The latest news from Eckhartz Press, and a chance to peek into some of the great previous offerings from our humble little publishing company.
Happy Birthday!
=Randy Richardson has written three books for Eckhartz Press, Cheeseland, Lost in the Ivy, and Cubsessions. This week is his birthday (November 21). Have a great one, Randy!
=Fellow author Robert Walker is also celebrating a birthday this week (November 17). Here's what Walker had to say about Randy's novel Cheeseland...
Cheeseland’ is a novel that touches the reader; a novel about life, death, and how we choose to live our lives…how we want the dash between the dates on our tombstone to resonate.
=Thanks to everyone who came out to Eric Litt's book launch party last Tuesday night in Skokie. Great crowd. Enthusiastic support for a fun book about movies you might have missed the first time around. (Photo: Eric and Eckhartz Press co-publisher David Stern)
=Next up, we have another launch party scheduled for Dan McNeil's new book I Bear Witness. Dan will be at Bridges in Griffith Indiana signing and selling his book. The date is November 30th. The time is 1-4pm. Join us for an afternoon of fun and football.
=Our newest book, The Flip Side, is coming out in a few weeks, but is already available for pre-order. One of the great features of this book is the incredible selection of photographs. There are nearly a hundred photos from those heady rock and roll days. The cover photo of the original store is a great example. So is this photo from this week (November 19) of Tommy Shaw doing an in-store appearance at The Flip Side, and the illustration of this week's birthday boy (November 23), Flip Side's Mr. Cheap, Jeff Schwartz.
=Are you part of a book club? Remember that most Eckhartz Press authors are happy to come to your book club if it can fit into their schedules. For instance, To the Men I've Loved author Pat Motto just did a book club recently. There's nothing like getting a chance to speak to the author directly.
=One of the men mentioned in Patricia Motto's book To the Men I've Loved is former White Sox (and later Cub) player Jay Johnstone. (Jay was born this week-- November 20, 1945). This photo of Pat with Jay and Wilbur Wood is in the book. Note the autograph from Jay...
Staying Alive is a Lot of Work
=Author Pat Camalliere was interviewed by David W. Berner for his podcast The Writer's Shed. Pat has transcribed the conversation here on her blog.
=Last year at this time the publicity machine was beginning to roll for The Loop Files. One of the stars of that book, Steve Dahl, is celebrating a birthday this week (November 20). Happy birthday to the Radio Hall of Famer. Here's a few bonus pictures of Steve (with Jim Belushi and John Belushi) that didn't make it into the book. (Photos by Paul Natkin)
=This week in 2013 (November 18), Chuck Quinzio had the book launch party for his book Life Behind the Camera. A Who's Who of Chicago television news attended the function in Mount Prospect. Here's a sampling of them...Dane Placko, Dick Kay, Joanie Lum, Paul Meinke, Phil Rodgers.
=This week in 2021 (November 18), Randy Merkin had his book launch party as well. In his case it was a Who's Who of Sports Radio that attended. Here's a sampling of them...Jonathan Hood, Tom Waddle, Marc Silverman (with Eckhartz Press co-publisher Rick Kaempfer).
=This week in 2016, Bobby Skafish was on the road promoting his book We Have Company. He made an appearance on the Northwest Side of Chicago (November 17), and also traveled to his home state of Indiana (November 19).
=This week in 2015 (November 23), Pat Colander had a book signing at her friend Bruce Elliot's great bar, Old Town Ale House. If you've never been, you owe yourself a visit. The artwork on the walls is all original work by Bruce himself. You can see a sampling of it behind Lois Berger, Pat Colander, and Bruce Elliot in the photo below...
=This week in 2021 (November 17), Chili Dog MVP writers John Owens and Dr. David Fletcher got some great news about their book. Robert Feder reported the news in the Daily Herald...
A new book about the late Chicago White Sox legend Dick Allen has just been optioned for a documentary film. Chili Dog MVP: Dick Allen, The 1972 White Sox and a Transforming Chicago, soon to be published by Chicago-based Eckhartz Press, was written by John Owens and Dr. David Fletcher and edited by veteran sportswriter, baseball historian and author George Castle. (Here is the link to order.) “We look back at this unique time in Chicago history, when the arrival of a controversial slugger lifted the Sox out of a daunting hole and united a fractious fan base during a time when Chicago was going through tremendous changes,” said Owens, a longtime producer and president of the Chicago/Midwest chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
=We could feature EveryCubEver every week (someone in that book is celebrating a birthday every day), but we choose to be a bit more judicious. This week (November 18), Cubs radio announcer (and former Cub) Ron Coomer is celebrating a birthday. A few years ago he was kind enough to invite Eckhartz Press authors Rick Kaempfer and Bobby Skafish into the booth during a game. This photo is now in the book, EveryCubEver...
=A copy of the book now resides in the booth...
=This week in 2017 (November 19), Mitch Michaels appeared at the Chicagoland Record Show to promote his book Doin' The Cruise. Who did he run into there? Fellow author, rock star Jim Peterik. Jim is actually mentioned in Mitch's book. Small world.
=This week in 2019, Larry Potash from Channel 9 did an entire feature about Mob Adjacent authors Michael & Jeff Gentile for his show Back Story. You can still see it here.
=The best quarterback in Chicago history, Sid Luckman, was born this week (November 21) in 1916. He was a frequent guest on Chet Coppock's radio show, so naturally when it came time for Chet to write a book, Sid was one of the featured athletes.
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Records Truly Is My Middle Name
=Every Baby Boomer can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing on November 22, 1963, the day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated. John Landecker is no different. He tells the story in his book Records Truly Is My Middle Name. Here's the free excerpt from the book.
=This week (November 22) is Steven Van Zandt's birthday. The E-Street Band guitarist collaborated with Eckhartz Press author Ken Korber to put out Grace's Rockin' Roll Adventure. The adventure is a trip to see Little Steven perform. Here's what the subject of the book had to say about it...
“We’ve reached hundreds of thousands of students with our free online curriculum, but we know there are kids without devices or good wifi, and that even if they have both, that remote learning is hardest on the youngest students. That’s why we’re doing this book the old-fashioned way, on paper!”
=This week in 2011 (November 22), Robert Feder wrote a piece in Time Out Chicago about our first book ever, The Living Wills. This is what he wrote...
“Two former Chicago radio producers, Rick Kaempfer and Brendan Sullivan, have co-written The Living Wills, a novel about “a split-second decision made 30 years ago and the ripple effects it caused.” Harnessing the power of collaborative creativity, the two improvised the book’s three interweaving story lines. Set for release December 1 by Eckhartz Press, it’s available online at eckhartzpress.com. Kaempfer, whose previous novel, $everance, was a brilliant satire about the radio business, also writes an impressive series of blogs, including the Chicago Radio Spotlight.”
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Close Encounters of a Chicago Kind
=Notice the blurb on the cover of The Living Wills above. It's recommended by Chicago Tribune writer Rick Kogan. That was in 2011. This week in 2022 (November 22), Rick also wrote a wonderful piece in the Tribune about Vicki Quade and her Eckhartz Press book Close Encounters of a Chicago Kind. You can read it here. (Photo: Rick Kogan and Vicki Quade)
=Illinois Congressman Sean Casten is celebrating a birthday this week (November 23). Sean has met with Eckhartz Press author Janet Sutherland to talk about her support of Brain Aneurysm research. Casten even gave Janet an award at this year's Brain Aneurysm walk.
=This week in 2022 (November 23), The Northwest Indiana Times featured Chuck Swirsky and his Eckhartz Press book, Always a Pleasure. You can read it here.
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