The latest news from Eckhartz Press, and a chance to peek into some of the great previous offerings from our humble little publishing company.
Two Important Film Debuts
=ReelChicago had a great piece last week about the film My Father Dick Allen, which emerged from the book Chili Dog MVP. You can read it here.
=As mentioned in the article above, this coming weekend the entire Chili Dog MVP gang (including publishers Rick and Dave) are heading to Denver for SeriesFest 2026 for the worldwide debut of the film. It will be seen by all of the important movers and shakers in the business.
=Chili Dog MVP authors David Fletcher and John Owens had a memorable weekend last year at this time. They spent the day at Comiskey Park with Dick Allen's family. The White Sox honored Dick's upcoming induction into the Hall of Fame with Dick Allen Bobblehead Night!
=This week in 2022, Andy Masur interviewed Chili Dog MVP co-author John Owens (photo) on his podcast. That podcast is right here if you'd like to hear it.
=Last Wednesday night, Mob Adjacent (the film) made it's debut in New York City. Here's the note that co-author Jeff Gentile sent us...
Thrilling night. After 15 months, we finally got to see a private screening of the finished film. L-R: Me, @lucia_giannetta (Mary Ann), Anthony DeSando (Mike Sr.), Jonah Mussoloni (movie me) @jimmypiraino (movie Michael), and real Michael. The audience was wonderfully receptive. They laughed where we needed them to laugh and gave us a arousing round of applause after each of the three screenings.
Mark Your Calendar for Six Big Upcoming Events
=Flip Side owners and authors (and brothers) Carl & Larry Rosenbaum are making a rare appearance as a duo (Carl lives in AZ) this Friday May 8th at the North Shore Senior Center (161 Northfield Rd. in Northfield) at 1pm. They're going to do a talk followed by a book signing/selling. If you've never seen them before, you're missing out. They are an entertaining duo with some truly incredible stories.
=Nick Digilio has two big events coming up. The first one is next Wednesday May 13th at Classic Cinema's Lake Theater in Oak Park. He'll be signing and selling his book there, of course, but he's also presenting a showing of the classic comedy Stripes (starring Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, and John Candy).
=Randy Merkin will have a book launch party on Thursday May 14th at Claim Company in Northbrook (776 Skokie Boulevard) between 7-9pm. Come get your copy of Beyond the Glass! The book launch party for Randy's first book Behind the Glass was a star-studded one, and this one certainly will be too. Take a look at one of the endorsements from the back cover...
My relationship with Randy goes back over 20 years. I have always admired his professionalism and attention to detail each time we’ve worked together. What truly stands out about Randy, though, is the human side. A simple congratulatory message or birthday wish from him is always appreciated and goes a long way. Randy is a true pro’s pro!
=On Thursday May 28 from 6:30-8pm, Vicki Atkinson is hosting her book launch party for Slivers. Slivers is a supernatural novel set in a grand old house, so naturally the book launch party will be at the Barrington White House (145 W. Main Street, Barrington). If the launch party to her first book Surviving Sue is any pre-cursor, prepare for a full house. Vicki will also do a reading from the book.
=Last week Vicki did her first interview for Slivers. She appeared on this podcast hosted by Wynne Leon. If you listen to the podcast you'll hear what a great interview subject Vicki can be. Any media types interested in interviewing her can drop us a line (rick@eckhartzpress.com) to book her.
More events are coming. Our June calendar is already filling up. More info in the coming weeks.
Happy Birthday!
=Eckhartz Press author Ken Smoller is celebrating a birthday this week (May 6). Ken's book Last Comiskey is one of our best sellers from 2024!
=Eckhartz Press author Bruce Bohrer (Best Seat in the House) has a birthday today (May 4). Happy birthday to one of our first (and most prolific authors--he also co-wrote Embrace Retirement and Chicago: The Great Retirement Resource for us)
Cubsessions, Cheeseland, Lost in the Ivy
=Not many authors have written three books for us, but Randy Richardson is another one of them. (He has a fourth one on the way too). Randy is not only the president of the Chicago Writers Association, he's also a guy who seems to get awarded something everywhere he goes. It happened again just last week at his alma mater in Normal, Illinois.
=Some of the biggest fans of the book Sirens in the Loop are people who actually worked at City News Bureau, which is the subject of the book. We are very proud of that because it means the authors got it right. Many of these journalists are legends in the business. For instance, John Gorman worked at the Tribune for 26 years. During those years he was the first reporter on hand at the house of John Wayne Gacy in 1978 when police began finding bodies in the crawl space. Gorman has also written a few books. And he learned his craft as a member of the City News Bureau from September 1972-April 1974. Here's the review of Sirens in the Loop from John...
“Sirens” stirred up a pot of golden memories for this old CNB alum, but also some humbling ones. Glad to read old friend and Dirksen competitor Bunny Drell had fond memories of me doing the rewrite boot camp drill on her. Many of the vignettes hit home, but also explained many personal CNB experiences. Elsener does a masterful job of weaving some of his experiences into the larger tapestry of City News history. Paul and Larry must be smiling down as we alums laugh and cry recounting our shared educations rammed into our ignorant brains by bullying editors and rewrite men and women. Kudos to all contributors, especially to Elsener (photo below).
=By the way, happy birthday to another CNB alum, former Chicago Tribune, New York Times, CBS News correspondent and author Bill Geist (May 10).
=If you watch Stephen Colbert on CBS 2 in Chicago (which is sadly ending soon), you've probably seen the ads for the Museum of Broadcast Communications. The ad ends with a mention of the Loop exhibit. That exhibit, of course, was curated by the author of The Loop Files, Rick Kaempfer. You can pick up a copy of the book there. Also take a look at the blown up poster of The Loop Files cover. It's autographed by more than 50 people who worked at the Loop.
=This week in 2024 (May 11), The Loop Files came to Pollyana Brewing Company in Roselle! It was like a Loop Reunion. (L-R: Ed "Edwardo" Williams, Jimmy Mac McInerney, Jeff Hoover, Piranha Man, Rick, Brendan Sullivan, Wendy Snyder, Tom Seritella)
=Axios Chicago also posted an interview with author Rick Kaempfer.
The Sun at the End of the Road
=One of the people featured in the Loop exhibit at the Museum of Broadcast Communications is Tony Fitzpatrick. The calendar this week offers us two excuses to dip into Tony Fitzpatrick's incredible Eckhartz Press book The Sun at the End of the Road.
=May 5, 1934, Montrose Harbor was finally completed in Chicago. Tony wrote an ode to the harbor in the book, one of his favorite birding locations.
=Also, May 10, 1962, the first Hulk comic was released. Tony was mildly obsessed with the Hulk, and writes about it in the book. He has also done several pieces of art in tribute to the Hulk including this one...
Records Truly Is My Middle Name
=This week in 1976 one of the most memorable moments in John Landecker's book Records Truly is My Middle Name occurred. John and his friend John Travolta appeared at Woodfield Mall expecting to encounter a few hundred fans. Instead there were 20,000+. You can listen to that bit here. It's outstanding.
=Our authors don't just write books. They are multi-media stars, and their writing is often bold and thought provoking. Take Safe Inside author Lee Kingsmill, for example. His blog Me Now often dips into the world of entertainment. If you've read Safe Inside, you know how much Lee loves classic films. This week he posted a brilliant review of Hitchcock's films, in which he analyzed the director's casting choices and relationships.
=This week in 2019, Janet Sutherland appeared on the Radio Health Journal, a program that is syndicated to over 500 radio stations in America. That's her with the show's executive producer, Reed Pence.
=This week in 2016, Pat Colander appeared on Rick Kogan's show on WGN Radio discussing her book Hugh Hefner's First Funeral. You can listen to that interview here.
=This week (May 7) is WGN-TV's Dina Bair's birthday. Dina was a big supporter of our book The Living Wills. She interviewed authors Rick Kaempfer and Brendan Sullivan on the midday show at WGN, and offered this review of the book...
This is so terrific and so creative! I was laughing out loud and I was crying. You absolutely have to pick up this book and read it. It’s wonderful.
=This week (May 10) is also Larry Hawley's birthday. He had author Paul M. Banks on his television show, and offered this review of his book...
“Paul is as versatile of a sports journalist as I’ve ever met in my career, covering a wide variety of sports. This exploration of the growth of ‘The Beautiful Game’ in America and its emergence in the country’s mainstream culture serves as another testament to his universal sports expertise.”
=Bobby Skafish's great book about his many interviews with rock stars is also chockful of photos. One of them is celebrating a birthday this week. Here's Alex Van Halen (May 8) with Bobby...
=This week in 1976, German terrorist Ulrike Meinhof was found hanged in her prison cell. That event was woven into the pages of Back in the DDR. Rick featured that excerpt on his blog.
=Chet Coppock often entertained counter-intuitive positions about the sports heroes of his lifetime. Sonny Liston (born May 8) was one of them. Liston was considered a villain in his day, but Chet always rooted for him. He explains the reasons why in Your Dime My Dance Floor.
Rantings of a Bitter Childless Woman
=This week in 2016, we released Rantings of a Bitter Childless Woman by Jeanne Bellezzo. Here's a Q&A with the author the week the book came out.
=This week in 2017, we signed author Bob Shannon (photo). He wrote the book Turn it Up for us. One of the chapters is about this week's birthday boy, the legendary announcer Gary Owens (May 10).
The Balding Handbook
=This week in 1977 was very important in the history of the combover. The Balding Handbook chronicled this momentous event. The book is no longer in print, but this free excerpt lives on.
=The 7th edition of EveryCubEver is still flying off the shelves. Get your copy today. This one includes more than 200 classic photographs.
=This week in 2019 was a big week for EveryCubEver. Rick got the official approval of the book from Cubs owner Tom Ricketts at a Cubs game on May 6, and then two days later Rick appeared on stage participating in the musical "Miracle"...
