Publishing Portal--January 6, 2025

The latest news from Eckhartz Press, and a chance to peek into some of the great previous offerings from our humble little publishing company.

I Bear Witness

=Dan McNeil is still making the rounds promoting his critical darling, I Bear Witness. It has gotten rave reviews in the Daily Herald and mentions on national shows like Colin Cowherd and Pat McAfee. Thanks for everyone who came out to his many appearances in December.

=It's not too late to meet Dan at an appearance. He will be in Morton Grove at AU Sports Memorabilia (6006 Dempster Street) on January 11 from Noon-1:30pm, Blue Island Beer Company (13357 Olde Western Ave.) on January 14th from 5-7pm, and at the Sportscard collectible show in Orland Park (The Orland Park Civic Center) on January 19th. 

=Dan will be making the podcast rounds too. He will be on John Siuntres popular podcast Word Bubble, and here's one you might not have had on your scorecard.

*The Kiss of Night

=A new novel is coming soon to Eckhartz Press. It will be called The Kiss of Night, and the name has something to do with this sign. That's all we'll say for now. More info to come including the name of the author.

EveryCubEver

=A new and improved 7th edition of the book is coming out for Opening Day (and will feature more than a hundred photos of all-time Cubs), but in the meantime you should follow author Rick Kaempfer's Just One Bad Century facebook page. He is featuring Cubs from the book every day. Here's an example from Saturday...

Chili Dog MVP

=This is going to be a big year for Chili Dog MVP because the star of the book, Dick Allen, was voted into the Hall of Fame. The ceremony will be in July. You'll be hearing a lot about it in the coming months, including this interview with Chili Dog MVP co-author Dr. David Fletcher...

Sox On Tap - Dick Allen HOF Reaction w/ Dr. David Fletcher https://t.co/6IiaDIsFkc

— On Tap Sports Net (@OnTapSportsNet) December 29, 2024

=The Daily Herald featured the book this week in 2022.

=One of the other players featured in the book, the late Bart Johnson, was born this week in 1950. 

The Flip Side

=The reviews keep pouring in for The Flip Side. (Click to enlarge)

=Nice write up in the Cook County Chronicle about Larry Rosenbaum's appearance at the Arcada Theater in December. Also attending the symposium were fellow Eckhartz Press authors Rick Kaempfer from the Loop Files and Mitch Michaels from Doin the Cruise, and Jim Summaria and Mark Plotnick. (Click on the article to enlarge it)

The Loop Files

=This week in 2024, Rick Kaempfer appeared on WLS Radio with Pete McMurray and Steve Cochran.

=The Chicago Writes podcast also featured The Loop Files. 

=There were some truly great reviews of The Loop Files, and perhaps none better than this one by Christopher Sutter. 

Surviving Sue

=Surviving Sue is a memoir about dealing with an extremely difficult mother, beautifully written by Vicki Atkinson. Occasionally on her blog she shares the other side of the coin, dealing with a wise and thoughtful father. Recommended feel good blog post from Vicki.

Truffle Hunt

=Truffle Hunt is approaching its tenth anniversary and author Brent Petersen is featuring a series of articles on substack explaining the process of how it came to be. Here's the first one: How the International Criminal Tribunal Influenced the Creation of one of my Characters.

=Brent Petersen (Truffle Hunt) was featured in Illinois Entertainer this month in 2024, talking about his podcast Destination Eat Drink.

*Doin the Cruise

 =This week in 2018, West Suburban Living reviewed Mitch Michael's book.

=Rod Stewart is celebrating a birthday this week. You may not realize that Doin The Cruise author Mitch Michaels played a key role in Rod's song "Maggie Mae" becoming a big hit. He tells that story in the book. (That's Mitch in the middle of the pic below)

We Have Company

 =Bobby Skafish's 2016 Eckhartz Press book We Have Company: Four Decades of Rock and Roll Encounters is a rock and roll lover's dream. Bobby has met and interviewed them all. Two of them have birthdays this week; the late David Bowie and Dave Matthews. Their stories (and these photos) are in the book. Matthews was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last week.

Behind the Glass

 =Randy Merkin's 2021 book Behind the Glass: Stories from a Sports Radio Producer is the sports equivalent of Bobby's book. For instance, three Hall of Famers who were born this week in history, Bruce Sutter, Bart Starr and Dick Enberg, are featured.

Monkey in the Middle

 =Dobie Maxwell's gripping personal story about a bank robbery was reviewed this week in 2017. Dobie's book remains one of our best sellers. 

 Records Truly Is My Middle Name

 =John Records Landecker's book was a finalist for CWA Book of the Year in 2013. When John was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2017, we re-released the book with additional stories and photos. Among the new photos...this one of John and his daughter Amy with the richest man in the world (at the time), who happens to be celebrating a birthday this week.

*Back in the DDR

 =This week in 2023, Rick Kaempfer made his first book club appearance for his novel Back in the DDR. 

Sepsis

The former Chicago Daily News arts reporter (and Northwestern University professor) Jack Hafferkamp released his novel Sepsis via Eckhartz Press this week in 2017.

The Balding Handbook

 =We sold out of the book, but before it went out of print, The Balding Handbook helped countless balding souls. Twelve years ago this week author David Stern was on Mancow's television show talking about it.

Always a Pleasure

In 2022, Eckhartz Press released Chuck Swirsky's memoir Always a Pleasure. It features some great stories about his life as a sportscaster, and some memorable photos as well. Here he is with this week's birthday boy Lou Holtz. 

Your Dime My Dance Floor

In 2018, Eckhartz Press released the final book from another great Chicago sportscaster, Chet Coppock. Your Dime My Dance Floor is a tour through the history of Chicago sports, told by someone who had a front row seat. This photo from the book features Chet with this week's birthday boy, former White Sox slugger Ron Kittle.

The Living Wills

=13 years ago this week, Rick and Brendan discuss the tricky collaboration that led to the first Eckhartz Press book, The Living Wills.

=The Northwest Indiana Times also reviewed the book this week in 2012. 

Transatlantic Passage

=In 2021 we released a book about all the American soccer players who had gone to play professionally in the Premier League. It's called Transatlantic Passage, and was written by Paul Banks. Here's what this week's birthday boy Dave Kerner had to say about it...

• “You’ll love reading about what it’s like to be a soccer (always going to be football to me!) fan from multiple perspectives. Thanks to Paul and this in depth look at the evolution of international soccer in the United States, in some ways negative for the men’s game, and in some ways positive for the women’s game.”

  Dave Kerner, Sports Anchor, WBBM Radio

Welcome to 2025!

 It's a new year, and once again, I'm going to be doing things a little differently this year. 

I hope to start doing a regular media column again before the year is up, but in the meantime I'll be posting media updates/milestones/birthdays on my Twitter feed. If you don't follow me yet, I'm @Rickkaempfer (And no, I'm going to get verified.) Here's my post from today...

Happy birthday to the Score (1992). At first it was only on during the daytime hours at 820 AM. It later migrated to 1160 AM, before landing in it’s current location at 670 AM. The first all-sports-talk station in Chicago was a bold experiment at the time of its debut. pic.twitter.com/cmlXHTvDzo

— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) January 2, 2025

Here's my post from yesterday (yes, I will continue my monthly Illinois Entertainer column)...

The new issue of Illinois Entertainer is out and includes my tribute to Chicago media figures we lost in 2024. https://t.co/Brg3TyNs7T

— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) January 2, 2025

I'm also going to be featuring an EveryCubEver profile every day this year on my Just One Bad Century facebook page (Follow me there and you won't miss any of them). I'm working hard on the new edition of the book, which will be coming out for opening day. In the meantime, here's an example of how I'll be featuring it...

I'll be doing a regular Minutia Minute feature everyday on Threads and Instagram. At both places you can follow me @minutiamenofficial   This is today's post on Instagram...

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rick Kaempfer (@minutiamenofficial)

Publishing Portal will return here next week. Any new book announcements, author birthdays, and book anniversaries will be posted on the Eckhartz Press facebook page. If you don't follow that yet, please do.

Any new updates (new books, new articles, new podcast episodes, etc.) will also be posted on LinkedIn.

And finally, I've also joined BlueSky, which I'm finding to be a refreshing change of pace from some of the other social media outlets. If you're interested in all of these different things I post about (there must be one or two of you, right?), I'll be posting there every day. My handle is @rickkaempfer.bsky.social

They tell me that bloggers are dinosaurs, so I'm trying to learn some new tricks. It ain't easy with these short arms.

Publishing Portal--December 23, 2024

The latest news from Eckhartz Press, and a chance to peek into some of the great previous offerings from our humble little publishing company.

Twas the Night Before Father's Christmas

=A heartwarming holiday message from Father Knows Nothing

A Very Eckhartz X-mas

=Back in 2018 we gathered a dozen of our authors and had a group book signing on the Northwest Side of Chicago. What a fun day. (Top Row, L-R: Chet Coppock, Beth Jacobellis, Bruce Bohrer, Becky Sarwate, Randy Richardson. Middle Row, L-R: William Mansfield, Donald Evans, Rich King, Richard Reeder, Alex Burkholder, Ronnie Woo Woo. Bottom Row: Dave and Rick)

Happy Birthday!

=Three Eckhartz Press authors are celebrating birthdays this week. Happy birthday to Everything I Know I Learned from Rock Stars author Bill Paige (December 26), Surviving Sue author Vicki Atkinson (December 28), and In Small Boxes author Ann Wilson (December 30).

 

  

 

I Bear Witness

=Just like the Bears didn't take off the holiday season in 1988 when they played in the Fog Bowl (photo below from that day December 31, 1988 of author Dan McNeil with his mentor Chet Coppock), Dan McNeil is not taking off this holiday season from promoting his book. Last Friday he was in Griffith Indiana, on Sunday he was in Cedar Lake, and this coming Friday he'll be in Aurora at Two Brothers Roundhouse.

=Dan was on WGN-TV last weekend talking about the Bears with Jared Payton.

Always a Pleasure

=This week in 2022, Chuck Swirsky appeared on WGN Radio with Steve & Johnnie to talk about his book Always A Pleasure. He also did a book signing at the Windy City Bulls game, and ran into an old friend--this week's birthday celebrant Jared Payton (December 26). I'm sensing a theme here.

Jim Harbaugh

=The former Bears quarterback (and I suppose he's done other things since) Jim Harbaugh is featured in several of our books, most notably Randy Merkin's Behind the Glass, and Rich King's Ike & Me. Harbaugh is celebrating a birthday today (December 23).

 

 The Loop Files

=Just as we were getting ready to release The Loop Files, Jimmy Buffett passed away. That led Jonathon Brandmeier to dip into his photographic archives and pull out this photo. He also told us the story of the day Jimmy rode his bike to Johnny's show (at Navy Pier) to appear on it. That story is in the book. Jimmy was a Christmas baby (December 25).

Doin the Cruise

=Foreigner guitarist and songwriter Mick Jones plays a big role in the Mitch Michaels memoir Doin the Cruise. It's Mick's birthday this week as well.

 

Happy Holidays to the entire Eckhartz Press stable of authors. We are honored to have such a distinguished group: Dr. Vicki Atkinson, Roger Badesch, Paul Banks, Jim Baumann, Jeanne Bellezzo, Judge Michael Bender, Bruce Bohrer, Bob Boone, Dan Burns, Pat Camilliere, Duane Scott Cerny, Ken Churilla, Tim Clue,  M.L. Collins, Keith Conrad, Don Evans, Russ Fahrner, Dr. David Fletcher, Jeffery Gentile, Michael Gentile, Jack Hafferkamp, Jessica Hagy, Bob Herguth, Nicole Herion, Beth Jacobellis, Judy Ann Jamerson, Rick Kaempfer, Rich King, Lee Kingsmill, Ken Korber, John Records Landecker, Andrew Langert, Margaret Larkin, Tom Latourette, Eric Litt, Lauren LoGuidice, Lou Macaluso, William Mansfield, Spike Manton, Dr. John Martucci, Dobie Maxwell, Kipper McGee, Dan McNeil, Randy Merkin, Mitch Michaels, Frank Miles, Pat Motto, Joe Novak, Kristin Oakley, Lori Oster, John Owens, Bill Paige, Brent Petersen, Jason Pomrenke, Paul Possenti, Vicki Quade, Chuck Quinzio, Scott Redman, Richard Reeder, Edward Reyes, Randy Richardson, Carl Rosenbaum, Larry Rosenbaum, Becky Sarwate, Todd Schneider, Bob Shannon, Bobby Skafish, Jim Slusher, Maggie Smith, Ken Smoller, David Stern, Kim Strickland, Brendan Sullivan, Janet Sutherland, Chuck Swirsky, Mark Taylor, Deb Tokarz, Ryan Trembath, Will Wagner, Tom Weinberg, Ann Wilson, and Butch Zeppo.

Happy Holidays to the families of the authors who have passed away in the years since their books came out. We miss them all greatly: Alex Burkholder, Pat Colander, Chet Coppock, Joel Daly, Mark Gelinas, Dena Mendes and Felitzitas Sudendorf. 

 

90 authors have now written over 100 books for Eckhartz Press. We are proud of each and every one of them.

And Happy Holidays to the authors we have signed for the upcoming year. You know who you are! We're looking forward to adding to our family.

Have a wonderful holiday season, and we'll see you in 2025!

20 Years--EveryCubEver

 

This year marks my 20th year as a professional writer. Over the course of 2024, I'll be sharing a few of those offerings you may have missed along the way.

In 2019, I released the first edition of my book EveryCubEver. The 6th edition came out earlier this year, and I'm currently working on the 7th edition to be released next year on Opening Day.

I don't often post those mini bios on the blog here, but this week I will. Two legendary Cubs are celebrating birthdays this week, Gabby Hartnett (December 20) and Dave Kingman (December 21). Here are their writeups from the book...

~Gabby Hartnett 1900-1972 (Cubs 1922-1940)
Gabby was one of the greatest Cubs of all-time. His real name was Charles Leo Hartnett. No surprise where that nickname came from, he was known as someone who was “constantly talking” when he was catching. Gabby is known as one of the all-time greats, probably the best catcher of the first half of the 20th century. Gabby was the National League’s catcher in the first six all-star games. He played in four World Series for the Cubs, as a backup catcher/pinch hitter in 1929, the starting catcher in ’32 and ’35 (he won the MVP that year), and in 1938, his “homer in the gloamin” won the pennant for the Cubs. He was also the manager of that team. As a player he was beloved. As a manager, he was hated. His nickname as the manager was “Drizzlepuss” or “Old Tomato Face”. He left the Cubs after 1940 and his last year was spent as a player/manager for the New York Giants. Gabby died on his 72nd birthday, and is buried in All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines, the same cemetery as Harry Caray.

***

~Dave Kingman 1948 (Cubs 1978-1980)
All the elements were in place for a wonderful long term marriage between the Cubs and Dave Kingman. He was a prodigious slugger; his home runs were already the stuff of legend. The Cubs were having trouble drawing fans, and he was the kind of player that brought people to the ballpark. In addition to that, he was a local boy (Prospect High School) returning to play in front of his home town fans. He even lived up to his billing; slugging home runs onto Waveland Avenue with regularity. Yet, by the time Kingman left Chicago, he might have been one of the most hated players in Cubs history. How did things go so horribly wrong? His first year with the Cubs (1978) he hit 28 homers, and some of them were dramatic, but his personality was already rubbing people the wrong way. His 1979 season was one of the best in Cubs history (he hit 48 homers), so his teammates and fans looked the other way as he said and did things that irritated one and all. It wasn’t 1980 that things really got ugly, and they got ugly in a hurry.

In April Kingman caused a stir when he threw a bucket of ice water on a newspaper reporter for the Daily Herald. This unprovoked attack (the reporter was interviewing someone else–Lenny Randle) led to a reprimand from the league office, but not much else.

In June, Kingman didn’t show up for a game. He had been given the previous day off to fly to San Diego after his home was burglarized, but he didn’t make it back in time for the next day’s game. The Cubs fined him for that. When he finally did show up the next day he showed up with a sore shoulder and had to be put on the disabled list. He was out for two months.

During that time on the DL, the Cubs scheduled “Dave Kingman Day” at the ballpark. They gave away 15,000 Dave Kingman t-shirts, and even though he was in town that day, he didn’t show up at the ballpark. He did a paid gig promoting Jet Skis instead.

By the end of that season people hated him. Mike Royko, who had been a Cubs fan for forty years, publicly switched his allegiance to the White Sox because he despised Kingman so much. (He called him Ding Dong instead of his previous nickname King Kong).

In the off season the Cubs did what they had to do; they traded Kingman back to the Mets. After news of Kingman’s trade became public, his teammates all expressed relief that he was gone. Royko even became a Cubs fan again.And though Dave Kingman continued to slug homers (he hit another 172 in his career), and retired with the most career homers of any player not in the Hall of Fame, he never even got a sniff from Hall of Fame voters. It’s hard to get votes from baseball writers when you’re remembered for throwing ice cold water at one of their colleagues.

Studio Walls--December 18, 2024

 

A weekly update/preview of my latest podcasts, and a look back at some of my previous audio work from this week in history over the past 40+ years.

December 15, 1955—Eisenhower expressway opened. 

=Shermann Dilla Thomas explains why his dad wouldn’t ride on it. 

 

December 16, 1993—Molly Hagan’s episode of Seinfeld airs

=She played Kramer's girlfriend. She told us all about it when she appeared on Minutia Men Celebrity Interview.  

December 16--Billy Gibbons birthday

=My brush with ZZ Top.

=Doug Johnson of Loverboy tells us about the day he taught Billy Gibbons how to play keyboards.

December 16, 1895—West Ham plays first ever night match 

=That reminds me...

December 17, 1984—Christmas Carol with George C. Scott released

=Eric Litt talks about why he loves that film on this episode. 

 

December 18, 1997—Chris Farley dies

=We had his college friend on the show. The Real Matt Foley. 

December 18—Keith Richards birthday 

=Bill Kurtis told us a story about being backstage at a Stones show. 

December 18, 1966—The Grinch debuts. 

=Sara Karloff told us about her father Boris calling her to recommend watching it. The only time he ever did that.  

December 18—Brad Pitt birthday 

=Dan Frischman met a very young Brad Pitt on the set of Head of the Class.  

 

December 19--Robert Urich birthday

=My brush with Urich.  

December 19—Doug Johnson birthday

=Keyboardist for Loverboy did an entire episode with us.  

December 19—Tim Reid birthday

=Tom Dreesen told us all about his old comedy partner. 

December 19, 2021—1883 debuts 

=We talked to one of the young stars of that show, Eric Nelsen.  

 

December 20, 1995—Landecker Live show in Oak Lawn

=Baby Tommy Kaempfer made his public debut.

December 20—Chris Robinson birthday

=Legendary DJ Bob Stroud told us his story about interviewing the unpleasant Black Crowes lead singer.  

Publishing Portal--December 17, 2024

The latest news from Eckhartz Press, and a chance to peek into some of the great previous offerings from our humble little publishing company.

Hospital Heal Thyself!

=Congratulations to Hospital Heal Thyself author Mark Taylor for winning Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year in the Indie Non-Fiction category. We are proud to have given birth to this award winner. When the book was submitted for the award, it was an Eckhartz Press book. In the subsequent months Mark's book was bought by international publisher Wiley, and we encouraged him to take the offer to get international exposure. That's how good this book is. It definitely deserves recognition as Book of the Year.

=Taylor is a veteran healthcare journalist who has covered health and medicine for newspapers and business publications for decades. He is a recipient of Kaiser and Knight fellowships and is a co-founder of the Association of Health Care Journalists. Taylor is a former steelworker, taxicab driver, waiter and lifeguard who lives in a Northwest Indiana suburb of Chicago. We applaud Mark on his accomplishment!

Last Comiskey

=Our other nominated book Last Comiskey was unfortunately in the same category as Hospital Heal Thyself.  In virtually any other year, Ken Smoller would have won. His book about the last season at the original Comiskey Park has gotten great reviews, and brought him lots of attention. Just recently he appeared on Ed Lynch's podcast, Surfing Baseball with Ed Lynch. You can listen to that here.

Chili Dog MVP

=Last week we got the news that Dick Allen finally made baseball's Hall of Fame. Thanks to everyone who has been writing to tell us that the publication of Chili Dog MVP was actually a factor in propelling Dick into the Hall. That's nice of you to say, but I think Dick's bat had a little more to do with it. The publishers can't even take credit for the book--that credit goes to the incredible authors John Owens and Dr. David Fletcher, and to the editors George Castle and Tom Shaer. Can't wait until July. The whole Eckhartz Press crew is going to Cooperstown to be there for the induction.

I Bear Witness

=Thanks to everyone who came out to Moretti's last night in Edison Park to see Dan McNeil and buy his great book about the Bears I Bear Witness. Here are a few photos from the event.

=He has a few more signings on the schedule. Back to Bridges in Griffith Indiana this Friday (12/20) for the Indiana game. On Sunday (12/22) he'll be at Hunley's in Cedar Lake, Indiana. On Thursday (12/26) he'll be at Two Brothers Roundhouse in Aurora.

The Flip Side

=Flip Side's very own Mr. Cheap, Jeff Schwartz, was on the air on WGN radio yesterday with Bob Sirott. You can listen to that fun interview here.

The Loop Files

=This week in 2023 was another big week for The Loop Files. 

=On December 15, this incredible review of the book was posted. 

=On December 17, the South Side Pod interviewed Rick about the book. 

=That interview happened at a live event in Blue Island, at the Blue Island Beer Company. Here are a few photos from that day...

 

=The following day (December 18) Rick appeared on this podcast hosted by Rob Hahn.

=And he appeared in this television interview with Rabbi Doug.

=And finally it was the 35th anniversary (December 20) of an event that Rick produced when he actually worked at the Loop, Steve & Garry's A Christmas Carol. The star-studded event was covered by every news outlet in town and garnered a full page story in the Chicago Tribune. This is how Loop General Manager Jimmy de Castro described it at the time...

Gel Strong!

=This was also one of the saddest weeks in Eckhartz Press history. This week in 2018 (December 16), Eckhartz Press author Mark Gelinas passed away after a valiant struggle against pancreatic cancer. 

=Here is what Eckhartz Press publisher Rick Kaempfer posted after he heard the news...

My heart is heavy today. Just got the news that my good friend Mark Gelinas passed away. This photo is from his book launch just two years ago, with his wife Donna. My heart goes out to Donna and the incredible Gelinas family, particularly his son Alexander Briggs Gelinas, and Mark's parents and siblings. Mark was my roommate for a few years after college, and a friend I could always count on. I was texting with him up until just a few days ago. When he didn't respond to the last text, I feared this day was near. Miss you, buddy. I'm so happy your pain is gone.

Always a Pleasure

=This week in 2022 (December 15), Chuck Swirsky appeared on Chicago Tonight (WTTW-Channel 11) to talk about his book Always a Pleasure and his 50 years of broadcasting. You can watch that here. There's also, by the way, a free excerpt of the book at that link.

=Two of the people featured in the book, Ray Meyer (December 18) and Adam Amin (December 19) were born this week as well. Chuck was one of the smart broadcasters who always remembered to get a photo, including with both of those gentlemen.

  

Records Truly Is My Middle Name and Doin The Cruise

=This week in 2017 (December 17), two of our more prominent authors appeared at a book signing together, side by side, at the Orland Park Sports Collectors Show: John Records Landecker and Mitch Michaels. Here they are holding each other's books.

=This week in 2013 (December 18), a good friend of both authors, Superjock Larry Lujack passed away. Landecker devoted a good chunk of his book to writing about the legendary morning disc jockey. We published this free excerpt on our site the week Larry died. 

 The Balding Handbook

=This week in 2012 (December 18), Eckhartz Press threw a book launch party for David Stern's balding classic, The Balding Handbook: 5 Stages of Grieving for your Hair Loss. The party naturally drew a good number of fellow balds. As you can see, they were all still suffering through Stage 4 depression. Hopefully the book got them to Stage 5 acceptance.

Your Dime My Dance Floor

=One of the reasons the Bears have been so continously bad for the past four decades is that the man who was groomed to take over for his father George, Mugs Halas, passed away before his dad did. That happened this week (December 16) in 1979. Chet Coppock devotes an entire chapter to Mugs in Your Dime My Dance Floor.

=This week in 1943, Walt "No Neck" Williams was born in Brownwood, Texas. He not only gets a mention in Chet's book, he gets this classic photo. Walt passed away in 2016. Chet passed in 2019.

Chasing the Lost City

=This week in 2017 (December 16), Tom Weinberg hosted a Sunday breakfast at the Book Stall in Winnetka to promote his book Chasing the Lost City. The Daily North Shore was there to chronicle the event.

Hugh Hefner's First Funeral

=This week (December 16) is screenwriter Denise DeClue's birthday. Denise was a big supporter of Book of the Year winner Pat Colander and her Eckhartz Press book Hugh Hefner's First Funeral. Here's what she said about it...

• Pat Colander toiled with me in the belly of the Chicago journalism beast in the 1970s and 1980s. When major stories were reported, she asked questions. When the questions were poorly answered or evaded, she asked even more questions of even more people. Then in a clear, true voice, she wrote it all down. She found the real stories behind the stories and this collection of her work is just great. She ought to be long-listed for the Man Booker prize, If I can figure out how to do it I will.

  Denise DeClue, Writer of films including About Last Night, teleplays, documentaries, journalism, humor columns and a great deal of other funny stuff

 

We Have Company

=Legendary ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons is celebrating a birthday this week (December 16). Here he is with Bobby Skafish (and the other two Toppers, Frank Beard and Dusty Hill). This photo and the story of that interview is featured in Bobby's book We Have Company: Four Decades of Rock and Roll Encounters.

 Transatlantic Passage

=This week in 1855 (December 17), the Peoria Daily Transcript was founded. It later became the Peoria Star. Even later it endorsed the Eckhartz Press book Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America by Paul Banks.

• “Transatlantic Passage richly details the Premier League’s wide-ranging and often complicated influence on American soccer. While others saw mostly novelty in high-profile European clubs’ US-based preseason tours, Paul M. Banks uses them as a platform to tell the stories of the game’s most captivating and accomplished stars. Mixed with memorable and hilarious anecdotes, Banks’ incisive commentary expertly illustrates the many missteps of an often soccer-ignorant American media.”

  Gavin Good, sports reporter, Peoria Star

Ken Korber

=The first day of Winter is this week (December 21). Whenever we think of the first day of a new season, we think of our children's book author Ken Korber. He's literally a man for every season. That's Ken in the middle with his spring book. Rick Kaempfer is holding Ken's Winter book, and David Stern is holding Ken's Summer book. The Fall book is sitting on a table nearby.