland Park Card show
=This week in 2018 Windy City Reviews released their assessment of the book Cubsessions.
"Famous people fascinate all of us. Don’t try to deny it. And there’s no shortage of famous people among the millions who follow the Chicago Cubs. That’s the premise of Cubsessions, a series of interviews with passionate fans who have achieved various levels of fame. The anthology is an obvious labor of love for the co-authors, Becky Sarwate and Randy Richardson. The result is a start-of-the-season gift for every diehard Cubs fan."
=One of the great things about Joel Daly's book The Daly News is that he shares several examples of his famous television news commentary. Here's an example of that from this week in 1977, free of charge.
Everything I Know I Learned from Rock Stars
=Bill Paige doesn't only write books about rock stars, he also writes songs. This one was inspired by the COVID pandemic.
And finally, a couple of basketball stories during March Madness...
=This week is the birthday of Walt "Clyde" Frazier (March 29). Not only a great basketball player for the New York Knicks, but also a pioneer in the world of Signature Shoes. Author Ryan Trembath wrote all about that part of Frazier in his book.
=Chuck Swirsky's biggest fan, NBA star Chris Bosh, is celebrating a birthday this week (March 24). Here's what he said about Chuck for book's back cover...
- Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat. 2021 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 2 time NBA Champion.
Basketball is about more than the players on the court or the fans in the stands. It’s also about the voices who add color to the game—play-by-play, night after night. And Chuck Swirsky is one of the legends responsible for the soundtrack of basketball. With passion that is always palpable, Chuck brings excitement every time he picks up a mic. Over the years, millions of fans have hung onto his every word, but what’s even more special about him is who he is when the mic is off. In my years in Toronto with Chuck, I never received a greeting from him that didn’t include an ear-to-ear grin. I feel lucky to have seen him continue to grow as a broadcaster when he and his family moved to Chicago. Chuck showed me that a team is only as strong as the environment surrounding it — a community that extends beyond the clubhouse. So thank you, Chuck—for your enthusiasm on great days and positivity on the rough ones. You made Toronto a great place to be in a great place to play. Oh, and thanks to your kids for always keeping those cookies around. Those were no joke.
