Saturday, October 18, 2025
Monday, October 13, 2025
Publishing Portal--October 13, 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 Sun at the End of the Road
AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW!
=A novel that is like a love story to 1970s Chicago. Author Doug E. Jones describes his novel this way: What do Joe Pepitone, Bozo The Clown, and George Morley have in common? Nothing. But in 1974 Chicago, they mean everything to Rick as he tries to pay off his dead father’s debt to the Irish mob.
=Dig the cover.
Award Season!
=Would you believe that another one of our books has been named a finalist for Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year? It's true. Just got the e-mail this morning. Congrats to Jim Slusher, author of To Nudge the World, who is nominated in the Indie non-fiction category! The book is a collection of his columns for the Daily Herald, which is about the role of free press (particularly newspapers) in our current world. It couldn't be more timely. Congratulations to Jim!
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=This week in 2013 (October 17), Records Truly Is My Middle Name (by John Landecker) became our first book ever named as a finalist for Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year. It was only the fourth book we ever published. John and his daughter (movie/TV star) Amy made the media rounds promoting the book.
=This week in 2021 (October 15), Mob Adjacent became our tenth book to be named a finalist for CWA Book of the Year.
=Speaking of Mob Adjacent, it has been made into a film, which is currently being shopped in Hollywood. The filmmakers were in town last week and asked Eckhartz Press publisher Rick Kaempfer to film a few promo videos for it. Those will be posted over the next few months.
=Author Jeff Reiter revealed this news about The Best of Words on Birds on his facebook page...
I found out today that my book is on display and for sale in Lexington, Virginia, at my alma mater's bookstore. I am a Washington and Lee University grad, class of 1981. The books of a fellow alum, John Yow, are in the W&L Store, too. Some of you may know his work: The Armchair Birder.
=It's hard to pick a favorite one, but there is one that has to be near the top of the list. This week in 2020 (October 15), Steve Van Zandt announced his partnership with Eckhartz Press to publish a rock and roll book for kids. That was written by Ken Korber, and endorsed by the E-Street Band member himself. It's a story about a girl (Grace) who goes to see Steve in concert, called Grace's Rockin' Roll Adventure.
=Tony Fitzpatrick is remembered fondly for his days at the Loop. (He was a contributor to the book The Loop Files too) With the news of Tony's passing, we went back into the archives to find this gem. This is from 1994. Buzz Kilman and Tony Fitzpatrick doing their weekly feature, Drive In Reviews
=Buzz Kilman's post.
Happy Birthday!
=Two Eckhartz Press authors are celebrating birthdays this week. Happy birthday to Media consultant Kipper McGee (October 15), author of Brandwidth, and retired Judge Michael Bender (October 18), author of Protecting Children.
Thousands of people ran the Chicago Marathon over the weekend (October 12). We didn't. Instead we simply read the story in the Eckhartz Press book Meta-Stories by JJ Novak called “The Marathon Runner." If you didn't do it this year, click here to buy it for next year. Trust us, the worst injury you might get is a paper cut. Totally treatable.
=This week in 1978 (October 13), the band UFO recorded their live album in Chicago. Naturally they also appeared at The Flip Side.
=This week in 1775 (October 13), the US Navy was formed. Only one book in the Eckhartz Press catalog is about the Navy, and that's a great novel by Keith Conrad. It's entitled Righteous Might. Pick up your copy this week. It's on sale.
=Will Wagner's novel is about what happened to Pete Townshend's guitar after he tossed it into the audience at Woodstock. So, it's only natural that when the Who came town this week in 2022 (October 13), Will held a book signing down the street from the United Center before the show.
=This week in 2018 (October 18), Don Evans had his book launch party at the very swanky Cliff Dwellers on South Michigan Avenue. It was a star-studded event.
=John Wooden was born this week in 1910 (October 14). The legendary coach lived to a ripe old age of 99. Not only does he have the record for most NCAA Championships, he also had his own signature shoe. Ryan Trembath tells the story of the Wooden Shoes in his book Signature Shoes.
=This week in 2015 (October 14), Rick Kaempfer appeared on Rabbi Doug's television show to talk about his latest book, Father Knows Nothing.
=This week in 2016, Bobby Skafish was making the rounds promoting his book We Have Company. He appeared on WBEZ (photo) and also on the Kevin Matthews podcast.
“Make sure your schedule is clear when you begin to read this book because you won’t be able to put it down. You’re there as Skafish speaks face to face with the architects of the music that made radio hip, here and happening.”
“Close encounters of the rock radio kind from the coolest cat to ever drop a needle on vinyl”
“With over four decades as a silver-tongued D.J., Bobby Skafish turns his numerous interview moments into a can’t-stop reading adventure. Partly his thoughts on the interview process but mainly a memoir about his lifelong passion for music and those that make it. Highly recommended!”
“Bobby Skafish delves into an interview with knowledge, finesse and the ability to get a conversation started. He once told me that listening is just as important as asking the questions. This book is proof that his approach is right on!”
=Also this week, two of the interview subjects in Bobby's book are celebrating birthdays, Sammy Hagar (October 13), and John Mayer (October 16)
=This week in 2017, Tom Weinberg was riding high while promoting his book Chasing the Lost City. Rick Kogan wrote about it in the Chicago Tribune (October 15), and Tom's book launch party (October 17) at the Billy Goat was a big success.
=This week in 2017 (October 17), Doin 'The Cruise was tearing it up on GoodReads. Here's an example of the reviews from readers...
=This week in 2018 (October 16) the original version of Cubsessions was also garnering some serious buzz at GoodReads. Here's an example...
=Chili Dog MVP isn't just a book about 1972 Chicago, it's not just a book about the great Dick Allen, it's also about the entire White Sox team from that year. Two of the lesser known members of that team, Hugh Yancy (October 16) and Rudy Hernandez (October 18) are celebrating birthdays this week. Yancy only played in three games for the team (at second base). Hernandez was a 20-year-old rookie shortstop and appeared in only 8 games.
=This week in 1974 (October 17), the show Austin City Limits debuted. The creator of that show is Roger Badesch's long-time friend. He provided this blurb for The Unplanned Life...
“Roger and I go back over 50 years to when he was a high school student and I was the TV Director for Evanston Township High School. Then again when I was TV Producer-Director for Southern Illinois University and Roger was an enthusiastic RTV Major. He worked on several of my shows including one with Billy Joel and one with the rock band Brownsville Station. I went on to co-create and direct PBS’ Austin City Limits, and Roger went on to become an anchor for WGN Radio News. His story is bound to be a good one!”
=Evander Holyfield is celebrating a birthday this week (October 19). Evander rates his own chapter in Randy Merkin's book Behind the Glass...
=This week in 2018 (October 18), Chet Coppock had a book signing at his favorite local joint, Stormy's in Northfield...
=One of the endorsers of Beth Jacobellis' novel Cameo was WGN Radio's John Williams (born October 19). Here's what he said...
Mythical but modern, Cameo shows us how to listen to the past to find love in the present.
The Balding Handbook
=This week is Be Bald and Be Free Day (October 14). It's a day that Balding Handbook author David Stern celebrates every year. Even though his book is no longer in print, his head remains a tribute to the book's title.
Sunday, October 12, 2025
Minutia Men
Our latest episode: A German’s view of “sh*** and giggles”, a gravedigger competition, torches and pitchforks, Jeremy Roenick in the bowels of Chicago Stadium, play-by-play of the 1935 World Series, and an expose about promiscuous ladybugs. https://t.co/7XbTSj6EPo
— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) October 12, 2025
Monday, October 06, 2025
Publishing Portal--October 6, 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 Sun at the End of the Road
=Tony Fitzpatrick got some amazing press for his fabulous new book this week in the Chicago Tribune. Unfortunately, as you can tell by reading the story, additional news was revealed. Tony is currently experiencing some serious health issues.
=Tony managed to attend his book launch on Saturday via Zoom, and was greeted with this wonderful video from his friends and supporters...
=Unfortunatley, Steppenwolf Theater issued the following statement about his upcoming run there...Tony Fitzpatrick’s engagement of “The Sun
at the End of the Road,” “presented as part of Steppenwolf’s LookOut Series,
has been postponed indefinitely due to the artist’s ongoing health
complications,” Steppenwolf advises. “Steppenwolf looks forward to bringing
Tony’s show to his Chicago fans in the future.”
=He may be in the hospital, but he's still making people happy with the book, including his health care workers...
40 Years, 40 Films
=Film critic/podcaster/broadcaster Nick Digilio announced that his new book is available now as an e-book on Amazon. You can get it here. Guess what else? In a few weeks it will also be available as a book-book (technical term) at Eckhartz Press. Look for the official pre-order announcement in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here's the pretty cool cover...
=Speaking of films, authors Jeffrey and Michael Gentile, along with publishers Rick and Dave, got a screening of the Mob Adjacent film over the weekend. Oh boy. This one is going to be incredible. Buckle up, everyone. We will keep you updated on all upcoming film news. There's a lot of excitement going on behind the scenes.
=Another promotional video from the guys. This one stars Michael Gentile, Jr.
=The October issue of Illinois Entertainer is out and it includes a profile of our latest Hall of Famer, Mitch Michaels. You can read that here.
=One of our brand new books (available for pre-order now) is called South Side Memories by Gloria Golec. Knowing that you might not know Gloria, or what her story is about, we conducted the following Q&A that will give you a better idea of what to expect.
=For the past few weeks The Loop Files author Rick Kaempfer has been accumulating Loop artifacts and memorabilia, and quietly writing various different Loop displays. Why has he been doing that? Big announcement coming soon.
=This week in 2023, the publicity machine was just getting rolling for The Loop Files. It wasn't even officially released yet. Rick was on the Matt Kissane podcast talking about the book on October 9th, and the RAMP Newsletter featured the book in their popular radio publication on October 11.
Happy Birthday!
=Two Eckhartz Press authors are celebrating birthdays this week. Happy birthday to Chili Dog MVP co-author John Owens (October 7) and one of our new authors, To Nudge the World writer Jim Slusher (October 10). Both of them work in the media. Owens was the senior producer at the Chicago Tribune for years, and is now a producer for ABC-7 in Chicago, and Slusher is the Managing Editor for Opinion at the Daily Herald.
=One of the evergreen parts of Dan McNeil's excellent book about the Chicago Bears is his chapter eulogizing the Bears greats who have passed away in recent years. This week in 2023 (October 5), we lost Dick Butkus. Dan wrote a wonderful tribute to the immortal Bears linebacker.
AWARD SEASON
=This week in 2019 (October 11), two of our books were named finalists for the Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year. The Scar Dance (in the fiction category), and EveryCubEver by Rick Kaempfer (in the non-fiction category).
=This week in 2015 (October 6), the reviews came in for Pat Colander's award-winning book Hugh Hefner's First Funeral. Here are a few of them...
As Paul Simon bookended…”Time it was, and what a time it was….A time of innocence. A time of confidences.” Chicago in the ’70’s was surreal, scary and freaking hilarious. My Second City kith and kin may have found brighter lights in N.Y. and L.A. — but we were spawned and fermented at North and Wells. Good thing Pat Colander thought to take notes and chronicle everything.
Pat Colander toiled with me in the belly of the Chicago journalism beast in the 1970s and 1980s. When major stories were reported, she asked questions. When the questions were poorly answered or evaded, she asked even more questions of even more people. Then in a clear, true voice, she wrote it all down. She found the real stories behind the stories and this collection of her work is just great. She ought to be long-listed for the Man Booker prize, If I can figure out how to do it I will.
=One of the interviewees for Becky Sarwate and Randy Richardson's book about celebrity Cub fans is celebrating a birthday this week. Happy birthday to journalist and author Jonathan Alter (October 6). He rates his own chapter in the book Cubsessions.
=This week in 2016 (October 7), Bobby Skafish visited the WLS studios to talk about his book with his old colleague at the Loop, Steve Dahl. It just happened to be the same day that Trump's Access Hollywood tape came out. (Also in the photo--Brendan Greeley and Dag Juhlin)
Grace and Friends Fire Activity Book
=This week in 2020 (October 7), co-author of Grace and Friends Fire Activity Safety book Paul Possenti was called a COVID hero. Read this to find out more.
=Two football legends are celebrating birthdays this week, and both of them are featured in Randy Merkin's Behind the Glass book. Former Bears great (and Hall of Famer) Mike Singletary (October 9), and Tony Dungy (October 6). Each get a chapter in Behind the Glass. That's Tony with Randy below.
=This week in 2018 (October 9), Christine Sneed interviewed author Donald G. Evans about his excellent collection of short stories.
