ABOUT THE BOOK... COOLER NEAR THE LAKE: FIFTY-TWO FAVORITES FROM THIRTY-FOUR YEARS OF DEADLINES BY JIM HEFFERNAN Long-time Duluth News Tribune columnist Jim Heffernan releases a bound collection of classic columns. Heffernan, a seasoned journalist, wrote a weekly humor and slice of life column for the Duluth News Tribune for thirty-four years while also performing duties as a news writer and editor. His popular columns continued throughout his journalism career and as a freelancer following retirement. He wrote his final newspaper column in June of 2008. Heffernan's writings are filled with humor, heart and unique insights on life and follow his own life journey as a youth, professional writer, husband, father and grandfather. While Heffernan's columns draw from life in northern Minnesota, they also reflect universal truths as he sensitively and quite seriously explores his own life milestones. Heffernan's unique perspectives on life provide ample smiles as he shares with readers what he calls his "outrageous nonsense." A section on the rich and famous who visited Duluth provides interesting commentaries on a number of celebrities including John F. Kennedy, Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and Gregory Peck. While Heffernan's writings are generally in commentary form, he also includes a few of his poems, one of which is the title for the book, Cooler Near the Lake. That poem first ran in 1979 and has been reprinted countless times, remaining one of the most popular of the over 1700 columns written. Heffernan continues his freelance writing in semi-retirement. He publishes a blog, www.jimheffernan.org, and writes a monthly in print column for theDuluth~Superior Magazine. Heffernan lives and writes in Duluth, Minnesota. Jim Heffernan, author of Cooler Near the Lake, recently purchased rights for this book from the original publisher, X-Communication. Editor/Producer: Please contact the author directly to set up interviews or for more information. Author: Jim Heffernan (218) 728-2854 vheffernan@earthlink.net www.jimheffernan.org – 30– ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ABOUT THE AUTHOR... JIM HEFFERNAN Jim Heffernan is a native of Duluth, Minnesota where he received his formal education and found his life work as a newspaper journalist and popular columnist. Heffernan grew up in the Duluth's West End/Lincoln Park neighborhood, graduating from Duluth Denfeld High School. He served in the U. S. Army and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota in Duluth. Heffernan began his journalism career in Duluth. He served as an editor and writer with the Duluth Herald and Duluth News Tribune for forty-two years before retiring in 2005. His newspaper career spanned duties as a reporter covering general assignments, education beat, city government beat and the arts and entertainment. He also served as a city editor and arts and entertainment editor and ended his career as an editorial page associate. For thirty-four of those years, Heffernan also wrote a popular weekly "slice of life" and humor column. Heffernan continued that column as a freelance writer for the Duluth News Tribune until June of 2008. He continues writing in semi-retirement as a freelancer, penning a similar column for the Duluth~Superior Magazine and also provides regular musings on the Internet in Jim Heffernan's Blog, www.jimheffernan.org. Heffernan received recognition for his writings and work in journalism and was involved in past community media organizations. As a member of the Duluth News Tribune's editorial department, he wrote or contributed to editorials that received several state awards. He won a first place in the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalism Awards for a column about Hubert Humphrey and received a University of Minnesota, Duluth Distinguished Alumni Award. Heffernan lives in Duluth with his wife, Voula. Together they are the parents of Kate Heffernan Carson (Nathan) and Patrick Heffernan (Carrie) and grandparents of Paige and Jack Carson and twins Ben and Nick Heffernan and their younger sibling, Ashton Heffernan. An active volunteer in the local arts community, Heffernan serves on the board of the Duluth Festival Opera. Editor/Producer: Please contact the author directly to set up interviews or for more information. Author: Jim Heffernan (218) 728-2854 vheffernan@earthlink.net www.jimheffernan.org – 30– ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PRAISE FOR... “Cooler Near the Lake” ~ Author Jim Heffernan “Jim Heffernan’s columns have moved us to laughter and tears, troubled our conscience, confronted our humanity, and made us recognize ourselves through the lens of these gifted verbal sketches.” — Jim Oberstar, U.S. Congressman representing Northeastern Minnesota “They say laughter is the best medicine. If that’s the case, Jim Heffernan left a lot of people healthy with his News Tribune columns. Amidst the headlines of crime and mayhem Heffernan’s column brought a dose of light-hearted humor that lifted the spirits and always made it a better day.His droll sense of humor and easy wit often made me laugh out loud.” — Barbara Reyelts, News Manager, Northland’s NewsCenter “Every newspaper needs a storyteller and Jim Heffernan served his native city and the Duluth News Tribune well. He wrote about those living in the Northland and those who touched them from the era of Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley and John F. Kennedy to the present. Heffernan’s columns were a slice of unique humor and insight.” — Kevin Pates, Duluth News Tribune sportswriter (and pop culture aficionado) “Returning to my hometown Duluth over the years, I always took great pleasure in reading Jim’s column. It was like catching up with a member of the family, and fi nding that, despite fads, fashions and the occasional absurdities of the times, the old hometown was still essentially the same, and in very good hands.” — Rick Shefchik, author of the “Sam Skarda” mysteries Amen Corner and Green Monster. “Jim has become the unofficial historian of Duluth’s role in the last days before ‘The Day the Music Died’ when singer Buddy Holly appeared here shortly before he and others were killed in a plane crash. I sponsored and emcee’d the show; Jim was there and has written movingly about it.” — Lew Latto, veteran Duluth radio talk show host (and broadcast executive)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BOOK COVER (DIGITAL)... A digital image of the book cover is downloadable to use for print releases.
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