Category Archives: Books

NYPL

April is Algonquin Round Table Month at the New York Public Library

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I am really pleased to announce the New York Public Library Mid-Manhattan Branch is going to be celebrating the Algonquin Round Table in April during its popular Story Time for Grown-Ups series. The location is 455 Fifth Avenue, corner of 40th Street. I am going to be giving a free talk (and book signing) about the Vicious Circle on Thursday, April 16, at the same library, and these readings make the whole month more special. Continue Reading →

Condé Nast in Life and Death

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Condé Nast

Condé Nast

 

Condé Nast

Condé Nast

Here is Condé Nast himself, the man who made Vogue & Vanity Fair a powerhouse before World War I. I’m talking about him Thursday, March 26, at the Drama Book Shop during Dorothy Parker Night.

Last summer when I was at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne–paying my respects to Algonquin Round Table members Heywood Broun and Deems Taylor–I stopped by Condé Nast’s grave. He’s buried beside his family in a simple plot, no ostentation at all. I also wrote about him for the Huffington Post and how his magazines launched Dorothy Parker’s career.

Many of the Vicious Circle collected paychecks from Nast, who I find was one of the most interesting men of Jazz Age Manhattan.

Algonquin Hotel

Rare 1952 Radio Show From Algonquin Hotel Found

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While researching my book The Algonquin Round Table New York: A Historical Guide, I uncovered a lost 1952 radio show recorded inside the Algonquin Hotel, The Tex and Jinx Show. Among the guests are owner Ben Bodne, Broadway librettist Alan Jay Lerner, and screenwriter-author Anita Loos. It’s an amazing time capsule of the hotel, at a time when Harry S. Truman was in the White House, a gallon of gas cost a quarter, and the Continue Reading →

TV Interview Tapes at Algonquin Hotel

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I had the pleasure to be interviewed by reporter Andrew Whitman, the anchor and senior political correspondent for RNN FiOS1. We didn’t talk politics, just the legacy of the Algonquin Round Table. It was perfect to sit at the Round Table and talk about The Algonquin Round Table New York: A Historical Guide. The interview aired last night on the Regional News Network in the tri-state area on the Richard French Live show. Thanks to Continue Reading →

Hell’s Kitchen Birthplace of The New Yorker, and Bathtub Gin Recipe

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This is a book trailer for my new one, The Algonquin Round Table New York: A Historical Guide. And since I made it about Jane Grant, Harold Ross, and Alexander Woollcott, I thought I’d post this recipe. It’s from my earlier work, Under the Table: A Dorothy Parker Cocktail Guide. It’s the recipe Jane Grant used to make her own bathtub gin. The video was made outside their former duplex, the landmark 412 West Forty-seventh Continue Reading →

New York Times Review of The Algonquin Round Table New York

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I was very happy to see Sam Roberts include my new book in his Bookshelf column in the Sunday New York Times. The Algonquin Round Table New York: A Historical Guide shares space with The Ramones and Weegee, both are favorites of mine. Roberts also wrote about my 2006 book, A Journey into Dorothy Parker’s New York. Of the new book, he writes: This delightful illustrated reminiscence profiles the full cast of wits who defined cosmopolitan Continue Reading →

Contributing to Cladrite Radio

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I kicked in a blog post for my friends at Cladrite Radio about, guess what? Radio. The article is Radio Pioneers of the Algonquin Round Table (tied into my new book this month, The Algonquin Round Table New York: A Historical Guide) and it goes over the members of the Vicious Circle who were on the air. It was nice to be able to share some information about some of my favorite people, including Franklin Continue Reading →

The Algonquin Round Table New York: A Historical Guide, Coming Jan. 6, 2015

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The press release for my new book is finally here: Lyons Press is proud to announce the January 6, 2015 release of The Algonquin Round Table New York: A Historical Guide, by Kevin C. Fitzpatrick (978-1-4930-0757-8, hardcover).Retrace the steps of the legendary wits that convened at the Algonquin Hotel in 1919 who called themselves the Vicious Circle. The Algonquin Round Table is the first book to fully explore the whole group and their world. It’s Continue Reading →

Dorothy Parker Complete Broadway for Her Birthday

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This Friday is Dorothy Parker’s birthday, and the Dorothy Parker Society is having parties in New York and the Catskills to celebrate. But a recent review of the new book Dorothy Parker Complete Broadway, 1918-1923, makes me want to recommend it as a birthday present from Dottie to you. Los Angeles playwright Steven Vlasak wrote: If you love Dorothy Parker, then you’ll have a major crush on this new book compiled by Parker expert Kevin Continue Reading →