Kevin C. Fitzpatrick (born January 10, 1966), is an American historian and non-fiction writer. He is best known for his research and writings on Dorothy Parker and the Algonquin Round Table.

Biography

Fitzpatrick was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1966, but spent his childhood in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Summit, New Jersey; Raleigh, North Carolina; and St. Louis, Missouri.[1] He is a graduate of Truman State University (formerly Northeast Missouri State University). While a student at NMSU Fitzpatrick co-founded The Pundit, an independent newspaper that served primarily the student population and young adults of the Kirksville, Missouri area. He served six years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves as a journalist-photographer.[2]

Fitzpatrick has had a varied multimedia career including newspapers, television, advertising agencies, magazines, and more recently web-based publishing and editing.[3] In the latter he has produced close to 75 websites and written for numerous trade publications. When not involved with media pursuits, Fitzpatrick is a certified New York City sightseeing guide, giving walking tours of historic locations, landmarks, cemeteries and drinking establishments.[3] He is also a frequent guest speaker at libraries and literary clubs. Fitzpatrick cites among his biggest influences Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, Franklin P. Adams, and Stanley Walker.[3] Fitzpatrick produces the award-winning dorothyparker.com, which he launched in 1998. He is the president of the Dorothy Parker Society, which he founded in 1999. He was also instrumental in the effort to get Dorothy Parker's birthplace in Long Branch, New Jersey, named a National Literary Landmark by Friends of Libraries USA.[4] Fitzpatrick oversaw the creation of a bronze memorial plaque that was unveiled in August 2005 in Parker's hometown. In 2020 Fitzpatrick brought Parker's ashes from Baltimore to New York City and interred them Woodlawn Cemetery.[5] On August 23, 2021, he unveiled a new gravestone for Parker's family. [6]

In conjunction with the Algonquin Hotel, Fitzpatrick leads walking tours of the former Algonquin Round Table homes and haunts in Manhattan. In 2009 Fitzpatrick founded Donald Books, a small independent publishing company.

Books

His first book, A Journey into Dorothy Parker's New York, was published in 2005 by Roaring Forties Press. Fitzpatrick is the author of Under the Table: A Dorothy Parker Cocktail Guide (Lyons Press, 2013), The Algonquin Round Table New York: A Historical Guide (Lyons Press, 2015), The Governors Island Explorer's Guide (Globe Pequot Press, 2016), World War I New York: A Guide to the City's Enduring Ties to the Great War (Globe Pequot Press, 2017), and 111 Places In The Bronx That You Must Not Miss (Emons-Verlag, 2019).

Fitzpatrick and his family reside in Manhattan and the Town of Shelter Island.

Awards

Books

• 111 Places in the Bronx That You Must Not Miss (ISBN 978-3-7408-0492-3) from Emons-Verlag
• World War I New York: A Guide to the City's Enduring Ties to the Great War (ISBN 978-3-7408-0492-3) from Globe Pequot Press
• The Algonquin Round Table New York: A Historical Guide (ISBN 978-1-4930-4944-8) from Lyons Press
• The Governors Island Explorer's Guide (ISBN 978-1-4930-1966-3) from Globe Pequot Press
• Under the Table: A Dorothy Parker Cocktail Guide (ISBN 978-0-7627-9268-9) from Lyons Press
• A Journey into Dorothy Parker’s New York (ISBN 0-9766706-0-7) from Roaring Forties Press
• Dorothy Parker Complete Broadway, 1918-1923 (ISBN 978-1-4917-2267-1) from Donald Books
• The Lost Algonquin Round Table: Humor, Fiction, Journalism, Criticism and Poetry From America’s Most Famous Literary Circle (ISBN 978-1-4401-5152-1) from Donald Books

References

External links

• Official website
• The Dorothy Parker Society
• Roaring Forties Press