The arrest of James "Whitey" Bulger, the mobster and FBI Top Ten Most Wanted fugitive, on June 23 has had an immediate effect on the publishing world, with authors and publishers alike scrambling to meet the rekindled interest in one of America's most notorious crime figures.
Steerforth Press, the publisher of the 2004 memoir, Street Soldier: My Life as an Enforcer for Whitey Bulger and the Boston Irish Mob by long-time Bulger associate Edward J. MacKenzie, has already seen its latest reprinting bought up since the news broke. According to Chip Fleischer, publisher at Steerforth, Street Soldier has been "steadily reprinted every nine to fifteen months in modest quantities." Steerforth's latest reprint was in March, but in light of Bulger's arrest, they are already ordering another reprint to meet the increased demand.
Author Howie Carr, who has had his life threatened by Bulger and his associates, released Hitman: The Untold Story of Johnny Martorano: Whitey Bulger's Enforcer and the Most Feared Gangster in the Underworld in April from Forge Books, has also been busy since the arrest. On June 23, the day of the arrest, Carr appeared on Good Morning America, NPR, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, and ten radio shows. He expects to be doing radio and print interviews into next week.
