Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Monday, July 21, 2025
Publishing Portal--July 21, 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.
=Available for pre-order now! Pre-order your copy today.
=What is Words on Birds? The best of Jeff Reiter’s 225 “Words on Birds” columns for the Daily Herald, celebrating birds, birding, and birders in Chicagoland and beyond. Wherever you live, and whatever your birding experience level, this volume is entertaining, informative, and relevant. Containing more than 50 stunning photographs, Words on Birds is a must-have for any birding enthusiast.
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Birds raise our spirits and enrich our lives. For two decades, Jeff Reiter has been sharing that inspiring message with readers in the Chicago region, introducing them to the pleasures of birding through his entertaining and informative newspaper column, ‘Words on Birds.’ This collection of his best work is a joy to read, and I recommend it highly.”
“. . . a very special book for both those who share Jeff’s life-long love of birds, and for the newcomers who are catching up.”
“Jeff’s column in the Daily Herald has been delighting serious and occasional birders since 2008. A self-proclaimed bird nerd, he writes with charm, knowledge, and humor.”
“Each column stands on its own, but taken together they provide a great sense of how birds lead us to think about environmental and cultural issues that concern us all.”
“Jeff captures the joy, wonder, and often humor found in our birding encounters. This collection is a must-read for anyone who’s ever picked up binoculars or simply paused to listen to birdsong—a true celebration of birds, birders, and the stories that connect us.”
“Whether you enjoy watching feeder birds from a cozy armchair or travel the globe to find rare species, get ready for a lively and highly personal read that teaches, nurtures, and delights.”
“Jeff’s writing speaks to all birders and no doubt has created some new ones. He conveys the excitement of birding and reminds readers that birds need and deserve our protection.”
=This is the week! Everyone involved in the Chili Dog MVP team is heading to Cooperstown this coming weekend for Dick Allen's induction ceremony, as guests of the Allen family. The family strongly believes the book was instrumental in getting Dick over the finish line with the voters. Authors John Owens and David Fletcher will be there, as will Eckhartz Press publishers Rick Kaempfer and David Stern, photographer (and Last Comiskey author) Ken Smoller, publicist/film producer Sharon Pannozzo, and even famed White Sox organist Nancy Faust. You bet you'll be receiving a full report in the next Publishing Portal. It won't be on Monday next week, however, because Rick and Dave will be traveling back to Chicago. Pencil in Wednesday (July 30).
=More press. The Daily Herald wrote about the book and film this past weekend. Also, tune in this Wednesday to the Minutia Men Celebrity Interview podcast. Dr. Fletcher will be the guest and will preview what we can all expect.
=Because the book Chili Dog MVP looks back at Dick Allen's unforgettable 1972 season with the White Sox, all of Allen's teammates from that team are also featured in the book. Here are three of them who have birthdays this week, including Dick's brother Hank Allen (July 23), former Cub Moe Drabowsky (July 21), and Buddy Bradford (July 25). Only Buddy is still around. Hank died in 2023 and Moe died in 2006. (Photos from Topps)
=The boys continue to produce videos and move product...
=Did you miss another book signing for Robert Conlon? Yes you did. Palos Heights came out for him last week.
=Author Robert Conlon continues to garner attention for his novel Celtic Knot. He was featured in Lakefront Living Magazine.
=Author Mark Wukas will be appearing at Max & Benny's on August 11 (Northbrook) to tape a podcast and do a book signing. You can register here.
=He also was told this week that he will be part of a panel discussion at this year's Printers Row Litfest (September 7). The subject matter is: "Making Chicago a Character in Your Novel." Wukas certainly did that.
=This week is the anniversary of the concert that inspired a book cover. This book cover photograph of The Flip Side was taken July 22, 1975, exactly 50 years ago. The line forming outside the original Flip Side record store on Foster Avenue was there to buy tickets to see The Rolling Stones. That whole story is told well in the pages of The Flip Side book.
=Every now and then a story will cross the wires that makes Rick reconsider whether or not to update the book again. This one seems to qualify.
Yikes. Looks like I might have to do a slight re-write of his entry in EveryCubEver. He pitched for the Cubs in 1999...and murdered his father-in-law. https://t.co/zlGKkCudfd
— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) July 15, 2025
=This week in 2019, EveryCubEver author Rick Kaempfer appeared on the Club 400 Podcast to talk about his book. The hosts of the show were blown away by the details. You can still hear it here.
=Another Eckhartz Press author is celebrating a birthday this week (July 21). Happy birthday to one half of the Patty & The Stump team, Spike Manton. He co-wrote (with Tim Clue) a children's book for us during 2016 that remains timely today. It's about dealing with political bullies. (Photo of Spike below with Eckhartz Press publisher Rick Kaempfer at Zanies in Chicago)
=Unfortunately, Spike is spending his birthday today delivering the eulogy for his friend, sportscaster/comedian/actor/playwright Harry Teinowitz. Rest in peace, Harry. (This week's Minutia Men podcast also includes a tribute to Harry.)
=Another Eckhartz Press author had very close ties to Harry. Dan McNeil was the co-host of a very popular radio show with Harry, Mac, Jurko & Harry. They had a sometimes tense relationship (some of it described well in this 2004 piece in Lake Magazine), but both men considered each other a friend. This photo of Dan and Harry was taken by Eckhartz Press publisher Rick Kaempfer.
=This week (July 25) would have been Walter Payton's 72nd birthday. Dan McNeil did a deep dive in his book I Bear Witness about the greatest football player in history. He also included this memorable photo from the Bears heyday in the 1980s. It was given to him by the other Hall of Famer in the picture, Jimbo Covert.
=Considering that Walter Payton is the either the greatest or second greatest athlete in Chicago history, and our press is a Chicago press, it shouldn't surprise you to discover that three other books in our catalog also have great stories about Walter, The Loop Files (by Rick Kaempfer), Records Truly Is My Middle Name (by John Landecker) and Your Dime My Dance Floor (by Chet Coppock). We still miss Walter, but he lives on in the pages of these Eckhartz Press books.
Your book is an extraordinarily important work that deserves wide circulation. You accomplished something exceedingly rare: at the same time that you told your story honestly and truthfully, you were able to critically assess what was happening, evaluate your mother’s behavior patterns and find for yourself a sense of peace and healing. That is an incredible gift. And you drew such vivid portraits of all the actors–your dad, your sister, your aunts, and most of all your mother–I felt like I truly got to know them as much as any reader can know the characters in a well-written narrative.
None of us can ever completely escape from our own personal traumas. But you showed that it’s more than possible to transcend one’s past, integrate it into one’s experience, and to build a better world of one’s own. I’m convinced that it has the power to transform people’s lives and remind them that no matter what traumas they may encounter, no one is ever alone. There is always someone to turn to. Your story and your triumphant journey of resilience underscore that Vicki Atkinson will be that someone for countless readers of your work.
=This is always a great way to get to know the author and the book. It's a Q&A with author Jim Slusher about his 2024 book To Nudge the World.
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=Yes, that's Eckhartz Press author (Last Comiskey) Ken Smoller with the ultimate White Sox spokesperson, the one and only Ozzie Guillen. We thank Ozzie for his support of this project!
=This week in 2018, Eckhartz Press author Richard Reeder debuted his promotional video for his book 1001 Train Rides in Chicago.
=One of the biggest stars in WLUP (The Loop) history was Sky Daniels. Sky is a big contributor to The Loop Files, and this week he's also celebrating his birthday (July 24). (PHOTO: by Mike Bucek)
=This week in 2017, Bobby Skafish was making the rounds promoting his rock and roll interview book We Have Company. Among the stops, WGN Radio. He appeared on the Roe Conn show, which featured Anna Davlantes at the time. Anna's birthday is this week too (July 25).
=Isn't there a rock star birthday this week that ties into Bobby's book? Well, now that you mention it, there is one. Emily Saliers (from the Indigo Girls) is also in the book.
=WGN radio's Steve King is celebrating a birthday this week (July 26). Steve was a long-time colleague of Roger Badesch on WGN, and plays a crucial role in the most exciting story in Roger's book. He also provided this testimonial (along with co-host and wife Johnnie) for the back cover of the book...
“This book’s cover photo was taken on a night we’ll never forget. Trust us, we never had a night like that on the radio before or since and, along with our WGN radio listeners, were praying that Roger would survive. Spoiler alert: He did! In this book Roger shares the details of that night and other adventures, including his time with Chicago’s first black mayor, Harold Washington, and first woman mayor, Jane Byrne. “The Unplanned Life” of this man we’re so proud to call a friend was obviously part of a bigger plan. Thankfully, he listened to the universe and went along for the ride. Buckle up, it’s a good one!”
=This week would have been the birthday (July 21) of the recently departed German soccer superstar Uwe Seeler, who helped the West German team win the World Cup in 1954. He also appears in an Eckhartz Press book. In the 1970s he came to Chicago and attended a Green White soccer game. That story is told in the pages of Gruen Weiss Vor!
Saturday, July 19, 2025
Minutia Men
Our latest episode includes a tribute to our late pal Harry Teinowitz...but also all the usual silliness. https://t.co/YHQ1mvSz3z
— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) July 19, 2025
Thursday, July 17, 2025
Monday, July 14, 2025
Publishing Portal--July 14, 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.
Upcoming Books
=Three more Eckhartz Press books will be coming out before the end of the summer. Keep your eyes out for Words on Birds by Jeff Reiter, The Sun at the End of the Road by Tony Fitzpatrick, and South Side Memories by Gloria Golec.
=The Mob Adjacent boys are moving product, bigtime. These videos produced by the team creating the film about the new version of the book (and the audio book) are really hitting home.
=Beginning next week we will have thumb drives of the audio book available at Eckhartz Press. It's a 14-hour extravaganza starring some pretty incredible voice over artists.
=The Kiss of Night is now officially an award winning novel. This week it was awarded the Literary Titan Gold Book award. Congrats to author Mark Wukas!
=Celtic Knot author Robert Conlon is beginning to make the media rounds promoting his book. This Wednesday look for his interview on Minutia Men Celebrity Interview. Also, he will be interviewed by The Heart of the Matter podcast, and the Chicago Writes podcast. We'll post links to those interviews as they become available.
=The Cubs lost a legend this week, former player and manager Lee Elia passed away. Of course there's a full description of Lee's contributions to the Cubs in the 7th edition of our book EveryCubEver. What you won't find in the book is the audio of Lee's most famous moment. The most incredible (and most definitely NSFW) rant in baseball history, captured and preserved by the late Les Grobstein. Guessing that Lee and Les are having a good laugh about that one in heaven. Here's the audio. Again, it's NSFW.
The Flip Side and Doin' The Cruise
=Ken Churilla has now written two books for us, The Flip Side (with Carl & Larry Rosenbaum) and Doin' The Cruise (with Mitch Michaels). He'll be selling both of those books at The Press Book Fair, this Saturday July 19th in Valparaiso, Indiana (9 Lincoln Way). Be sure to swing by and say hello.
=One of the most important contributors to The Loop Files was in town last week, making the rounds. Welcome back to Chicago, Garry Meier. He was on WGN-TV, The Drive, and WGN radio.
=Three other contributors to The Loop Files are celebrating birthdays this week, including Terry Gibson (July 19), Pugs Moran (July 20), and perhaps the biggest star in the radio station's history, Jonathon Brandmeier (July 15). This is a photo of Johnny performing at his 5th anniversary concert in 1988 along with Newsman/Bluesman Buzz Kilman.
Records Truly Is My Middle Name
=Ten years before The Loop Files was released, Brandmeier also contributed to the Eckhartz Press book Records Truly Is My Middle Name. His radio idol was John Records Landecker and he told a few stories in the book about that, including this one...
“To me listening to John Landecker was appointment radio. I would look forward to six o’clock every night, just waiting for his show to begin. He didn’t just talk. He had this rhythm in his voice. If Larry Lujack showed us all that it was OK to be yourself on the air, John Records showed us not to forget the showbiz. Records was showbiz. He WORKED the music. He talked in rhythm with the music, on the beats, he became a part of the song. There was no better radio guy, pure top 40 energy, no one better. Name me one guy that was better than John Records. No one was! In the whole country! Let me give you an idea of the kind of impact he had on me. My dad took my brothers and me fishing in Canada. Imagine, we were surrounded by this incredible scenery, breathtaking view, and here I was sitting in the boat with my crackling little transistor radio, waiting for 6:00, so I could hear John Records Landecker booming on WLS. And I heard him too! In Thunder Bay. I heard him. I would have given anything to watch him in action. To me, he was like Wolfman Jack was like to those characters in American Graffiti. I imagined him in this tower somewhere, just mesmerizing us, just bringing it. Man he was the best. I can still hear it in my head. All these years later I can still hear it. That’s the kind of impact he had on me.”
=Of course, Landecker is still on the radio weeknights on WGN (720 AM). This past Thursday he did a special show with Bob Sirott, talking about their old radio days together. They called it For Radio Geeks Only. If they ever do it again, we highly recommend you check it out. These guys have been friends for fifty years and have a great chemistry together.
=This week in 2013, Landecker appeared at the Beverly Arts Center to discuss the book...
=Exactly one year ago this week, we released To Nudge the World.
=What is To Nudge the World? Jim Slusher’s “Letter To Readers” column has appeared weekly in the Daily Herald of suburban Chicago since July 15, 1999, providing insights into the decision making of editors and behind-the-scenes descriptions of their work. In tones ranging from deeply serious to engaging humor, this collection from 25 years of the column examines themes of trust, determination and community that define the relationship between a local daily newspaper and its audience. And it offers glimpses in real time of transformative changes affecting the newspaper industry.
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=Eckhartz Press author Kim Strickland is celebrating a birthday this week (July 16). Kim wrote the novel Down at the Golden Coin for us back in 2012. It was the second book we ever published.
=Somehow Rick Kaempfer's novel $everance remains relevant today, despite the fact that it's a critique of the media world from 20 years ago. Many of the things Rick predicts in the book (for comedic effect) have actually happened. Some of them continue to happen. Like this...
I wrote about this in my novel "$everance" back in 2007. Nothing to see here. Just all the people who control the information we consume gathering in a secretive off-the-record meeting in Sun Valley, Idaho. They've done this every year since 1983. https://t.co/gnf7NEE6Gc
— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) July 8, 2025
=Great review by WTTW of last year's summertime book Last Comiskey by Ken Smoller. Here's a little taste of it...
How can dispirited White Sox fans restore their faith, with a “wait ‘til next decade” aura around the team? They might find solace by embracing memories of a beloved ballpark. “Last Comiskey” is a book-length valentine for a place once called the “Baseball Palace of the World.” An affectionate account of the last season at Comiskey Park, the book also recalls monumental moments from the 1970s and ‘80s.
=One of the Sox stars featured in the book, closer Bobby Thigpen, is celebrating a birthday this week (July 17). He's 62.
Joe Jackson vs. Chicago American League Baseball Club
=Last year Eckhartz Press released a trial transcript from the Joe Jackson trial, which hadn't been seen in 100 years. It has been devoured by the baseball scribes around the country, but apparently not by the powers that be in baseball, who decided earlier this year to end the ban for the Black Sox. The Plaintiff in that trial, Shoeless Joe Jackson, essentially admitted his guilt in this transcript. He was born this week (July 16) in 1887.
=This week in 2022 (July 19), author Will Wagner got to hold the first copy of his book Talking Bout my Generation, hot off the press. It's the sort of day every author remembers forever.
=The very next day (July 20, 2022), fellow Eckhartz Press author Judy Ann Jamerson got her first copy of the novel Belle. There's a reason why we take photos of those momentous events.
=This week in 2018, Richard Reeder's book 1001 Train Rides in Chicago (July 14) was released by Eckhartz Press. Here's a Q&A with the author discussing the book's release. Richard's launch in Evanston (July 15) was a memorable party.
=This week in 2018 (July 18), the first edition of Cubsessions came out, and the authors Randy Richardson and Becky Sarwate had a special night at the Book Cellar in Chicago.
=The following year (July 19), Club 400 threw a big Cubs party, and every single person there got an autographed copy of the second edition of Cubsessions. Among the honored guests that night, former Cubs PA Wayne Messmer, and former Cubs Carlos Zambrano and Willson Contreras.
=Vicki Atkinson has a great piece in her blog this week about music's power to evoke memories. Worth checking out. Shout out to the program director of Me-TV FM (Phil Manicki), by the way, a college pal of your humble publishers Rick and Dave.
Write City Review, Volume 3
=If you're a rock star and you've never been interviewed by Bobby Skafish, are you really a rock star? Three of the stars featured in Bobby's book are celebrating birthdays this week, Jackson Browne (July 14), Joe Satriani (July 15), and Stewart Copeland (July 16).
=This week in 2017, Bobby appeared at the Record Mart in Hillside to tout his book.
=White Sox announcer Steve Stone is celebrating a birthday this week (July 14). Stone is a big fan of Eckhartz Press author Chuck Swirsky, and provided this quote for Chuck's book...
When I first met Chuck I didn’t believe anyone could be that positive and supportive. Add that to enthusiastic and genuine and you have Chuck Swirsky. A great basketball broadcaster and a better man.
=This week in 1982, the network television show Real People came to Chicago to do a feature on our fine city. One of the people working in the Mayor's office at the time was author Roger Badesch, who writes about that brush with network television in his book The Unplanned Life.
=This week in 2021, Roger released the audio version of his book.
=One of the first stars to have his own signature shoe was the Romanian tennis player Ilie Nastase. Naturally this week's birthday boy (July 19) is featured in the Eckhartz Press book Signature Shoes.
=This week in 2021 (July 19), Eckhartz Press author Paul M. Banks sat down for this Q&A about his book Transatlantic Passage.
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