Hansen Publishing Group

Michael Musto features John DiLeo in Village Voice

by Jon Hansen, Publisher on May 11, 2012

John DiLeo's Screen Savers II: My Grab Bag of Classic Movies, publishing by Hansen Publishing Group John DiLeo’s SCREEN SAVERS II: My Grab Bag of Classic Movies, released May 2012, has been getting very nice attention. Specifically, Michael Musto of the Village Voice featured John DiLeo in two different posts. The first on April 5, 2012 entitled “The Best Catfights in Hollywood” which features a movie quiz from SCREEN SAVERS II and amusing comments. The second is a feature entitled “Enough with The Sad-Gay Movies, Says Critic” where Michael Musto agrees with John DiLeo that it’s time for Hollywood to produce a gay movie with a happy ending as per John DiLeo’s treatment of the movie Single Man in SCREEN SAVERS II.

Other Mentions of Screen Savers II by John DiLeo

John DiLeo and Screen Savers II is a top news story in the “Movie News” section of Turner Classic Movies’ TCM.com.

Smithtown News, April 5, 2012, “Nesconset Native Pens Film History.”

Show Business Weekly, April 20, 2012, “That ’90s Show” John Roswell, “…witty, clever, and perceptive prose.”

The Central Voice, May/June 2012 “Screen Savers II by John DiLeo Classic Tract”

The Pocono Record, May 4, 2012, “Author Pens Fifth Book about Hollywood”

Appearances by John DiLeo

May 6, 2012: Presentation and book signing at Patisserie Fauchre, Milford, PA.

May 8, 2012: Ann Epner’s radio show

June 7, 2012: Alice Bloom’s show on Larchmont Mamorneck Community Television

June 26, 2012: Pia Linstrom Presents on the Sirius Radio

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John DiLeo Hosts Gary Cooper Film Festival

by Jon Hansen, Publisher on April 20, 2012

Film historian John DiLeo hosts the Gary Cooper Film Festival, April 20-22, at the Milford Theatre (Milford, PA), home of the Black Bear Film Festival. Special guest Maria Cooper Janis, Gary Cooper’s daughter, will be present for an interview with John DiLeo, as well as for a question and answer session and for a book signing. The festival will show four Gary Cooper films: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), A Farewell to Arms (1932) based on Ernest Hemingway’s novel, High Noon (1952), and The Pride of the Yankees (1942) based on the life of Yankees legend Lou Gehrig who succumbed to ALS at age 37. Also as a special treat to film enthusiasts, at least one of Gary Cooper’s Oscars will be on display in the lobby of the Milford Theatre.

Born in Helene, Montana in 1901, actor Gary Cooper’s film career spanned from 1925 until his death in 1961. He is a two-time Academy award winner for best actor for the films Sergeant York (1941) and High Noon (1952).

Film historian John DiLeo wrote about Gary Cooper in his essay, “The Came to Cordura (1959): Heroic Icon Plays a Coward” which appeared in his book, Screen Savers: 40 Remarkable Movies Awaiting Rediscovery (2007). An abridged version of the essay is available at the official Gary Cooper web site run by his daughter Maria Cooper Janis. Both the essay and John DiLeo’s book Screen Savers are available electronically for the Kindle, the Nook and the iPad. John DiLeo’s latest book is Screen Savers II: My Grab Bag of Classic Movies (2012) from Hansen Publishing Group and is available as a paperback and as an ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and the Apple iBookstore.

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John DiLeo’s SCREEN SAVERS II Releases Early

by Jon Hansen, Publisher on April 2, 2012

John DiLeo’s newest book, SCREEN SAVERS II: My Grab Bag of Classic Movies has released early. Planned for a May 2012 release, we were able to get the paperback edition and the ebook ready sooner. As of today, SCREEN SAVERS II: My Grab Bag of Classic Movies is available now as a trade paperback for $24.95 and as an ebook for $9.99.

Screen Savers II: My Grab Bag of Classic Movies picks up where John DiLeo’s Screen Savers left off. It contains extensive essays about ten movie classics along with photographs from the movies, collected and catagorized blogs from John DiLeo’s screensaversmovies.com, and eighty-five classic movie quizzes.

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Karen Kondazian Radio Talk Show Appearances for her novel THE WHIP

by Jon Hansen, Publisher on March 29, 2012

Here’s a list of forthcoming talk show appearances for Karen Kondazian as she talks about her new novel THE WHIP. THE WHIP is a historical western novel based on the life of the renowned Californian stagecoach driver Charlotte “Charley” Parkhurst who spent much of her life disguised as a man.

Friday, March 30
12:15 PM Mountain (1:15 PM Central)
“The Drive”
CJOB-AM
Winnipeg, MB CANADA

Sunday, April 1
5:30 AM Mountain (7:30 AM Eastern)
“Woodstock Roundtable”
WDST-FM
Woodstock, NY

Monday, April 2
7:20 AM Mountain (8:20 Central)
“The Chuck & Don Show”
KMA-AM & FM
Shenandoah, IA

Friday, April 6
11:00 Mountain (12:00 PM Central)
“Penguin Tracks”
KOPN-FM (Public Radio)
Columbia, MO

Thursday, April 11
2:00 PM Mountain
“Hear It Now”
Prairie Public Broadcasting (Public Radio)
Fargo, ND

THE WHIP by Karen Kondazian is published by Hansen Publishing Group. THE WHIP is available as a trade paperback and as an ebook. The paperback can be ordered online from Amazon and Barnes & Noble and other online retailers. The ebook version of THE WHIP is available on the Kindle, the Nook, the iPad and other platforms.

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Gregg Barrios Reviews Aracelis Girmay’s Kingdom Animalia on Oprah.com

by Jon Hansen, Publisher on March 28, 2012

Gregg Barrios, author of RANCHO PANCHO, LA CAUSA, and PURO ROLLO

Gregg Barrios in one of his many hats and pairs of sun glasses. Gregg is author of RANCHO PANCHO, LA CAUSA, and PURO ROLLO.

Hansen Publishing Group author Gregg Barrios, a playwright and poet, wears many hats. One is as a board member of the National Book Critics Circle. Gregg often emails me links to his book reviews. Recently he sent me one for Aracelis Girmay’s collection of poems entitled Kingdom Animalia. The review was picked up on Oprah.com. Naturally, I was happy for him and the author because everyone in the book publishing industry covets any association with Oprah.

Reading the review, I made two pleasant discoveries. One, I discovered the poet, Aracelis Girmay (I just downloaded Kingdom Animalia to my Kindle). Two, the publisher of Kingdom Animalia is BOA Editions which was started by a former professor of mine, Albert Poulin, Jr. In fact, I often joked that I majored in Al Poulin since as an undergraduate I had taken 4-5 courses with him. I first met Al Poulin in the fall of 1973 at the Alternative College at SUNY Brockport. I remember him sitting on a desk in the front of a classroom, drinking coffee from a white Styrofoam cup, and chain smoking while teaching Robert Bly’s poem, “The Teeth Mother, Naked at Last.” I was lucky to have had Al as a teacher before and after his open heart surgery, which was a Bob Fosse experience as he told it. The fall of 1973 was the before. Afterwards, he would often recount how the poet Anne Sexton called and asked him, “Al, what was it like to almost die on the table?” We students loved Anne Sexton, so the conversation was not lost on us.

I last saw Al Poulin, Jr. in 1978 at Ohio University where I was then a graduate student in the creative writing program and BOA Editions was in its infancy. He and the poet John Logan, who also published with BOA, had come to do a workshop and poetry readings. Al Poulin, Jr. was an industrious guy—especially for the literary world, so it’s nice to see that BOA Editions is continuing his work in 2012.

Thanks, Gregg Barrios for conjuring up this memory via your book review.

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THE WHIP arrives on the cover of PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

by Jon Hansen, Publisher on March 23, 2012

The Whip on the cover of Publishers Weekly Karen Kondazian’s novel THE WHIP is on the front cover of PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (March 26, 2012). Based on the life of the renowned nineteenth century stagecoach driver, or whip, Charlotte “Charley” Parkhurst, THE WHIP has been getting around.

Most recently Karen Kondazian toured San Francisco bookstores and did a program at the Wells Fargo Museum to a sold out crowd. In Los Angeles, Kondazian’s home town, she had a book signing at Book Soup. THE WHIP was number one on the Book Soup’s Bestseller list for two weeks in a row following her appearance.

Here’s what others are saying about Karen Kondazian’s THE WHIP:

“This quick-paced, wily tale is a fascinating blend of both fact and fiction that is sure to engage Western and historical fiction fans…”
—Library Journal Review, Keddy Ann Outlaw

“Compelling historical fiction that reveals the surprising places revenge can lead to…Karen Kondazian has created a memorable character in Charley Parkhurst, stagecoach driver extraordinaire…An insightful psychological study…”
—Peter Robinson, reviewer for KALW, San Francisco’s NPR network

“…I have often been accused of never meeting a book I didn’t like. But try THE WHIP on, nevertheless, despite me. I think you will get as caught up in it as I was. This is classic Americana.”
—Fred Beauford, New World Review

“The Whip, a thrilling and soul-searching read, raises questions about revenge and forgiveness as Kondazian takes the reader along dusty trails. It captures brilliantly the zeitgeist of the stagecoach era.”
—Art Kusnetz, San Francisco Books & Travel

“You won’t know what The Whip means until you read this fascinating book. It’s a piece of the Old West, a part of America’s past, told with amazing authenticity.”
—Thomas Fleming, New York Times best-selling author of Conquerors of the Sky

“Take it from someone who’s had firsthand experience with great art exploring the human spirit in a Western setting: Karen Kondazian’s The Whip is just that. This is a story that cries out through its adventurous surroundings—a call from deep in the human heart—and it does so through skill of a magnificent writer. (It also cries out to be a movie. It’s that rich, visual and dramatic).”
—Jim Beaver star of HBO’s Deadwood and author of Life’s That Way.

“The Whip is a cracking good story with more twists and turns than a wagon trail through the mountains.”
—Edward Achorn, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of Fifty-nine in ’84

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John DiLeo’s SCREEN SAVERS II Releases May 1, 2012

by Jon Hansen, Publisher on March 23, 2012

John DiLeo and his new book, SCREEN SAVERS II

On May 1, 2012 Hansen Publishing Group releases John DiLeo’s fifth film book: Screen Savers II: My Grab Bag of Classic Movies. It will be available as a trade paperback for $24.95 and as an ebook for $9.99.

Screen Savers II: My Grab Bag of Classic Movies, a new film book by five-time author John DiLeo, is a partial sequel to DiLeo’s 2007 book Screen Savers: 40 Remarkable Movies Awaiting Rediscovery, which focused on underrated great movies and was organized by genre. His new book uses his Screen Savers format for ten more extensive and perceptive essays on neglected gems, among them the marvelous British thriller The Fallen Idol (1948), the dazzling murder melodrama Ivy (1947), and four outstanding westerns: Branded (1950), starring Alan Ladd; The Furies (1950), starring Barbara Stanwyck; The Far Country (1955), starring Jimmy Stewart; and Ride the High Country (1962), starring Joel McCrea. McCrea is a favorite of DiLeo’s, and the author makes a convincing case for the actor as one of the Golden Age’s best and most underappreciated stars. DiLeo also includes long pieces on McCrea pictures These Three (1936), Primrose Path (1940), and The Palm Beach Story (1942), highlighting the actor’s versatility, his realistic and ageless acting style, and his deft comic underplaying. The final film in this section is a fairly recent one, Two Family House (2000), which DiLeo addresses in a personal and fascinating manner, from his perspective as an Italian-American. As in the first Screen Savers, DiLeo makes you eager to see all of these films, arming you with his insights, passion, and encyclopedic knowledge.

The second section of his “grab bag” is a collection of selected posts from his classic-film blog screensaversmovies.com. Newly organized by chapters, and presented in diary form, these posts were written between 2008 and 2011. They cover a wide range of film topics, from memorial tributes and centenary celebrations to capsule reviews of movies both old and new, great and terrible, famous and obscure. Even without the longer format of the first section’s essays, DiLeo’s breezy, lively writing provides consistent illumination, humor, and wisdom.

The final item in the “grab bag” is a section of movie-trivia matching quizzes, in the format of DiLeo’s first book, And You Thought You Knew Classic Movies! (1999). Witty, clever, and amusing (and often quite funny), these quizzes are both a playful memory bender and a crash course in Hollywood facts. DiLeo incorporates such things as great food-and-drink moments in classics, fictional titles of books and plays that appear in movies, and other items to drive any film fanatic happily mad.

Screen Savers II is an unpretentious film book that is deceptively scholarly. As you enjoy page after page, you may not realize just how much you are learning about the movies, not just their history but how to watch them more alertly, how to see and experience as much as John DiLeo does. His enthusiasm for his subject is enveloping and infectious.

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Karen Kondazian to appear on Kari Moran’s BookRadio Show

March 22, 2012

Karen Kondazian, author of the novel THE WHIP, will join Kari Moran for a conversation at The Writers Junction in Santa Monica, California on Saturday, March 24, 2012 from 7-10pm. Karen Kondazian will be one of three authors being interviewed on the Kari Moran’s BookRadio Show being held live. A reception starts at 7pm, the [...]

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Hansen Publishing Group authors shine at Tennessee Williams Festival

March 22, 2012

The Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival (March 21-25, 2012) has begun in New Orleans and several Hansen Publishing Group’s authors are participating in the festivities as presenters, panelists and moderators. JOHN DILEO is moderating “Tennessee Williams, Gerontologist?” on Saturday at 10 am. Then he presents “Streetcar is that You?: The On-Screen Imitators of Williams’ [...]

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THE WHIP to appear on the cover of Publishers Weekly

March 19, 2012

Hansen Publishing Group is proud to announce that Karen Kondazian’s novel THE WHIP has been selected to appear on the cover of Publishers Weekly. The March 26, 2012 issue of Publishers Weekly is devoted to new titles by independent publishers. Karen Kondazian’s THE WHIP will be one of approximately twelve books featured on the cover [...]

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