John Schlimm

John Schlimm (born December 1, 1971) is an American author. He is a member of the award-winning Straub Brewery family of Pennsylvania, one of the oldest brewing families in the United States. Called a Celebrewtante by the media, he is the author of The Ultimate Beer Lover's Cookbook and several other books. [Autograph magazine, "The Collector Has Become the Collected, June 2008] With more than 400 food and drink recipes that all use beer as an ingredient, John's book made history in 2008 as the largest beer cookbook ever published.

Early Years

John was born in St. Marys, a small town in Northwestern Pennsylvania that was once called the "Carbon Capital of the World." The great-great-grandson of Straub Brewery Founder Peter Straub, he grew up immersed in the beer culture and within walking distance of his family's brewery. [ [http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=0738538434&Store_Code=arcadia&search=straub+brewery&offset=0&filter_cat=&PowerSearch_Begin_Only=&sort=name.asc&range_low=&range_high=%20%26srch_name%3D1 Arcadia Publishing] ]

Early Writings

The first article John published was a front page feature in his hometown newspaper, "The Daily Press", about his family's 4th of July parade tradition. He chronicled how every July 4th his family celebrates the holiday with a private family parade at their woodland retreat. The tradition was started by his Great Uncle Frank Straub, who served as the family's Uncle Sam, almost fifty years ago. [“Straub Family Carries On Independence Day Tradition,” The Daily Press, July 3, 1996] [“Family Tradition Marches On With Fourth Of July Parade,” Erie Daily Times, July 4, 1997]

Years later, while continuing to contribute feature articles to Autograph Collector Magazine (now "Autograph" magazine), in 1998, John became a contributing editor for the magazine and started writing more feature articles as well as a monthly column titled "The Book Collector". [“Chasing History in New Hampshire 2004: A Collector’s Primary Journal,” Autograph Collector, May 2004.“Signature Thrills on Observatory Hill: Collecting the Modern Vice Presidents, 1977-2004,” Autograph Collector, March 2004.“Kings and Queens of the Hill: Collecting Congressional Autographs,” Autograph Collector, June 2003.“The White House Brat Pack: Collecting the Children of America’s First Families,” Autograph Collector, March 2003.“The White House Sorority: Collecting First and Second Ladies of the United States, 1961-2002,” Autograph Collector, November 2002.“Collecting the Cousins of Camelot: The Third Generation of Kennedys,” Autograph Collector, March 2002.“Amens, Autographs and Alleluias,” Autograph Collector, July 2001“Off the Designer’s Rack: Fashion’s Designer Originals,” Autograph Collector, June 2001.“There She Is: The Crowning Autographs of Miss America,” (Cover Story) Autograph Collector, October 2000.“Chasing History at the New Hampshire Primary,” Autograph Collector, May 2000.“Communicating History: Corresponding with The White House Press Secretaries,” Autograph Collector, September 1999.“Dear Mr. President, Will You Please Help Me With My Homework?,” Autograph Collector, October 1998.] He continues to serve as a contributing editor and book critic for the magazine today, writing about some of the world's biggest superstars and pop icons. [ [http://www.autographmagazine.com/ "Autograph" magazine] ]

During this time, he also wrote a column titled "The Culture Collector" and features pieces about such notable public figures and celebrities as presidential candidates on the campaign trail during the New Hampshire primary, Monica Lewinsky, and artist Peter Max for the now defunct "Pop Culture Collecting" magazine. [“The Creative World of Peter Max,” (Cover Story) Pop Culture Collecting, January 2001.“Collecting History in New Hampshire,” Pop Culture Collecting, May 2000.]

Early Career

During his early career in the 1990s, John served in the Vice Presidential Communications Office at The White House where he worked with Second Lady Tipper Gore as well as having worked in production and scriptwriting for the national radio series "Enterprising Women", fundraising for various national and local non-profits, and Country Music PR at FrontPage Publicity in Nashville where he worked with Naomi Judd and other superstars. [Autographs began with Barbara Bush, Tri-County Sunday,12/29/96.]

In 2003, John joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford as an adjunct professor in the Communication Arts Department where he was also the host of the radio program "Campus Crossfire" for five seasons. During the 2006/2007 school year, he served as the Visiting Assistant Professor for Broadcast Communications. Since 2005, John has been a promotional writer for the country’s preeminent literary public relations firm and a leading publisher, where he has written on behalf of Hollywood and literary superstars as well as some of the country’s most respected brand names. [The Source, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, April 18, 2008]

Books

John's first published book in 1996 -- "Corresponding With History" -- told tales of his brushes with fame, in person and as pen pals, with the likes of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Bette Midler, John Wayne Bobbitt, and even Mother Teresa -- and marked the beginning of his historic autograph collection that numbers more than 4,000 signed pieces today and has been widely chronicled in "Autograph" magazine. [ [http://www.etcpublications.com/product.jsp?id=189 ETC Publications] ]

John has written or co-authored several other books as well, including "The Pennsylvania Celebrities Cookbook" (2005), "Straub Brewery" (2005), "The Straub Beer Party Drinks Handbook" (2004), "The Ultimate Elk Cookbook From the Heart of Elk Country" (2005), "The Straub Beer Cookbook" (2003), and his newest work, "The Ultimate Beer Lover’s Cookbook: More than 400 Recipes That All Use Beer" (2008).

While currently on book tour in support of "The Ultimate Beer Lover's Cookbook", John is also at work on several new book projects, spanning numerous genres.

Other Writings

John's articles and writings have also appeared in "Boys’ Life Magazine" [“Sign Here, Please,” Boys' Life Magazine, Adapted from Corresponding With History: The Art & Benefits of Collecting Autographs, March 1998.] , various newspapers, Barbara Delinsky’s "Uplift" [ [http://www.barbaradelinsky.com/delinsky-uplift.htm Uplift by Barbara Delinsky] ] , "A Chicken Soup for the Soul Christmas", and "Republican's Soul". [ [http://www.hcibooks.com/index.asp HCI Books] ]

Community Involvement

John’s ongoing community-based efforts include serving on the Board of Directors for Citizens Against Physical, Sexual & Emotional Abuse, co-directing the award-winning TEAM STRAUB (an adjunct fundraising arm of the Straub Brewery, Inc.) [Straub releases T-shirt to benefit the American Cancer Society, The Bradford Era, 10/16/07] , working as a Red Cross-certified swimming instructor for nearly twenty years, and as a Public Relations Volunteer at St. Joseph Convent.

He has also served as the moderator for the "Blood, Guts, & Glory Lecture Series" on the media, pop culture, politics, and other topics in 2006 [CEC prepares lineup for unique llecture series, The Daily Press, 9/14/06] , Event/Public Relations Organizer for The Celebrities Gala in 2005 [ERHS to host celebrity gala, The Daily Press, 8/24/05] , Founder/Organizer of C.A.P.S.E.A., Inc.’s Swim for the Children Fund & related activities, including the annual swim-a-thon and Voice Award from 2000 – 2003 [CAPSEA swim set for July 29, Tri-County Sunday, 7/16/00] , Special Events Coordinator at the ASAP Children’s Assistance Fund in Washington, D.C. from 1995 – 1996, Communications Director for the 1995 Erie Diocesan Youth Rally, and Founder of the Angels Among Us Christmas Project in Elk County, PA, from 1998 – 2000.

Education

John graduated Summa Cum Laude from Elk County Christian High School in St. Marys, PA, in 1990. Beginning his college career as a Fashion Design Major at Marymount University in Arlington, VA, in 1990, he switched majors and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University with a Bachelors degree in Communications/Public Relations and a minor in Studio Arts.

During the late 1990s, John returned to college at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, earning dual Secondary Education Certifications in English and Speech Communications.

In 2002, John graduated with a Master's in Education from Harvard University. [ [http://www.cumberlandhouse.com/authors/John-Schlimm.html Cumberland House Publishing] ]

Bibliography

The Ultimate Beer Lover's Cookbook, Cumberland House Publishing, 2008."Straub Brewery", Arcadia Publishing, 2005."The Pennsylvania Celebrities Cookbook", Stohn Books, 2005."The Straub Beer Party Drinks Handbook", Stohn Books, 2004."The Ultimate Elk Cookbook From the Heart of Elk Country", Stohn Books, 2004."The Straub Beer Cookbook", Stohn Books, 2003."Corresponding With History: The Art & Benefits of Collecting Autographs", ETC Publications, 1996.

References

ources

[http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6565395.html "Publishers Weekly", Week of June 2, 2008] [http://www.bradfordera.com/articles/2008/06/09/news/doc484c612384467073238320.txt "The Bradford Era"] [http://urbandaddy.com/la/1295/The_Ultimate_Beer_Lover_s_Cookbook_Los_Angeles_LA_To_Beer_or_Not_to_Beer_UrbanDaddy_Archives "UrbanDaddy" (Los Angeles edition), May 9, 2008] "Tri-County Sunday" newspaper, May 18, 2008"Autograph" magazine, June 2008 issue"The Daily Press", June 12, 2008 [http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/myfox/pages/InsideFox/Detail?contentId=6713783&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=5.2.1 Fox 13: Good Morning Memphis, June 6, 2008] Clear Channel Rock 103 Memphis, "Goodtimes Radio Show", June 6, 2008 [http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/Content?oid=oid%3A44106 "Memphis Flyer", June 5, 2008] "The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Playbook", June 6, 2008 [http://www.cumberlandhouse.com/ Cumberland House Publishing, Nashville, TN] [http://www.straubbeer.com/ Straub Brewery, Inc., St. Marys, PA]