Dr. Kenneth Atchity 12-16-44 - 10-10-26

The world lost one of its great champions of storytelling this week. Ken Atchity — Georgetown graduate, Yale Ph.D., tenured professor turned literary producer, and the founder of Story Merchant — passed away, leaving behind a legacy woven into the pages of nearly 20 New York Times bestsellers and the frames of more than 30 films. 

Ken was a frequent guest on #YourPartnerInSuccessRadio, and every time he joined us, he brought that rare combination of brilliance, warmth, and genuine passion for helping others find and tell their stories.

He was the kind of person who didn’t just show up. He gave of himself fully, every single time. He personally gifted me many of his books over the years, and they hold a place of honor on my office shelves. One of my favorites is My Obit: Daddy Holding Me — his own memoir, written in his own hand, on his own terms. How fitting that a man who spent his life giving voice to other people’s stories took the time to write his own. And how like him to do it with courage, humor, and heart. 

I used to tell Ken that I had two favorite people in the world, and he was one of them. I meant it every single time I said it. 

Ken believed that “the universe is not made of atoms, but of stories.” He didn’t just believe that — he built his entire life around it. He walked away from the security of a tenured professorship because he believed that deeply in the power of a well-told story to change lives. The stories he helped bring into the world don’t disappear when we lose the person who championed them. They are his continued presence among us. 

Rest well, Ken. The world is a richer place for every story you touched.

My Obit - In Ken's Own Words

"At the prompting of a marketing friend, I was advised to title this book, My Intensely Madcap, Lebanese/Cajun, Jesuit-Schizoid, Terminally Narcissistic, Food-Focused, East Coast/West Coast, Georgetown/Yale, Career-Changing, Cross-Dressing, Runaway Catholic Italophile, Paradoxically Dramatic, Linguistically Neurotic, Hollywood Academic, ADD-Overcompensating, Niche-Abhorring, Jocoserious Obit. But when my designer pointed out that title wouldn’t fit on the spine, much less on any public display list, I changed my mind."

https://www.amazon.com/My-Obit-Daddy-Holding-Me/dp/1970157275