The latest news from Eckhartz Press, and a chance to peek into some of the great previous offerings from our humble little publishing company.
National Woman's Month
=March is National Woman's month, and we wouldn't be where we are today without the contributions of our female authors. We've published more than 20 books written by talented women, including three Pats (Pat Camalliere, Pat Motto, Pat Colander ) and two Vickis (Vicki Atkinson, Vicki Quade), plus Jeanne Bellezzo, M.L Collins, Jessica Hagy, Beth Jacobellis, Judy Ann Jamerson, Margaret Larkin, Lauren LoGiudice, Deena Mendes, Kristin Oakley, Lori Oster, Becky Sarwate, Maggie Smith, Kim Strickland, Felitzitas Sudendorf, Janet Sutherland (who won a children's book award this week), Deb Tokarz, and Ann R. Wilson. We can't thank them enough.
=Dan McNeil was making the rounds in his native Northwest Indiana this past week. He appeared on the Tom Lounges radio show on Tuesday night, then made a few library appearances in Highland and Merrillville this past weekend. Thanks so much to everyone who came out!
=This week (March 5) is also the birthday of former Bears quarterback Justin Fields. Dan McNeil wrote about Fields in I Bear Witness.
=This week is Flip Side week in Northwest Indiana. Author Ken Churilla is also a native of the area, and tomorrow night (Tuesday) he'll be on with Tom Lounges. The interview/music program airs live from 7-8pm Central and can be streamed live in real time on the station website at: www.lakeshorepublicmedia.org.
=He'll then will make treks to the two local libraries on Saturday March 8th. Details below.
=If you haven't seen it yet, the March issue of Illinois Entertainer is out and includes an interview with Flip Side co-owner (and author) Larry Rosenbaum.
=The Flip Side is still getting great reviews. Click on this one below to read it.
=Big event this week for Chili Dog...
🚨 Join Chicago SABR for a special Dick Allen Hall of Fame celebration 3/8/25 at 10:00 am at the Elmhurst Public Library 🚨
— SABRChicago (@SABRChicago) February 22, 2025
We will review Allen’s career, visit his hometown of Wampum, PA, and speak with authors John Owens and Dr. David Fletcher, along with Richard Allen Jr. pic.twitter.com/C2vYqGd4jt
=Of course, there's a reason that date was chosen. Dick Allen, the star of the book Chili Dog MVP, was born March 8,1942. Chili Dog MVP was released on his birthday in 2022. This summer Dick will be inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame and the entire Chili Dog MVP crew will be on hand to witness the festivities
=Last Comiskey author Ken Smoller will be there too. He's now the official photographer of the Dick Allen Hall of Fame celebration.
=Two of the people Ken features in Last Comiskey are celebrating birthdays this week as well. Former White Sox pitchers Scott Radinsky (March 3) and Wayne Edwards (March 7).
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=The lucky 250 early purchasers of The Kiss of Night will begin receiving their autographed copies in the coming days. For the rest of you, we have some good news. Author Mark Wukas has scheduled his official Book Launch party. Come one, come all. It will be on Saturday April 5th, from 1-3pm at is/was brewing in the tap room at 5121 N. Ravenswood in Chicago.
=Two Loopers are celebrating birthdays this week, Laura Witek (March 4) and Scott Dirks (March 5). Both tell great stories in the book, including the stories behind these photos.
=NBC news anchor Lester Holt made news this week when he announced he will soon be stepping down from that show. This week's birthday boy (March 8) is also featured in the pages of Rich King's book Ike & Me.
=Rick Kaempfer is hard at work on the 7th edition of EveryCubEver, which should be coming out around opening day in Chicago. In the meantime, he has been posting daily EveryCubEver profiles on the Just One Bad Century facebook page and his personal Blue Sky page. Here's an example from last week...
EveryCubEver. Grover Cleveland Alexander. His 373 wins are the third most in baseball history. His story was told in the film The Winning Team, starring Ronald Reagan. Grover remains the only player in baseball history to be named after a president, and portrayed in a movie by a president.
— Rick Kaempfer (@rickkaempfer.bsky.social) February 26, 2025 at 11:36 AM
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=Author Bobby Skafish was making the publicity rounds this week in 2017 talking about his Eckhartz Press book We Have Company: Four Decades of Rock and Roll Encounters. Among his appearances, a visit to WCIU-TV's morning show.
=Legendary Bears safety Doug Plank celebrates a birthday this week (March 4). This is what he had to say about Your Dime My Dance Floor author Chet Coppock...
"When I think of Chicago sports, I think of Chet Coppock. Chet is everywhere and he knows everyone. He has done everything there is to do in sports reporting and broadcasting."
=Janet Guthrie is a trailblazing female race car driver. Her birthday is March 7. Chet Coppock got to know Guthrie during his days in Indianapolis, and wrote about her in Your Dime My Dance Floor.
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=This week in 2020, Roger Badesch's book The Unplanned Life became available for the first time via pre-sale. It immediately garnered praise from the dean of Chicago media. (Photo: L-R: Rick Kaempfer, Roger Badesch, Rick Kogan)
“You may think you know Roger Badesch 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.”
Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, WGN Radio
=Chuck Quinzio's harrowing tale of his life as a TV News cameraman has fans from across the spectrum, including Rob Reiner, who is celebrating a birthday this week (March 6)
=Chicago media critic Robert Feder wrote that one of the highlights of Joel Daly's memoir The Daly News was the inclusion of a few examples of his nightly commentaries from the Channel 7 News in the 1970s. One of those was delivered on the air this week (March 8) in 1972. You can read that free excerpt from Joel's book here.
=On March 7, 2013, The Living Wills became the first Eckhartz Press book to be used in a high school's literature curriculum. Co-author Brendan Sullivan was on hand at Marist High School the day it was introduced at the school.
=Pat Colander's book would go on to become the CWA Book of the Year in 2016. One of the book's biggest fans was Saturday Night Live alumnus Tim Kazurinsky, who is celebrating a birthday this week (March 3). Here's what Tim had to say...
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.
=Author Randy Richardson is a die-hard Cubs fan, so naturally his murder mystery takes place in Wrigleyville. Fellow Cubs author Stuart Shea provided this blurb for the back cover of the book...
"Randy Richardson’s Lost in the Ivy expertly captures the weirdness and excitement of the streets that the Chicago Cubs—baseball’s weirdest and most exciting franchise—call home. And aside from being a terrific “I’ve been there” walk through Wrigleyville, it’s a cracking murder mystery to boot!"
Stuart Shea, author of "Wrigley Field: The Unauthorized Biography" and "Wrigley Field: THE LONG LIFE AND CONTENTIOUS TIMES OF THE FRIENDLY CONFINES"
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=Randy Merkin's behind-the-scenes look at sports talk radio is full of great pictures of Randy with the movers and shakers of the Chicago sports world, including this week's birthday boy, Chicago Cubs Cy Young Award winning pitcher Jake Arietta (March 6).
