Bob Batchelor

From Marvel icon Stan Lee to rock legend Jim Morrison and Jazz Age criminal mastermind George Remus, Bob Batchelor has established a global reputation for writing entertaining books on iconic figures who transcend their eras and leave a lasting legacy on American cultural history. Noted for deep research and a cinematic writing style, Batchelor is a three-time winner of the IPA Book Award.

Hailed as “one of the greatest non-fiction writers and storytellers” by New York Times bestselling author Brian Jay Jones, Batchelor is a cultural historian and noted expert on contemporary American culture, history, and biography. His books examine modern popular culture icons, events, and issues, from comic books and music to literary figures and history’s outlaws.

Batchelor has published 16 books, including The Gatsby Code: A Century of Dreams and Disillusion; The Authentic Leader: The Power of Deep Leadership in Work and Life; Stan Lee: A Life; Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel, Young Reader’s Edition; Roadhouse Blues: Morrison, the Doors, and the Death Days of the Sixties; and The Bourbon King: The Life and Crimes of George Remus, Prohibition’s Evil Genius.

Batchelor is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and Culture at Coastal Carolina University. Previously, he served as Vice President, Global Marketing and Communications at Workplace Options (WPO), a holistic well-being company with 123,000 clients across the globe and 88 million lives under care, recently acquired by TELUS. He also was Director of Public Relations and Publishing at The Diversity Movement. Earlier in his career, Batchelor held the James Pedas Endowed Chair at Thiel College and taught a generation of students at Kent State University, the University of South Florida, and Miami University, as well as St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences in Vienna.

As a strategic communications advisor and counsel, Batchelor has helped C-suite leaders create return on investment and brand value via content, thought leadership, internal communications, and public relations across a range of organizations, from nonprofits and tech startups to multinational corporations. He is a specialist in executive communications and has an abiding interest in heritage management. The list includes: UKG, Bon Secours Mercy Health, Perfetti Van Melle, HP, the Dallas Mavericks, Rookwood Pottery, Cintas, Norsk Titanium, (matter), and Rowman & Littlefield. A longtime publishing expert, Batchelor has ghostwritten award-winning books and content for numerous executives, as well as helped hundreds of people write and launch their books. In the past, he held speechwriting, internal communications, marketing, and public relations roles at Bank of America, FleishmanHillard, Ernst & Young, and The History Factory.

Batchelor’s books have been translated into a dozen languages. His work has appeared in or been featured by the New York Times, the BBC, Cincinnati Enquirer, Los Angeles Times, Today.com, The Guardian, PopMatters, and Time. Batchelor is a host on the New Books Network podcast and creator and host of the podcasts: “Theories of Celebrity Branding,” “John Updike: American Writer, American Life” and “Tales of the Bourbon King: The Life and True Crimes of George Remus.” He has appeared as an on-air commentator for The National Geographic Channel, Wondery, PBS NewsHour, BBC, PBS, and NPR. Batchelor formerly hosted “TriState True Crime” on WCPO’s Cincy Lifestyle television show.

Batchelor earned a doctorate in American Literature from the University of South Florida, where he studied with film and literary scholar Phillip Sipiora. He earned a Masters degree from Kent State University, where he worked under the eminent historian Lawrence S. Kaplan. Batchelor lives in South Carolina with his wife Suzette Percival, an antiques and vintage expert who founded the lifestyle brand Spot of Vintage. They have two wonderful daughters in college.

A lifelong history and crime fiction buff, Bob is currently (most likely) either reading or working on a new book, hopefully with a snifter of bourbon nearby. He makes a mean martini…the dirtier the better!