Contact: jer79 [at] columbia [dot] edu **FILM NEWS: BALLAD OF THE WHISKEY ROBBER was named to Hollywood's "Black List," a studio poll of the industry's best screenplays in development. It is being produced by Johnny Depp and Warner Bros. **PUBLICATION NEWS, JUNE 2010: Julian's short story "Subterfuges" was published in the anthology Writing Away From Home: International Authors in Brussels. (Writing Away From Home) **AWARD NEWS: Julian's profile of Aspen has been awarded a 2009 Lowell Thomas Award for Best Magazine Feature Story on the U.S. or Canada, by the National Society of American Travel Writers. The piece was published in Travel + Leisure magazine.(Travel + Leisure, January 2009) For Julian's feature stories on Riga, Latvia; Costa Rica (cover story for the Ecotourism issue) and Aspen: (Travel + Leisure Author Archive, Julian Rubinstein **READ: New Interview in the Rumpus. (Rumpus, July 10, 2009) **READ: Julian's contribution on Orson Welles in City Secrets: Movies. And on New York bars, in the original, City Secrets: New York. (City Secrets: Movies) (City Secrets: New York) **WATCH: Julian's interview with Attila Ambrus in the prison in Satoraljaujhely, Hungary here: (YouTube Prison Interview) --Additional outtakes, including Attila propositioning documentary filmmaker Nina Davenport , on the VIDEO page. --Also, USA Today wrote a story about Attila's 40th Birthday: USA Today Story **WATCH: Julian performs the song Ballad of the Whiskey Robber at the LitCologne Literary Festival in Germany. LitCologne Performance **READ: The New York Times Arts Section cover story about independently producing a radio cabaret style performance of Ballad of the Whiskey Robber (hear free clips below, or buy at iTunes or audible.com) (New York Times Story) **KINDLE: Ballad of the Whiskey Robber now available as a Kindle download for just $9.99 at Amazon.com **LISTEN: Julian performing the song "Ballad of the Whiskey Robber" Click here to listen to the song Click on the bottle to view the recipe for the "Whiskey Robber" cocktail. **AWARD NEWS: Julian's essay about Filming the Last Three Years of his Father's Life has been named a Notable Essay of the Year by the 2007 Best American Essays. The story appeared in the May, 2006 issue of 5280, Denver's city magazine. **iTUNES/AUDIBLE.com: The radio cabaret style audio recording of Ballad of the Whiskey Robber is now available on iTunes, and (for only $10) at audible.com, scroll down for details and free clips. LISTEN to Author Interviews Interviews from NPR's Weekend Edition, Minnesota Public Radio, WNYC’s Leonard Lopate Show and more READ Author Interviews Click for SIGNINGS and READINGS ******************* JUST RELEASED on iTunes and at www.audible.com--- and named a Finalist for the 2007 Audie Award for Best Audio Book A Radio Cabaret Style Performance AUDIO BOOK RECORDING of Ballad of the Whiskey Robber Starring: -Eric BOGOSIAN -Tommy RAMONE -The Daily Show's Demetri MARTIN -Writer/performer Jonathan AMES -Bestselling author Gary SHTEYNGART -Bestselling author Arthur PHILLIPS -Bestselling author Darin STRAUSS -Pulitzer Prize-winner Samantha POWER --Music by ONE RING ZERO, author Julian RUBINSTEIN and... --An introduction by ATTILA AMBRUS himself, recorded from the prison *Scroll down to hear free clips* Everyone worked for free on this project. It is an unabridged recording of the book and is now available for $9.79 at Audible.com if you join (or $13 if you don't want to join.) It is also for sale at iTunes. Buy the Audio Book at audible.com About Contacting Attila in Prison: Attila now has his own MySpace page at: myspace.com/thewhiskeyrobber Future questions and notes for him should be directed there; Previous notes will be forwarded. For more details on that, scroll down.		Performing the song ‘Ballad of the Whiskey Robber’ at the Miami Book Fair. To see a clip of the performance in Koln, Germany, go to the Video page. To listen to the studio recorded version of the song click here BUY THE BOOK!

**SPECIAL OFFER: FREE AUDIO BOOK**: The Audio Book is Available Now for FREE if you buy a one-year membership to audible.com for $9.95 (or for $13.95 if you do not want to join) here

NEW FOOTAGE OF ATTILA ON YOUTUBE: There is a 2 minute video on youtube that has bank surveillance camera footage of Attila's final robbery as well as footage from his (terrible) pro hockey days and personal home videos:
Click here to watch

TO DOWNLOAD A FREE COPY OF JULIAN RUBINSTEIN'S SONG:
Please go to: Ballad of the Whiskey Robber at mp3postcards.com
Full lyrics are at the bottom of this page.


Read the New York Times story about the audio book here:
The NYT on the Whiskey Robber audio performance


FREE SAMPLES FROM THE RECORDING:

--------JULIAN RUBINSTEIN'S song "Ballad of the Whiskey Robber" written in Attila's voice, singing from the prison.

Music and Lyrics by Julian Rubinstein
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Violin, Percussion--Julian Rubinstein
Electric Guitar, Bass, Percussion--Pete Lalish
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO SONG
CLICK HERE FOR LYRICS TO SONG

-------CLICK HERE to hear ATTILA AMBRUS, the Whiskey Robber himself, introducing the book from the maximum security prison in Satoraljaujhely, Hungary. (12 seconds)

-------CLICK HERE to hear writer/performer JONATHAN AMES as the sports reporter who first realizes Attila Ambrus--the pro hockey goalie known as Chicky Panther--is also the infamous Whiskey Robber. (7 second clip, and it's worth it.)

--------CLICK HERE to hear ERIC BOGOSIAN (as Robbery Chief Lajos Varju) and GARY SHTEYNGART (as a Budapest taxi driver) do a scene from the book. (1:46 seconds)

--------CLICK HERE to MEET THE ROBBERY DEPARTMENT in a scene starring ERIC BOGOSIAN, DEMETRI MARTIN, DARIN STRAUSS, EUGENE MIRMAN and BARRY YOURGRAU as Robbery Chief Lajos, Deputy "Mound of Asshead", forensic analyst "Dance Instructor", and detectives Zoli and "Bigfoot," the real-life Budapest police department that chased the Whiskey Robber for 7 years.(4:20 seconds)

--------CLICK HERE to hear a scene of the Whiskey Robber on the run from police helicopters after robbing the same Budapest bank for the fourth time. (1:40 seconds).

--------CLICK HERE to hear a scene of the Whiskey Robber's answer to the question: Would you attempt to escape from prison again? (13 seconds).

-----Other performers on the audio recording: singer Tommy Ramone (of the Ramones; real name Tommy Erdelyi or "Tommy Transylvania"), performer/author Eric Bogosian, writer/performer Jonathan Ames, literary supergroup One Ring Zero, Daily Show comedian Demetri Martin, Bestselling writers Gary Shteyngart, Arthur Phillips, Darin Strauss, Samantha Power; rock star Jonathan Spottiswoode of Spottiswoode and his Enemies, actress/comedian Mary Birdsong, comedian Eugene Mirman, author/performer Barry Yourgrau, editor extraordinaire Geoff Shandler, voice artist Jen Cohn, Hungarian baroness Sonja Simonyi, audio book queen Karen Cera, and more.
Produced by the talented Joe Mendelson and his tremendous team at Gramercy Post Studios in New York City.


REACTION FROM HUNGARY***The most respected literary publication in Hungary, Elet es Irodalom (Life and Literature), weighs in, calling Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: "One of the best books ever written about post-1989 Hungary. This is not enough in itself to make it terribly annoying but there is more to it: ARGUABLY THIS BOOK MAY BE THE BEST PIECE OF SERIOUS LITERATURE EVER WRITTEN TACKLING THE HUNGARIAN EXPERIENCE....One of Julian Rubinstein's best virtues is a sincere interest in, and sympathy toward, csorikaim, the little people prone to fall, the losers. In Hungarian non-fiction, no examples of such curiosity and empathy have emerged since Gyorgy Moldova's heyday....Ballad of the Whiskey Robber is one book in a thousand."

ATTILA's MYSPACE PAGE: myspace.com/thewhiskeyrobber
Attila now has a page on myspace in order to communicate with the world from the maximum security prison in Satoraljauhely, Hungary, where he now sits. He is not able to make the updates himself but he can speak by phone five minutes each week and have visitors once a month, who are relaying his information. It is very difficult for him to answer individual questions but periodically printouts will be given to him from the site. The next deadline for getting messages to him that he will read is early March, 2007.


NON-BOOK DOCUMENTARY FILM NEWS: Julian Rubinstein's documentary about his father, a doctor turned cancer patient, is in preproduction. Rubinstein filmed the last three years of his father's life. His father, a Denver psychiatrist was diagnosed with prostate cancer at age 49 in 1992 and was given three years to live. He lived for 12. The film documents Rubinstein's father's harrowing and inspiring fight to stay alive, and the unexpected ways that his disease, and the filming of it, transformed their broken relationship. (Read an obit from the Rocky Mountain News here)

WHISKEY ROBBER MUSIC NEWS: There are now at least five songs written and recorded by bands around the globe in tribute to Attila Ambrus. In Newport, Oregon, a band has named itself "The Whiskey Robbers" and offers "The Ballad of Attila." From Philadelphia, the Disgruntled Sherpa Project offers the song "Attila" on its latest album. From Germany, MC Organmueller, offers "Whiskey Rauber." And from Budapest, Hungary, Gangsta Zoli offers "Csiki Parduc," or Chicky Panther, Attila's nickname on the hockey team. Clips from these songs coming soon.

AT LEAST 12 CITIES PARTICIPATE IN WORLDWIDE TOAST TO ATTILA; OCTOBER 6, 2005: At least 12 cities around the world hosted parties to toast Attila on his 38th birthday. Participating cities included New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Denver, Newport Oregon, Budapest, Madrid, Barcelona, Calgary, Sydney, Berlin, Riga. Still confirming Bogota.

ON WRITING TO ATTILA: Since many people have asked: It is still not possible to send mail to Attila directly. If you want to get a letter to him, you can either email it to: jer79 [at] columbia [dot] edu and it will be sent to him. Or you can also mail it to the address below. At this time, there is no safe way to send him money or even books but hopefully there will be new information about this soon.
To send by regular mail, send to:

Julian Rubinstein
c/o Little, Brown
RE: Whiskey Robber Mail
1271 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020


AWARD NEWS: Borders has named the book the 2004 "Original Voices" Non-fiction Book of the Year. Read the press release here

MORE AWARD NEWS: The book has been named a finalist for the 2005 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime.

MORE AWARD NEWS: The book has been named a finalist for the 2005 Anthony Award for Best Non-fiction.

FILM NEWS: The rights to the book have been purchased by Warner Brothers with Johnny Depp attached to play Attila.

FOREIGN PUBLICATION NEWS: Ballad of the Whiskey Robber is now available in: Canada, The U.K., Australia, and New Zealand; and in translation in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, where it is a #1 National Bestseller.


REACTION FROM Donald Blinken, the U.S. Ambassador to Hungary from 1994-1998: "This is a funny, moving, edge-of-your seat true story that beautifully captures the mood and ethos of post-Cold War Budapest. I loved it and Willie Sutton would have too."



FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (Editors' Choice): "Rubinstein has found a story of the sort that would make even the most dry-mouthed jounalist slobber. Sometimes sad, often hilarious and always absurd, Ambrus's tale microcosmically condenses the politico-historic oddities of his place and era into one entertaining and fairly tidy narrative....With a keen eye for the ridiculous, fearlessly high-speed prose and an extraordinary wealth of reported detail, Rubinstein conducts the affair like an unusually thoughtful carnival barker."


***Canada's leading newspaper, The Globe and Mail calls BALLAD: "AN INSTANT CLASSIC."

---

--Listen to an interview with Julian by Euan Kerr on Minnesota Public Radio, and also hear Julian read from the book's prologue here

--Listen to an interview with Julian by Sheilah Kast on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday here

---Listen to an interview on WNYC's Leonard Lopate Show recorded live in New York, click here

--Listen to an interview with Julian by Bill Thompson on the nationally syndicated showEye on Books, recorded live in Washington, DC here

--Listen to an interview with Julian by Anne Strainchamps on Public Radio International's To The Best of Our Knowledge, recorded in Cape Town, South Africa here

---Listen to Julian's interview on NPR's Only A Game here:, click here

--And coming soon, the link to Julian's interview with Peter Anthony Holder on "Holder Tonight" in Montreal.

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--Read two in-depth interviews with Julian on the literary website Small Spiral Notebook and another interview on Media Bistro

--Read an exclusive essay about writing the book that appeared on the cover of Powell's January literary magazine here.

--Read Julian on "Finding and Writing, 'Ballad of the Whiskey Robber'"here


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BORDER'S has named "Ballad..." its 2004 ORIGINAL VOICES Non-Fiction Book of the Year.
Click here for more


---Listen to Julian's interview on NPR's Only A Game here:, click here
Host Bill Littlefield: "I'm grateful that Ambrus's checkered hockey career provoked somebody at Little, Brown to send the book to 'Only A Game'. Otherwise BALLAD OF THE WHISKEY ROBBER might never have come to my attention, and that would have been my loss."


---Listen to WNYC's Leonard Lopate's interview with Julian recorded live on October 7 in New York, click here


ESPN's "Cold Pizza" Program picked "Ballad..." as a "MUST READ," calling it "An amazing story....Unreal."




Jack Daniels created a new drink called "the Whiskey Robber," based on the book's title character. The drink and the book were recently mentioned in the New York Post's PAGE SIX column. read here



See Frank Deford, Julian Rubinstein, and the Whiskey Robber himself in a special feature segment shot on site in Hungary for HBO's award-winning program just three weeks ago.
This show will air several times; for full schedule, click here


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HUNGARIAN EMBASSY, WASHINGTON, DC
Thursday, May 18, 7:00 pm
Talk and performance of the song
Hosted by the Hungarian Ambassador to the U.S. Andras Simonyi


MediaBistro Panel: FROM JOURNO TO BIG BOOK, HOW 5 JOURNOS BECAME AUTHORS, NYC
Wednesday, June 28, 7:00 pm
Also on panel: Sebastian Junger, David Margolick, and Shari Goldhagen
Moderated by Tom Zoellner
Manhattan Ensemble Theatre, 55 Mercer Street at Broome Street
Tickets, $20 ($15 for MediaBistro Members), Reservations requried


***************************************************************************************


LYRICS TO "BALLAD OF THE WHISKEY ROBBER"
Written by Julian Rubinstein in the voice of Attila Ambrus
for his worldwide 38th birthday toast, October 6, 2005.


If you want to say I had a dream
I guess you could
Back when it was against the law


Not the one you know
That was a result of what I saw.


In the beginning
What I wanted
Was what we all need


There were no questions.
No food for egos to feed.


But I don't want to talk about that time
Because I think about it
All of the time.


CHORUS

I was on the run for so long
Start to feel like chasing
Something I'd never find


I can't erase what I did
But I accept it
Most of the time


How will you remember me
When will I be free
At least in my mind.


***

On my 20th birthday
18 years ago today


I climbed under a train
Left my nothing
Had to get away.


One thing about me
I never gave up


I could do anything
But my anything was never enough


Until I found
Something
That went
A little like this:


On the day
President Clinton
Took the oath
I was in a flea market
Looking for wigs
And a toy gun


It was robbery
I had in my mind


Not a knockoff job
But one of a kind


There was a post office
Down the street


And since I was
Quick on my feet
I might not have to
Work for weeks.


CHORUS

**

How'd I end up in politics
When it wasn't politics
That was on my mind

But all throughout history
It's how you make your money
That defines the times.


No more hypocrisy
Much bigger criminals
Will always get away


Change the leaders
It won't matter
It's the little people
That have to pay.


I guess I felt they owed me
I Rationalized


I never hurt anybody
On that point even the court took my side.


But if you don't think I know it's a crime
Remember I live with it all of the time.


**

I was on the run for so long
That when they captured me
I surrendered willingly


Confessed to all my crimes
Yet they treated me
Like a king's mortal enemy


What if when I walk outta here
I'm not the same man
I used to be


Would you believe in me?
Who will I be?
When they're through with me.




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