Kevin C. Fitzpatrick

Brief Biography (third person)

Kevin Fitzpatrick is the author and editor of eight books that are all tied to New York City history. His most recent is 111 Places in the Bronx That You Must Not Miss (Emons), the first guide to the borough in five years. His previous book, World War One New York: A Guide to the City’s Enduring Ties to the Great War (Globe Pequot Press); won the Apple Award for Outstanding Achievement in Non-Fiction Book Writing by the Guides Association of New York City. Kevin is the program director for the World War One Centennial Committee for New York City, helping plan programs in the city to remember the Great War. He is a licensed NYC sightseeing guide, and has been leading literary and history tours of New York for 20 years. Kevin launched dorothyparker.com in 1998 and founded the Dorothy Parker Society. He’s written and edited four books tied to the Algonquin Round Table. In his spare time he is a WWI reenactor and enjoys sleeping in a tent and marching in parades, things he did 30 years ago in the Marine Corps. Kevin and his family live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

More Wordy Biography (first person)

Yes I am a third-generation New Yorker even though I (like Dorothy Parker) didn’t get the chance to be born in the city like my parents, grand-parents, and great-grandparents! I was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and spent my childhood in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Summit, New Jersey; Raleigh, North Carolina; and St. Louis, Missouri. I’m a graduate of Northeast Missouri State University.

Following a hitch in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, I worked for a string of small-town newspapers. In 1991 I moved from the Midwest to New York (back to where three generations of my family were born and raised in Brooklyn and Queens). I’ve worked in newspapers, television, magazines, advertising, marketing, and a myriad of other schemes for low pay. I own a New York history tour company, Big Apple Fanatics Tours.

I have written and edited eight books, all of which have a tie to New York City history:

My latest book is 111 Places in the Bronx That You Must Not Miss (Emons), the first guide to the borough in five years. My 2017 book, World War I New York: A Guide to the City’s Enduring Ties to the Great War was published by Globe Pequot Press. It is a guidebook to the city during and after World War I. It has more than 150 locations and twelve maps. It is endorsed by the U.S. World War One Centennial Commission. In March 2018 it won the Apple Award for Outstanding Achievement in Non-Fiction Book Writing by the Guides Association of New York City.

The Governors Island Explorer’s Guide (Globe Pequot) was published in February 2016. It is the first guidebook to the island that is in New York Harbor. It has more than 100 locations included and a full history from the pre-colonial era to today.

The Algonquin Round Table’s New York: A Historical Guide (Lyons Press) was published in January 2015. It is the only book that has a full history of the famous literary group from the 1920s, and has biographies of all thirty members.

Dorothy Parker Complete Broadway, 1918-1923, is a book I spent five years editing. It collects 150,000 words of Dorothy Parker’s drama reviews. I wrote the introduction, extensive notes section, and the index. It is available from Donald Books and iUniverse, and was released in June 2014.

In November 2013, Lyons Press published my third book, Under the Table: A Dorothy Parker Cocktail Guide. The book has 75 drink recipes with anecdotes, stories, and references to the Jazz Age and the Speakeasy Era. Concurrently, my friend Janice Garingo and I launched a free iOS app with some of the content of the book.

A Journey into Dorothy Parker’s New York (Roaring Forties Press) had a second edition released in 2013. Released to strong reviews in late 2005, the book is 100 locations with 150 photos tied to the life of the writer, critic, wit and champion for social justice. The book is a literary travel guide for readers to follow in Mrs. Parker’s footsteps.

The Lost Algonquin Round Table: Humor, Fiction, Journalism, Criticism and Poetry From America’s Most Famous Literary Circle (Donald Books, 2009) was co-edited with Nat Benchley, a grandson of Robert Benchley. This book is the first collection of writing by more than a dozen members of the “Vicious Circle” that met at the Algonquin Hotel. I had a wonderful time editing this book and choosing selections by Parker, Benchley, Heywood Broun, Edna Ferber, George S. Kaufman, Frank Sullivan, and many others. If you’ve only heard the one-liners and wisecracks associated with the group, this is a book to show you how they got their reputations as writers.

I have given talks and speaking engagements at the New York Public Library, Naval Station Norfolk (U.S. Navy Mid-Atlantic Region), New-York Historical Society, New York Transit Museum, Union League Club, Princeton Club, Los Angeles Athletic Club, and many other libraries and organizations. I have appeared on CBS, the Travel Channel Mysteries at the Museum, C-SPAN American History TV, BBC Radio, NPR, and many more.

In 1998 I founded the Dorothy Parker Society, which has been featured in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, National Geographic Traveler, and BBC Radio. I wrote, designed, and produced dorothyparker.com, which was named a “site of the year” by Yahoo. In conjunction with the Algonquin Hotel, I’ve led walking tours of the former Round Table homes and haunts in Manhattan since 1999.

Organization Memberships:
* Empire State Center for the Book, board member
* Guides Association of New York City
* The Lambs, club historian/librarian
* World War I Centennial Committee for New York City, program director

Websites:
* Algonquin Round Table
* Big Apple Fanatics Tours
* Dorothy Parker Society
* Firetruck Tours New York
* Governors Island Explorer’s Guide

I’m a licensed New York City Sightseeing Guide and have been leading walking tours since 1999. I give tours of Manhattan, Governors Island, Ellis Island, Liberty Island, and Cypress Hills National Cemetery in Brooklyn.

I reside with my wife and son on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, as well as Shelter Island, Long Island.