Tampa, Florida  ·  Writer  ·  Reporter  ·  Publisher

Don Waitt

Donald Francis Waitt Jr. June 30, 1956 — March 28, 2024
Don Waitt
Don Waitt
A checkered past that includes stints as an investigative newspaper reporter, a concert magazine publisher, an adult industry magazine publisher, the author of two self-published books (and hard at work on a third that hopefully more than seven people will read), three police arrests, way too many pharmaceuticals and cocktails, and some other things best left between me and my maker.

— Don

Don wrote his whole life — as a reporter, a publisher, a novelist, and a blogger who never worried about who he might offend. His family keeps this site so his words stay where people can find them.

The Books

Cover of The Revelation of Chester Fortunberry

The Revelation of Chester Fortunberry

Anyone else out there? Prove it, please.

“A short time ago, on a Monday morning at 8:15 to be precise, Chester Fortunberry, after a hot shower and a fulfilling bowel movement, in that exact order, had a sudden and startling revelation, which was that he was the only real living person, or real anything for that matter, on the planet. Everything else, he realized, including the aforementioned planet, were simply figments of his imagination. That revelation shocked the hell out of Chester.”

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Cover of Leaving Early

Leaving Early

A funny book about my suicide.

“Suicide is the bastard stepchild hiding in the basement. It is the 13th leading cause of death worldwide, and the 6th leading cause of death in America. Twice as many people die from suicide as from homicide every year. And nobody talks about it. This is a chronicle of the author’s ten-day countdown to commit suicide, but it’s also a book about common sense and about red neckties and about Dan the Beautiful Snowflake and about strippers and bikers and about killing Grampy and about how to cook the perfect turkey and about Russian spies and about flying dinosaurs and about lady cops with big guns, and about the author’s tiny confidant, Boo.”

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Sucks to Be You

The third one. More than seven people read it.

Don finished his third book before he died. A purchase link will be added here when copies are available.

The Writing

Columns, stories, and some scurrilous stuff

  • 2020 – 2021

    The Tragic Death of Common Sense

    His blog — “some scurrilous stuff from Don Waitt.” Preserved in the Internet Archive.

  • Medium

    @donwaitt on Medium

    More posts, same Don.

  • Weekly column

    Waitt on Wednesday

    His weekly column for Exotic Dancer, the trade magazine he built at ED Publications.

  • Chapbook

    Police Stories

    Eight pages from his crime-desk years. Read it right here (PDF).

  • Short story

    Albert

    Published by Spork Press.

  • Short story

    Racquetball

    Published by New Pop Lit.

  • More

    Don at Neutral Spaces

    His writer page, with links to more stories and a boatload of great independent writers.

The Life

Fort Worth to Tampa, the long way around

  • Fort Worth, 1956

    Born June 30, 1956, into an Air Force family that moved across the United States, Japan, and Panama before settling in Bossier City, Louisiana.

  • The crime beat

    Newspaper reporter in Louisiana and California. He profiled biker gangs, covered bank robberies, and won Associated Press honors doing it.

  • The road

    Publisher of PERFORMANCE, the trade magazine of the concert touring industry.

  • The business

    Founded the Exotic Dancer Directory, which grew into ED Publications and a trade expo that ran for more than thirty years. Helped establish the Association of Club Executives.

  • Tampa

    Home. Husband to Debbie; father to Tyler and Devyn; grandfather to Winter and Sebastian. He died at home on March 28, 2024, and is missed every day.