Sunday, August 09, 2026
Monday, August 03, 2026
Publishing Portal--August 3, 2026
The latest news from Eckhartz Press, and a chance to peek into some of the great previous offerings from our humble little publishing company.
4 Chances to Meet Eckhartz Press authors this week...
The 12 Steps: And Tales of Fellowship
BOOK LAUNCH PARTY
=A huge party is coming this Saturday afternoon (August 8) to launch Tom Serritella's The 12
Steps: And Tales of Fellowship. Come on out to Moretti's in Hoffman Estates (Higgins and Barrington Road/right off I-90), from 1:30--3:30pm. Grab a burger. Grab a book. Grab an autograph from Tom. Perfect afternoon. (Learn more about the book here)
BOOK LAUNCH PARTY
=The next day (August 9), we'll be in the city to launch Richard Reeder's novel Sarasota at Edgewater Public Library (6000 N. Broadway) at 2pm. Richard is such a thoughtful speaker, and this novel is a great story about an important topic. Learn more about it here.
=Another chance to meet Jeff Reiter is this week! His next book talk is this Wednesday night (August 5) at 6:30 pm, at Elgin Public Library, 270 N. Grove Avenue in Elgin.
=Brendan Sullivan is the co-author of our very first book, The Living Wills. Brendan is a famous improv artist and creativity coach in Chicago. He teamed up with Rick Kaempfer 15 years ago to co-write a novel that launched a publishing company.
=Six years ago, Brendan's son Charlie passed away at the way too-young age of 24. It inspired Brendan to write this beautiful piece warning other parents about the horrible scourge of Fentanyl. He called it The Elephant in the Room. It's still on our website.
=Ever since that time, the Sullivan family and the large legion of Charlie's friends have created a foundation (The Charlie Sullivan Foundation) which promotes social justice, peace and understanding through musical expression. (Charlie's passion). Every year they throw a big party called the Chucky Ar La Fest. The fifth annual party is this Saturday, August 8th at Martyrs (3855 N. Lincoln).
=Brendan sent us a note...
"Hope you guys can make it. So much love in that room. Tix at www.martyrslive.com. Your kids would enjoy it too. Doors open at 5."
ANNOUNCING OUR NEWEST BOOK: 40 Years, 40 Horror Films
=Here's some more info about the book...
For more than forty years, Nick Digilio has been one of Chicago’s most recognizable and passionate voices on film, and he has written a deeply personal and wildly entertaining book that dives headfirst into his favorite genre: horror. A lifelong fanatic and a beloved fixture at Chicago’s Flashback Weekend Horror Convention, Nick brings decades of knowledge, enthusiasm, and unapologetic love for the macabre to this thrilling new volume.
40 Years, 40 Horror Films is more than just a list—it’s a journey through the evolution of fear on screen. From Day of the Dead to Nosferatu, Nick selects and examines his favorite horror film from each year since 1985, offering sharp, insightful, and often surprising commentary in his signature no-filter style. Along the way, he explores the full spectrum of the genre: slashers, ghost stories, found footage nightmares, psychological horror, monster movies, possession tales, and everything in between. If it’s meant to scare you, unsettle you, or crawl under your skin, it’s in here.
With a Foreword by “Svengoolie” Rich Koz.
=The book ships in September, so please be patient if you pre-order now. We wanted it to be available for the big festival this weekend. It's a Halloween season book, obviously.
ANNOUNCING OUR NEWEST AUTHOR: Dann Gire!
=Dann Gire was also at FlashbackWeekend (photo with his daughter Morgan below), but that's not the big news for us. The big news is that we signed Dann to write a book for us. It's called "Mem-noirs of a Chicago Film Critic." If you don't know Dann, he's been the film critic for the Daily Herald for 50 years. He's won multiple awards for his writing, and is the founding member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. He also has some reeeeeeeally good stories. Look for it this Christmas season!
=Our thoughts and prayers are with one of the stars of The Loop Files, Steve Dahl. He had a fairly serious procedure this weekend. Hoping for a speedy recovery. (Photo by Matt Dahl: Steve & his family, wife Janet, and sons Pat, Mike, and Matt, just before surgery)
=The August issue of Illinois Entertainer is out and includes the story of the day Kevin Matthews met the Pope. You can read it here. Kevin also stars in The Loop Files.
=This week in 1979 (August 5), just a few weeks after Disco Demolition, the Loop was back at Comiskey Park. This time it was a mega-concert called A Day at the Park. Among the acts on the bill that night: Journey, Santana, and Thin Lizzy. Sky Daniels and Mitch Michaels were on hand to introduce the bands. (Photos: Paul Natkin). The story of that magical day is told in The Loop Files.
Randy Richardson
=Three-time Eckhartz Press author (Lost in the Ivy, Cheeseland, Cubsessions) Randy Richardson certainly had a memorable day last week. This is pretty amazing...
=Randy's next book for us (Bobbleheading) comes out around MLB's Opening Day (even if they are on strike).
=Another book launch party coming up in a few weeks (August 22), for Russ Fahrner's Face Your Monster. It will be on August 22nd at Salerno's Pizza (1201 W. Grand Avenue, Chicago) from 1:30-3:30.
=The book is getting excellent reviews, like this one by Jack Gjeldum...
"Russ, I'm not sure that I could ever match the courage you displayed in battling your Monster. You attacked it with confidence and a plan that was truly admirable. I was reminded over and over just how easy my life is, and how I have taken it for granted. Your words will stick with me for a long, long time, and my hope is that when the day comes and I have to fight adversity, I will be a Russ Fahrner Warrior."
=This is always a good way to learn more about a book. Check out this peek behind the scenes with Slivers author Vicki Atkinson...
=By the way, Vicki has an event coming up too. She'll be part of a panel discussion at the Harper Bookmarks event (Schaumburg campus) on August 29. Admission is free, but you do need to register. Here's the flyer for that event...
=Jim Elsener appeared this weekend at the River Forest Public Library talking about his book Sirens in the Loop. This is what he posted on his Facebook page yesterday...
=Mitch Michaels is not just an Illinois Rock and Roll Hall of Famer for his incredible radio work at classic rock stations in Chicago like WLUP, WXRT, WKQK and WCKG, and not just an author for Eckhartz Press (Doin' the Cruise), he's also an audio book narrator. He dropped us a note about his latest project...
"I'm the narrator for the book 'Reach for the Stars', the book about the rock band M&R Rush. It's written by Jim Arvia, and they are offering an exclusive pre-sale package on their website
=No, it's not an Eckhartz Press book, but Mitch is our guy, and M&R Rush is an important midwestern band from rock's hey day. They were big supporters of Mitch's book when it came out (and even appeared at a few of his signings), so we thought we'd help them promote it.
=As for Doin' the Cruise, one of the most memorable passages of Mitch Michaels' Eckhartz Press book is about the crazy times he experienced in his WLUP days at ChicagoFest. That music festival debuted this week (August 8) in 1978. The cover photo for Mitch's book was taken there, on Navy Pier. Seems appropriate to post it as Chicago recovers from another Lollapalooza. ChicagoFest might have even been crazier back in the day.
=Eckhartz Press author Becky Sarwate is celebrating a birthday this week (August 8). In 2018 and 2019 she co-wrote two different editions of the book Cubsessions for us. Still one of our favorites. Have a great birthday, Becky!
Behind the Glass and Beyond the Glass
=Yes, Randy Merkin was a sports-radio producer, and yes, most of the stories in his book Behind the Glass are about sports figures. However, he also has at least one story about booking a guest who would become the president of the United States. That former president, Barack Obama, is celebrating a birthday this week (August 4).
=Randy's current book, Beyond the Glass, features another famous birthday boy (August 9), former World Series winning Chicago Cub Jason Heyward.
=We are currently working on a redesign of our website, and one of the things we want to do is showcase some of the great multi-media work of our authors. One of those is Truffle Hunt author Brent Petersen. Since his novel came out in 2015, Brent has gone on to build a foodie empire, with a website, travel guidebooks, and a podcast called Destination Eat Drink. Here's a great recent podcast interview: Brent interviews Dusty Baker about his Baker Family wine. Here's another one: Brent's 400th episode is an interview with Devo's Gerald Casele. He has a vineyard too.
=Eckhartz Press author Roger Badesch also dips his toes into the audio waters occasionally. This past weekend he was on WGN Radio with Dave Plier. They talked about Chicago's 77 neighborhoods. You can listen to that here.
What? You missed me on The #DavePlier Show on #WGNRadio? Time to correct that little mishap. Click the link, play the ‘tape’! https://t.co/uglwnvvL96
— Roger Badesch (@TeacherRB) August 1, 2026
=We sold a ton of Chili Dog MVP books in Cooperstown during the Hall of Fame induction weekend for Dick Allen last year. Thanks so much to Willis Monie books for hosting us multiple times over the weekend. We kept getting visits from White Sox royalty. Former Sox pitcher Tom Bradley (shown below with Doc Fletcher), former White Sox manager Chuck Tanner's son (shown below with John Owens), and the grandson of former White Sox owner John Allyn, Brian (shown below with Doc Fletcher)
Bob Sirott
=The WGN Radio morning host Bob Sirott has also been a big supporter of Eckhartz Press over the years. He endorsed the book Life Behind the Camera by Chuck Quinzio with these words...
Anyone in broadcasting will be fascinated by Chuck Quinzio’s TV and radio adventures. I thought I heard Chuck’s best stories during my time working with him in the TV news business, but he saved the best for this book! His writing talent makes it a great read for everybody.
=Bob also contributed several stories to John Landecker's book Records Truly is My Middle Name, and was interviewed by Randy Richardson & Becky Sarwate for Cubsessions. Bob also interviewed Rick Kaempfer about EveryCubEver. Sirott is celebrating a birthday this week (August 9). Happy birthday Bob!
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=Whitney Houston was born this week in 1963 (August 9). She appears in the Eckhartz Press book, The Flip Side. (That's Carl and Larry Rosenbaum flanking Whitney)
=Bob Conlon appeared on the Chicago Writes podcast. The interview was conducted shortly after the book came out, this week last year.
Life Behind the Camera
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=Happy birthday to Anthony Rizzo. The star first baseman, 3-time All-Star, and core leader of the 2016 World Series championship team is celebrating a birthday this week (August 9). He is featured in several different parts of EveryCubEver including the segment highlighting 10+ year Cubs. Of course, all anyone was talking about these past few weeks was this Rizzo moment in the bleachers.
=Another Cubs birthday boy, former pitcher Rich Nye (August 4), is one of only a handful of Cubs featured in EveryCubEver who have also had their photograph taken with the author of the book Rick Kaempfer.
Records Truly Is My Middle Name
=This week in 1997, five great movie trailer voice over artists debuted this video at the Hollywood Reporter Key Art Awards
=One of those five men, John Leader, is also featured in John Landecker's book Records Truly Is My Middle Name. The two Johns went to college together and worked in radio together in Michigan during their formative radio years. This photo is in the book.
=This week in 2013 (August 6), the Heidelberg American Middle School closed its doors for the final time. That school plays a critical role in Rick Kaempfer's novel Back in the DDR. One of the scenes at that school is featured here.
=Legendary Chicago newscaster Fahey Flynn was born (August 6, 1916) and died (August 8, 1983) this week in history. His longtime co-anchor Joel Daly delivered Fahey's eulogy. That entire moving eulogy is in the pages of Joel's Eckhartz Press book, The Daly News.
=This week in 2004 (August 8), the Dave Matthews band made headlines when their tour bus dumped a load of human waste into the Chicago River. Unfortunately, there was a boat tour going on directly under the bus at the time. Bobby Skafish got the first interview with Dave Matthews after that unfortunate incident. It rates a full chapter in Bobby's book We Have Company.
=When Janet Sutherland-Madden's mother passed away in 2019, one of her final wishes was to donate a hundred of Janet's books (Nose Over Toes) to the UIC Department of Neurosurgery. That wish was fulfilled this week in 2019 (August 5). The book is now being given out to patients who are afflicted with brain aneurysms. That's Janet with Dr. Konstantin Slavin.
=One of the very first signature shoes was worn by tennis star Rod Laver (born August 9). A decade later, basketball star Patrick Ewing (born August 5) debuted his own signature shoe. Both are featured in Ryan Trembath's book.
=This week in 2018 (August 9), Chet Coppock officially released his Eckhartz Press book Your Dime My Dance Floor. (Q&A with Chet). We had a book launch party in Arlington Heights, and it was like a trip down memory lane for Chet as his former co-workers came out to cheer him on. That's Mike Davis, Jim Modelski, and Tom Serritella. (Yes, that's the same Tom Serritella featured at the beginning of this column for his book launch party this coming weekend.)
=This week in 2018 (August 5), Eckhartz Press author Richard Reeder appeared on WCGO radio (Playtime with Bill Turck)... (Yes, that's the same Richard Reeder featured at the beginning of this column for his book launch party coming this weekend.)
Saturday, August 01, 2026
Monday, July 27, 2026
Publishing Portal--July 27, 2026
The latest news from Eckhartz Press, and a chance to peek into some of the great previous offerings from our humble little publishing company.
Our Newest Author!
=Welcoming Frank Mathie into the Eckhartz Press author stable...
=The other chance to meet an Eckhartz Press author will be in River Forest on August 1. Jim Elsener (Sirens in the Loop) will be appearing at the River Forest Public Library at 2pm. He'll be talking about the history of the City News Bureau of Chicago. (Photo: Jim and Eckhartz Press co-publisher David Stern)
=July 28 is Walter Jacobson's birthday. The legendary broadcaster got his start in the journalism business like many of his contemporaries, working for the City News Bureau of Chicago. Naturally, Walter is mentioned in the book Sirens in the Loop.
=Did you know he was also a Cubs bat boy in the 1950s?
Disembodied voices. Moving objects. Mind-reading. We jump right into Vicki Atkinson’s Slivers with her characters besieged by supernatural forces they don’t understand. The slivers are getting bolder; a terrible tension is building. With Atkinson’s “in-the-moment” storytelling, I felt it almost immediately.
Over one week in the summer of 1973, we see the three protagonists struggle against not only the slivers, but the emotional exposure of a terrible family secret shattering everything they once knew.
Slivers is a story of discovering one’s true identity. These characters can finally face the truth of who they are and their roles in protecting the ancient Hiraeth. There is magic and mysticism, and strong intuition at play.
As the story progresses, Slivers gave me writer Anne Rice vibes. Humans and entities finding a fragile peace and work to share a common ancient history. Love that! I enjoyed so many details of this highly creative storyline. I hope Atkinson continues on this track.
As a fan of supernatural stories, Slivers delivers.
=Got this note from The Best of Words on Birds author Jeff Reiter...
Last
Saturday my wife and I attended a big fundraising gala at the Chicago Four
Seasons — a benefit for the International Crane Foundation and also an 80th birthday
party for George Archibald. George is ICF's co-founder and he gave me a blurb
for the back of my book. One of my columns is about him ("Crane
Crusader," p 196). The event emcees were Bill Kurtis and Donna
LaPietra. The event raised $1.5 million for ICF! Below is
a photo of my wife (Catherine) and me with George. Notice Catherine's
crane jacket, which she made herself! George's tie is pretty cool,
too. All I could muster was an ICF lapel pin. I've been a member
and donor for many years. ICF is based in Baraboo, Wis, and is a truly a global
organization, dedicated to protecting the world's 15 species of cranes.
=Yes, it's true we didn't release an updated EveryCubEver this year. However, we are featuring Cubs Hall of Famers this year on their birthdays by posting their entries from the book. Two of them were born this week in history: Joe Tinker (July 27, 1890) & Leo Durocher (July 27, 1905).
Joe Tinker 1880–1948 (Cubs 1902-1912, 1916, Cubs manager 1916)
Tinker was the shortstop for the Cubs dynasty of 1906-1910, and he had many dramatic hits along the way, including the first homer ever hit in a World Series (1908). He was the big slugger from that dynasty era, leading the team in homers for the entire decade of the 00s (with 22). He also served as the player/manager for the Cubs in their first season at Wrigley Field (after serving in the same capacity in the first two seasons the ballpark was open — then with the Federal League Whales). Ironically, Tinker didn’t get along with his double-play mate Johnny Evers. What caused this unfortunate rift? According to Tinker, Evers started it because he ditched Tinker once and got a cab without him…which was of course unforgivable. They didn’t speak to each other for thirty years. After his playing days, Tinker became a wealthy businessman but lost it all in the stock market crash. Then in 1938, Tinker and Evers were asked to broadcast the World Series together. Both later admitted being more nervous about seeing each other again, than they were about their maiden broadcasting voyage. But when they saw each other, they smiled and hugged. They enjoyed a tearful reunion, and after that became friends once again. In 1946, they were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame together (along with the deceased Frank Chance). Evers died the following year, and Tinker the year after that. In death they are always remembered together, but in life, they spent most of their time apart.
Historical Note: On the day Colonel Tom Parker was born in the Netherlands (real name Andreas Van Kykjk) in 1909, Joe Tinker made history when he hit foul ball at West Side Grounds. It went over the roof and smashed a car windshield, the first recorded time a windshield was smashed by a baseball. There were only 300 cars in the entire city of Chicago at the time.
How did people really feel about Leo Durocher? A quote from Jack Brickhouse: “In the early days Leo was an SOB, but a sharp SOB. By the time he finished in Chicago he was just an old SOB.” Suffice it to say, Leo was not beloved. When he was a player, he once gave Babe Ruth a black eye. He was such a taunter that he was thrown at by Cubs pitchers…while he was in the dugout. And he didn’t suddenly become Mr. Nice Guy when he became the Cubs manager. He punished players that beat him at Gin Rummy (especially Ken Holtzman). He once ripped the phone out of the dugout in Houston and threw it onto the field because he was upset at a scoreboard cartoon (1965). He set up a folding chair in the dugout in 1967 so his buddy Frank Sinatra could watch the game from there. His third base coach walked out on him in the middle of a game (Pete Reiser). He left the team in June 1969 for his bachelor party, and blew off two more games to visit his new wife’s (Lynne Walker Goldblatt) kids in Wisconsin. Leo was fired in July of ’72. He was fired for the same reason he was fired everywhere else he had ever worked. He couldn’t zip his ever-famous lip. If ever a person deserved a nickname, it was Leo ‘The Lip’ Durocher.
=August 2, 2019 was a double media day for the book: a morning show in Elgin, then an evening appearance at Club 400 in Lake in the Hills with former Cubs reliever Pedro Strop.
=What a day last year (July 27) for your humble Chili Dog MVP team (authors John Owens and David Fletcher, photographer Ken Smoller, publishers Rick and Dave). We were in Cooperstown, New York, for the induction ceremony of Dick Allen, the subject of our book Chili Dog MVP. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 54 Hall of Famers were there, including Fergie Jenkins who helped our guys sell the book. What a weekend!
=Dr. Fletcher also appeared on Minutia Men Celebrity Interview.
=There was one sad note: While we were still in Cooperstown (July 28), we got word that Ryne Sandberg had passed away. We will always remember where we were when he heard that sad news. Of course, Ryno appears in several Eckhartz Press books, including Randy Merkin's Beyond the Glass.
=This week last year Mark Wukas appeared at a book club on the South Side for a dozen ladies who enthusiastically enjoyed The Kiss of Night. One of them even baked special cookies for the event.
=The Kiss of Night is now also selling at the Book Cellar in Lincoln Square (Chicago).
=Mike and Jeff Gentile's best explanation yet of what Mob Adjacent really means...
=Happy birthday (July 29) to Mob Adjacent co-author Mike Gentile. Mike is the elder Gentile brother.
=Tuesday (July 28) is Eckhartz Press co-founder Rick Kaempfer's birthday.
=On the tenth anniversary of his first novel's ($everance) release (August 1, 2017), Rick updated the "Who Owns What in the Media" section from the back of that book. Here's radio. Here's the rest of traditional media. Time for another update next year.
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=It's the anniversary (August 1, 1974) of a certain Chicago-themed song hitting #1 on the Top 40 charts. This song is also featured prominently in the pages of Doug E. Jones' novel Take Me Back to Chicago. If your Daddy was a cop, on the East Side of Chicago. Back in the USA. Back in the Bad Old Days. You'll surely love this one by Paper Lace.
=This week in 2018 (August 2), Eckhartz Press released retired Judge Michael Ian Bender's book Protecting Children. It provides unique insight into aiding children of divorce, custody, and parentage disputes so that they grow into healthy adults.
=Duane Scott Cerny owns one of Chicago's funkiest antique stores, and it inspired him to write the highly acclaimed Selling Dead People's Things. The book came out this week in 2017 (August 2). You can get a good feel for Duane's larger-than-life personality in this podcast interview. The man's an absolute stitch.
=This week in 2014, Bruce Bohrer had a book signing in one of the most obvious places imaginable, Murphy's Bleachers. Several of his old Cub-usher colleagues showed up to say hello. So did at least one former Cub, Rick Sutcliffe.
=One of the people featured in Chuck Swirsky's book Always a Pleasure is celebrating a birthday this week (July 28). Former Bulls coach and long-time basketball announcer Doug Collins is a Swirsky friend and confidant. Another famous basketballer is former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. It's his birthday this week too (July 31).
=Two of the people Chet Coppock wrote about in Your Dime My Dance Floor have birthdays this week. Neither of them were really sports people, although the late Irv Kupcinet (July 31) did do color commentary on Chicago Bears games (with Jack Brickhouse) for many years. Would you believe that Chet also knew Arnold Schwarzenegger (July 30)?
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=This week in 2019, two Eckhartz Press authors, Deb Tokarz and Janet Sutherland, appeared on the same radio show, Playtime with Bill Turck...
=This week in 2021, Chicago media writer Robert Feder wrote about Eckhartz Press author Margaret Larkin in his Daily Herald column. Here is what he wrote...
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=This week in 2021, Paul M. Banks was making the rounds promoting his soccer book Transatlantic Passage. One of the stops was the Sports Beezer show (July 28). The following day (July 29) he appeared on WGN-TV News with Larry Hawley.
=What on earth could tie these two books together? The answer is Steve Trout. The former Cubs pitcher appeared in the book Cubsessions, and We Have Company author Bobby Skafish came out to that massive book launch party. Here's a photo to prove it...
=Trout is celebrating a birthday this week (July 30). Three of the rock stars Bobby features in his book are also celebrating birthdays this week, Rat Scabies (July 30), Robert Cray (August 1), and Jim Capaldi (August 2).
=One of the most rewarding days in publishing is the day the author gets his or her first copy of their book. To Nudge the World's Jim Slusher had that moment this week in 2024. So what did he do with his first copy? Naturally, he gave it to his mom. Jim's mom passed away just a few months later, but she got to see her son become a published author. That's her in the photo below...
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=This week in 2013, we lost one of our authors, Felizitas Sudendorf. Her book about her courageous immigration to America was a big early hit for us. It was the only book we ever released on our imprint, Helgard Press. She combined war stories with old German recipes. It was a revelation. When she passed away, we wrote this tribute to her. We have since lost a few other authors including Tony Fitzpatrick, Chet Coppock, Joel Daly, Pat Colander, Dena Mendes, Alex Burkholder and Mark Gelinas. All of their books live on at Eckhartz Press.
