iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Ding Ding Ding! Announcing Round Four of #HittingTheBooks Excited to be reading Lucas Schaefer’s 2025 novel THE SLIP. Post about it. Take pictures. Make videos. Comment, like, share. Open to anyone and everyone.

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Steve Hunt @mrstevehunt.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Out now! On the latest episode of the Boxing Movie Podcast, @andrewrihn.bsky.social joins me to discuss surely the least popular entry in the Rocky franchise. Is it as bad as some people will have you believe? Available on all the major podcast platforms. #boxing #filmsky #moviesky

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

#HittingTheBooks Author David Curcio offers up some info on the movie adaptation of FAT CITY and its director John Huston in his much-recommended book SMASH HIT.

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Today on #HittingTheBooks Let’s start looking at the 1972 John Huston film adaptation of FAT CITY. On the Google doc, we’ve got links, images, reviews, books, and podcasts!

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Presale for my throwback boxing novel Aboard the Old Buoy is available now through Cornerstone Press. A beach read for weirdos. Vintage pulp style — blood, broken bones, and beautiful women. Link below

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Ch 22, 23, & 24 — The end of the book. Except FAT CITY is way too recursive and lyrical to really “end,” so the last we hear of Tully is told in rumors and half-truths, and the last of Ernie is actually his returning to Stockton. Ruben’s last lines here tender and poignant …

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Stephanie D’Abruzzo @stephaniedabruzzo.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

My husband is reading producer Walter Mirisch’s autobiography and shared this tidbit with me: When they were prepping to shoot MOBY DICK, director John Huston had an idea for how to portray the whale: A shark in a whale suit. I repeat: A shark. In a whale suit. I CANNOT STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS.

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Update: I’d forgotten the slim volume on George Bellows for her writing on his boxing paintings. Also forgot Soul at the White Heat, which contains 3 boxing essays. And I just purchased the collection Murder on the Ropes for her short story The Man Who Fought Roland LaStarza.

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

How absolutely incredible it was for me to be invited on @mrstevehunt.bsky.social Boxing Movie Podcast to discuss ROCKY, the one of most visible, most recognizable, most iconic movies — not just in boxing, but in any genre.

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Full page ad for Joyce Carol Oates’ ON BOXING, The Ring magazine, July 1987

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

CH 19, 20, & 21 It’s the final straw for Tully and Oma. Meanwhile, Mexican boxer Arcadia Lucero rides his lonely road to Stockton to face Tully. They square off at the Civic Memorial Auditorium. Tully wins, but is unhappy with the pay and with Luna. #HittingTheBooks

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Steve Hunt @mrstevehunt.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

The original Rocky film is 50 years old now, so you might think it would be difficult to say something new about it. I beg to differ. Author @andrewrihn.bsky.social offers a different perspective in my new book, Knockout Movies! A History of Cinematic Boxing. #booksky #moviesky

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Visiting boxers' graves in Ohio. #6 Michael Dokes

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

At last — finally acquired the novel You Must Remember This. Alongside the short story Golden Gloves (collected in Raven’s Wing) and the more recent novel A Book of American Martyrs, I believe I have the entirety of Oates’ boxing fiction. Am I missing any?

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

With the announcement of my upcoming novel, I am now officially a triple threat — poetry, nonfiction, and fiction.

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Looking at the advanced copy of my debut novel, and I just love this cover art so much! Garish and beautiful and a little grotesque — just right for my pulp throwback story. Out November 2026, Cornerstone Press.

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

We’re passed the halfway mark of the book. I’m impressed by how willing Gardner is to keep his two protagonists, Billy and Ernie, separate after their chance encounter early in the book. Ernie is now married, but feels not fully understood by his new wife. #HittingTheBooks

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

For the Pittsburgh Review of Books, I delve into the composition process behind Jack London’s short story “The Mexican” — a backstory of frustrated creativity, controversy with a real-life boxer, and a case of mistaken identity. pghrev.com/in-the-ring-...

pghrev.com

In the Ring with Joe Rivers and Jack London - Pittsburgh Review of Books

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

#HittingTheBooks These three chapters really cover the scope of alienation in the book. Ernie loses a fight, and we get insight into Ruben Luna. Billy Tully works in the tomato fields. And we see the frustrations at play in Ernie’s relationship with his girlfriend Faye.

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Observing Hemingway’s birthday by revisiting this piece I wrote earlier in the year

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Leonard Gardner’s Fat City, Ch 7 & 8 feature an optimistic car ride to a fight in Monterey, and a desolate right back after defeat. Ch 9 follows Tully into the California onion fields, with similarly optimistic/desolate bus rides there and back. #HittingTheBooks

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

COVER REVEAL! [please clap] Northeast Ohio may be sniffed out with smoke blowing down from Canada, but here’s the cover for my novel Aboard the Old Buoy, featuring incredible work from Mike Corrao It’s available for preorder-order now; I’ll post the link below

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

“Losers Have Dreams, Too” Clippings taken from contemporaneous reviews of the novel FAT CITY, 1969-70. #HittingTheBooks

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

#HittingTheBooks CH 4, 5, & 6 read as brief vignettes, all leading up to Ernie Munger’s first fight. We see him out running, and at home covering bruises with makeup. Cut to manager Ruben Luna in a discussion mostly about bodily fluids, and finally Ernie on a date with Faye.

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

My essay The Boxing Match: Sketches, Shadows, Spectacles is available online from The Cleveland Review of Books clereviewofbooks.com/vol-4-point-1/

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

FAT CITY by Leonard Gardner introduces us to Billy Tully, an ex-fighter without much going for him. He meets Ernie Munger — just 18, naturally athletic, with a lot of potential. Tully connects Munger with Ruben Luna, a manager who also sees that potential. #HittingTheBooks

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

This incredible micro- and macro- analysis/close reading/memoir/criticism essay from @morganpcampbell.bsky.social on WC Heinz's THE PROFESSIONAL is just the thing to wrap up that novel as we move into the next one. #HittingTheBooks

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Ding Ding Ding! Announcing Round Three of #HittingTheBooks Excited to be reading Leonard Gardner’s 1969 novel FAT CITY Post about it. Take pictures. Make videos. Comment, like, share. Open to anyone and everyone.

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Liam Hogan @liamhogan.id.au · 02/07/2026

Ad Rock: you can disagree with the current All: POPE MCA: but if you push his buttons then you’re a All: DOPE Mike D: ordain yourself a bishop and you’re All: SCHISMATIC Ad Rock: excommunication is All: AUTOMATIC

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Last year I wrote about this fight, which pitted two all time greats against each other. No footage is known to exist, so I relied on round-by-round newspaper reports. They’re such interesting reads, and I’ve compiled them into a free online pamphlet. Link below. 🔗

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

I didn’t really live up to my end of the bargain for #HittingTheBooks this time around. But I’m eager to get into the next boxing novel. Anyways, here is the last page of THE PROFESSIONAL — appropriate that it ends in dialogue, as so much of the novel is spoken conversation.

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Starting in July, I’ll be reading Leonard Gardner’s 1969 novel FAT CITY. Follow along, read it yourself, and post what you will. #HittingTheBooks

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The Paris Review @parisreview.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

“In an apt omen of things to come, the first prefight press conference for UFC Freedom 250 opened with an AI-generated promotional video and ended with an unplanned altercation.”

buff.ly

The Ultimate Fighting Championship Goes to Washington by Stephanie Cuepo Wobby

June 16, 2026 – “UFC Freedom 250 was a spectacle—a ‘gimmick,’ as Trump called it.”

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Handing in the final edits of my upcoming boxing novel Aboard the Old Buoy originally pitched as a "campy yet sincere pulp throwback." Sad to say when I checked the manuscript, it contains a paltry 78 em-dashes. A measly number! An appalling statistic. Better luck next time!

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

On the tenth anniversary of his death, a look back at one of the lighter moments of his life. #muhammadali

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

While researching the 1923 fight between champion Johnny Kilbane and challenger Eugene Criqui, I collected 7 round-by-round newspaper reports. They’re a fascinating glimpse into ringside reporting. You can read them all in this free pdf I put together! drive.google.com/file/d/1ieqv...

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

From the CRB 4.1 launch party, a rare video of me reading. This is the epigram to my essay, a line from Donald McRae’s book The Final Bell, a question every boxing fan inevitably wrestles with: “I wonder why I am up at such a bleak hour of the morning to watch two men hurt each other.”

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Last night’s launch of the Cleveland Review of Books 4.1 was a huge success. Great readers, great friends, great coffee. Could not ask for me. Plus I picked up my copy of this lovely little thing. Photos do not do it justice.

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Andrew Rihn @andrewrihn.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Preparing for the Cleveland Review of Books magazine issue launch tonight, I’m bringing along 26 of these little illustrated guides to accompany my essay. Each one is numbered (well, lettered) by hand. Only available at Visible Voice books in Cleveland, today 6:00-8:00.

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