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Nick A. Zaino III

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From 'Mystery Science Theater' to 'Employee of the Month'

by Nick A. Zaino III on Jan. 6, 2012

Mary Jo Pehl titled the introduction to her new self-published book of essays, Employee of the Month and Other Big Deals, “A Do-Over” because her first book, 2005’s I Lived with My Parents and Other Tales of Terror, wasn’t what she’d hoped it would be. A publisher had approached the Mystery Science Theater 3000 star and writer about penning a book, and she jumped at the chance, not really knowing what would be involved and ultimately unhappy with her writing.

Now, writing from a more honest place and with her Mystery Science Theater and Cinematic Titanic following ...

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Pollack Goes Self-Pub

by Nick A. Zaino III on Oct. 13, 2011

Neal Pollack’s body of work defies easy categorization. He broke through with a book of fictional first-person essays (The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature, 2002) and has written about rock and roll (Never Mind the Pollacks, 2003), yoga (Stretch, 2010), current events (Beneath the Axis of Evil, 2003) and fatherhood (Alternadad, 2010).

His latest book, Jewball, is his foray into genre fiction and is characteristically tough to categorize. It’s a noirish tale based on historical figures from pre-World War II Jewish semi-pro basketball in Philadelphia, the Nazi Bund and organized crime. It was the perfect book, Pollack ...

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‘Unlikely Brothers’ an unlikely memoir for Prendergast

by Nick A. Zaino III on May 19, 2011

Before he co-wrote Unlikely Brothers: Our Story of Adventure, Loss, and Redemption with Michael Mattocks, John Prendergast had written or co-written nine books, each focusing on advocacy and government policy usually in terms of poverty and war in Africa. Unlikely Brothers turns the spotlight on Prendergast as Big Brother to Mattocks, sharing their individual failings and triumphs in a dual first-person format. Their story spans more than 25 years—following Mattocks’ rough days on the streets of Washington, D.C., and Prendergast’s travels to war-torn areas of Africa—and the influence they had on one another’s lives.

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