Licking County Library is proud to welcome author Keith O’Brien to Weathervane Playhouse for an evening celebrating his work.
New York Times bestselling author and award-winning journalist, Keith O’Brien, discusses his 2024 book, Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball. Charlie Hustle was a NY Times best seller and a New Yorker Best Book of the Year winner of the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for biography.
Charlie Hustle tells the full story of one of America’s most epic tragedies—the rise and fall of Pete Rose. Drawing on firsthand interviews with Rose himself and with his associates, as well as on investigators’ reports, FBI and court records, archives, a mountain of press coverage, Keith O’Brien chronicles how Rose fell so far from being America’s “great white hope.” It is Pete Rose as we’ve never seen him before.
Keith has written four books, been a finalist for the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sportswriting, been longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, and has contributed to multiple publications over the years.
His newest book, Heartland: A Forgotten Place, an Impossible Dream, and the Miracle of Larry Bird, was released March 2026.
Keith’s work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, and on National Public Radio. His radio stories have aired on All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition, as well as Marketplace and This American Life.
A midwesterner by birth, O’Brien grew up in Cincinnati and graduated from Northwestern University. He now lives in New Hampshire with his wife, two children, two dogs and two cats.
A book signing will take place from 6-6:45 PM. Mr. O’Brien’s presentation will begin promptly at 7:00 PM. Books are available for pre-order through Kicks Mix Bookstore. Click here to order Charlie Hustle or click here to order Heartland. A limited number of copies will also be available for purchase the night of the event.
The Weathervane concession stand will be open for the purchase of beverages and snacks.
Tickets are free of charge, but limited to two (2) per guest. If you select tickets and can no longer attend, please email boxoffice@weathervaneplayhouse.org for the staff to release your seats to the public.
Our theatre has wheelchair-accessible and companion seating available in Row A, and are available for reservation by contacting our Box Office at 740-366-4616 or boxoffice@weathervaneplayhouse.org. Please note that wheelchair and accessible seating is limited and on a first-come, first-serve basis.
