The latest news from Eckhartz Press, and a chance to peek into some of the great previous offerings from our humble little publishing company.
13 Author Appearances This Week!
WHO: Robert Conlon (Celtic Knot)
WHERE: The Book Cellar (4736 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago)
WHEN: Wednesday, September 9, 6:30pm
WHO: Nick Digilio (40 Years, 40 Films)
WHERE: Classic Cinema's Lake Theater (1022 Lake Street Oak Park)
WHEN: Wednesday, September 9, 7pm
Nick will be screening the Marx Brothers film Duck Soup
PRINTERS ROW LIT FEST--September 12, 13
(Look for this tent to find our Eckhartz Press authors. Full list below)
WHO: Vicki Atkinson (Slivers, Surviving Sue)
WHERE: Printers Row Lit Fest, CWA Tent
WHEN: Saturday, September 12, 10am--12:30pm
WHO: Robert Conlon (Celtic Knot)
WHERE: Printers Row Lit Fest, CWA Tent
WHEN: Saturday, September 12, 10am--12:30pm
WHO: Gloria Golec (South Side Memories)
WHERE: Printers Row Lit Fest, CWA Tent
WHEN: Saturday, September 12, 12:30-3pm
WHO: Maria Pappas (Maria the Pappas)
WHERE: Printers Row Lit Fest, North Stage (South Dearborn)
WHEN: Saturday, September 12, 1pm (interview), 2pm (signing)
.jpg)
WHO: Randy Richardson (Cheeseland, Lost in the Ivy, Cubsessions)
WHERE: Printers Row Lit Fest
WHEN: Saturday, September 12, 2pm
WHO: Michelle Fitzpatrick (The Sun At the End of the Road)
WHERE: Printers Row Lit Fest, CWA Tent
WHEN: Saturday, September 12, 3-6pm
Michelle is Tony Fitzpatrick's widow
WHO: Tom Serritella (The 12 Steps)
WHERE: Printers Row Lit Fest, CWA Tent
WHEN: Sunday, September 13, 10am-Noon
WHO: Jim Slusher (To Nudge the World)
WHERE: Printers Row Lit Fest, CWA Tent
WHEN: Sunday, September 13, 12pm-2pm
WHO: Samantha Hoffman (Write City Review)
WHERE: Printers Row Lit Fest
WHEN: Sunday, September 13, 2pm
WHO: Nick Digilio (40 Years, 40 Films)
WHERE: Printers Row Lit Fest, CWA Tent
WHEN: Sunday, September 13, 2-4pm
WHO: Robert "Wilbur" Williams (Bubble Boy)
WHERE: Printers Row Lit Fest, CWA Tent
WHEN: Sunday, September 13, 4-6pm
Next week...
WHO: Robert Conlon (Celtic Knot)
WHERE: University of South Carolina (his alma mater)
WHEN: Friday, September 18, 10am--3:30pm
WHO: Dr. David Fletcher and John Owens (Chili Dog MVP)
WHERE: Boston Film Festival, Emerson Paramount Theater
WHEN: Saturday, September 19, 4pm
Screening the film, My Father, Dick Allen
WHO: Nick Digilio (40 Years, 40 Horror Films)
WHERE: Midway Drive In, Dixon, IL
WHEN: Saturday, September 19th, Dawn to Dusk
Book launch party/and drive in horror film festival
Also in September...
WHO: Janet Sutherland (Nose Over Toes)
WHERE: McCormick Place Chicago
WHEN: September 27, 8:00am registration, 9:00am run, 9:15am walk
The 2026 Brain Aneurysm Run/Walk
In case you missed it
=A momentous Labor Day weekend for the Chili Dog MVP crew. They were in Little Rock, Arkansas, as the Arkansas Travelers retired Dick Allen's number. They also showed the Arkansas portion of the documentary My Father, Dick Allen to the crowd via the scoreboard. Amazing moment for the family...
=Richard Reeder had a huge night last week at Max & Benny's in Northbrook. Richard has been doing author interviews in that large back room for years--but this time he was the subject.
=Jim Elsener was in Michigan this past week, telling tales from Sirens in the Loop...
.jpg)
.jpg)
The latest Chicago Media Report introduces the new weekend sports anchor at NBC 5 Chicago and explores Chuck Swirsky’s 50 years of high-energy sports talk. https://t.co/TONxk3R2Cd
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) September 2, 2026
We are proud to share that Broken Mary: The Kevin Matthews Story has been nominated for the 2026 Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Achievement for Documentary
— Kevin Matthews (@Whatareyougoofy) September 4, 2026
- Produced by: ODB Films/Family Theater Productions pic.twitter.com/NHqfuE4w5W
Happy birthday!
=Two Eckhartz Press author birthdays this week...
=Eckhartz Press co-publisher and author (The Balding Handbook) David Stern is celebrating a birthday this week (September 12). Here he is making that announcement to the press...
=Two Hall of Fame Cubs named Frank were born on September 9. Frank Chance (1876) and Frankie Frisch (1897). Here are their entries from EveryCubEver...
=Frank Chance 1876-1924 (Cubs 1898-1912)
His teammates called him “The Peerless Leader.” (Sometimes they just shortened it to “PL”). Chance was the undisputed leader of the best Cubs team in history, the Cubs of the 1900s. He was also a hell of a player. He led the league in runs once, stolen bases twice, and hit an amazing .421 in the 1908 World Series. With the Peerless Leader at the helm, the Cubs won four pennants and two World Series titles. He allowed the boys to have their fun (he usually bought drinks and played cards with them), but in exchange he expected them to shut down the festivities at midnight the night before games, and to play their hardest during the games. He led by example. Anyone who wondered how to perform merely needed to watch the way Chance fiercely defended his turf and teammates. James J. Corbett, heavyweight champ, called him “one of the best amateur fighters I`ve ever seen.” One time he provoked a riot by punching out Giants pitcher Joe McGinnity at the Polo Grounds. Another time he threw a bottle into the stands at fans in Brooklyn. He was so unafraid in the batter’s box he was beaned more times than any player of his era, and more times than any other Cubs player in history. (Complications from those beanings eventually ended his career and probably shortened his life). Ernest Hemingway was a Cubs fan as a boy, and he recalled in a letter to a friend that watching Chance at the end of his career was very difficult for the fans. He no longer could move out of the way when those beanballs came his way. Chance and his double play mates (Tinker and Evers) were inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1946. Unfortunately for Frank, he had already been dead for 22 years.
Historical Note: On the day the U.S. declared war against Spain in 1898, Frank Chance made his big league debut.
=Frankie Frisch 1898–1973 (Cubs manager 1949-1951)
=One of the people featured in Chuck Swirsky's book is former White Sox announcer Jason Benetti (Sept 9)
=One of Rich King's (Ike & Me) longtime colleagues at WGN-TV is Jackie Bange. This photo appears in the book...
George Kelly 1895–1984 (Cubs 1930)
Rollicking and real on so many levels, ‘The Living Wills’ is a captivating collaboration by two immensely talented writers. I hope this team keeps at it for keeps
“A fascinating book…a fascinating read. Mob Adjacent will open your eyes. The stories are true and genuine and heartfelt, and there’s a real honesty in this book.”
“I guarantee that the most excitement you’ll find — short of a World Series win on either side of town — is in the 400-some pages of “Chili Dog MVP: Dick Allen, the ‘72 White Sox and a Transforming Chicago” from publisher Eckhartz Press.”
“You may think you know Roger Badesch (The Unplanned Life) if you have listened over the years to his exact and artful news reports on radio, but between the covers of this book you will find so much more–a man of great depth, many passions and skills. His is a wonderful life that you can now share.”
=Tom Dreesen (above) was incredibly helpful in the earlier days of Eckhartz Press as well. He contributed to two of Randy Richardson's books (Lost in the Ivy and Cubsessions). He was interviewed and rates his own chapter in Cubsessions, and for Lost in the Ivy he contributed this review of the book...
This book is not just for Cub fans but for all who love a great story. It’s a wonderful read. Enjoy! I know I did.
“Lou Macaluso has captured the very soul and spirit of a man that I thought I knew and loved. Now I know so much more and wish I could have my friend back for one more conversation.
=Bruce Wolf (below) contributed to the Eckhartz Press book The Loop Files.
=Moby rates a chapter and a photo in Bobby Skafish's book, We Have Company.
September 13
=The late singer Eddie Money appeared on John Landecker's show, and then later, in photograph form--in John's book, Records Truly Is My Middle Name.
=A year ago this week Jeff Reiter held his book launch party at Cantigny. It was a big hit right out of the box.
=This week last year: Big Mike on Minutia Men Celebrity Interview. He was great.
This week's interview has been posted. The always colorful Mike Gentile, co-author of Mob Adjacent. The man can tell a story. https://t.co/R6mGWePOM7
— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) September 3, 2025
=Mark Wukas was the Belle of the Ball at last year's Printers Row Lit Fest. He participated in a center-stage discussion about Chicago novels on Saturday, and signed books for two hours at the Midland Author Society tent.
=This week in 2019 (September 10), just a few months after the release of the first edition of EveryCubEver, the Chicago Writer's Association featured an interview with the book's author, Rick Kaempfer. That interview covered his books, his podcasts, his media career and more. You can read it here.
=Also, these photos were taken this week in 1999 (Sept 8). Rick with his wife Bridget, and two boys Tommy & Johnny (a third one, Sean, arrived three years later), and Rick walking with his two boys in Wrigleyville. The photos appear in the pages of EveryCubEver.
=This week in 2018, our dear departed friend Chet Coppock appeared on the Channel 7 show Windy City Live. Here are a few photos from that day...
=This week in 2017, Mitch Michaels hosted a radio promotion called The River Prom in Naperville. Yes, it was a prom for grown ups. Mitch also got a chance to pitch his book there, Doin' the Cruise, which definitely appealed to the River Prom crowd. His program director at the time was there to strangle him, not the first PD that wanted to do that.
=This week in 2017 (September 8), the state of Indiana declared John Records Landecker Day in honor of Eckhartz Press author John Landecker. The event was held in Michigan City Indiana, and Eckhartz Press publisher (and co-author of John's book) Rick Kaempfer was asked to speak there. It was a great day for Landecker. The governor of Indiana bestowed upon John the Sagamore of the Wabash award, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a citizen of the state.
=This week in 2017, Joel Daly made his last public appearance for Eckhartz Press discussing his book The Daly News. He came out to Des Plaines and spoke to a crowd at the Frisbie Senior Center. The crowd loved hearing Joel's stories. Sadly, he passed away not too long after that, but Joel's memory lives on at Eckhartz Press.
=This week in 2016 (September 8), Bobby Skafish appeared on WGN Radio to talk about his book We Have Company. It was a great conversation with his old pals and colleagues Bill Leff and Wendy Snyder.
=This week in 2014, Asst. Professor Lori Oster (Oakton College) released her textbook I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie, a guide to help readers transform their ways of thinking about text. What started as basic handouts for Oster’s students has evolved into a time-tested approach to helping high school and college students develop the reading skills they need to be successful both in the classroom, and out.
=Our Eckhartz Press authors come from all walks of life. We have lawyers, musicians, radio and television personalities, athletes, clergy, salesmen, doctors, journalists, playwrights, comedians, artists, and quite a few educators. One of the educators is Dr. Vicki Atkinson, who worked with distinction for years at Harper College. A few years ago she was named a distinguished alum. There was even a video...
=On September 10, 1992, Ray Hickok, founder of the Young President's Organization passed away. His successor Scott Mordell was a big fan of Andrew Langert's book A Man, A Mission, A Miracle. Here's what he wrote about it....
The book resonated with me very much. I attended a Lasallian Christian Brothers high school in Detroit. While I had a general understanding of the education mission, I found the deeper information here added color to my own experience.
Brother James is certainly a fascinating leader and role model. Even your listing of his personal interests was insightful. I have never experienced someone that would list prayer, meditation and reflection as a personal interest (more often someone states it as “their practice”). It is also telling about someone that states building a friend and relationship network as a personal interest too. How human, and essential for a quality life.
In all, it is clear in the text this was a labor of love for you. I admire the manner in which you integrated the Lewis University information and story with the biographical aspects of Brother James.
Very readable all the way though.
–
And finally...
=On September 11, 1961, the first Bozo Circus show aired on WGN-TV. That show is a major part of the plot from Doug E. Jones' exciting novel, Take Me Back to Chicago. If you'd like to see the Bozo buckets, by the way, they are currently on display at the Museum of Broadcast Communications--not far from the exhibit honoring The Loop radio station (curated by The Loop Files author Rick Kaempfer)
