Charles Ota Heller

I have submitted the following for publication in The Washington Post Magazine–its 250-word features titled “Mine”: It’s only a rusty piece of metal, but it’s priceless to me. I picked it up from a pile of mud back in 1994, the day I regained ownership of my family’s once-burgeoning manufacturing company in Czechoslovakia. As I…

My essay, titled “Something Happened,” just won third place in the 2016 Maryland Writers’ Association writing contest: SOMETHING HAPPENED by Charles Ota Heller Something happened to me. I don’t know when; I don’t know how; I don’t know why. I only know that it happened and that it was subtle, yet profound. It changed the…

As a small boy growing up in Europe, I idolized Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer famous for his heroic journeys to the North and South Poles. I read everything I could find about him and someday wanted to be an explorer like he. So, when I discovered a new book about Amundsen, I was anxious to…

The Baltimore Holocaust Survivors and Descendants Group Under the Auspices of the Baltimore Jewish Council Invites you to our: NEXT MEETING: Sunday, April 17, 2016 2 – 4 pm at the Community Room, Park Heights JCC 5700 Park Heights Ave, Baltimore, MD 21215 Guest speaker: Mr. Charles Ota Heller, author of award-winning book: Prague: My…

I’m happy to have been chosen for the editorial board of Capital Gazette, the nation’s oldest newspaper. My association with The Capital goes back many years. In addition to being a subscriber/reader of the paper ever since coming to Annapolis in 1963, I was a columnist for the Sunday Capital for many years. Serving on the…

Pat Conroy–in my view, the finest American contemporary writer–has cancer. He made the following announcement on his Facebook page: “I have recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. With the help of the wonderful people at M.D. Anderson I intend to fight it hard. I am grateful to all my beloved readers, my friends and my…

Yesterday, I received a Christmas present from a good friend in the Czech Republic. What made the gift even more significant was the postage stamp on the package: The Czech Republic honored one of the great heroes of World War II–Sir Nicholas George Winton. This modest, unassuming, English gentleman saved hundreds of Czech children from…

The following is a continuation of a preview of my upcoming memoir, Ready, Fire, Aim! A Survivor’s Tales of Entrepreneurial Terror. (The manuscript is currently in the capable hands of my agent, Maryann Karinch, who is presenting it to publishers). This is a portion of Chapter 4, titled “Charm City:” “Holy Christ! What have we…

The second of several previews of my upcoming book, Ready, Fire, Aim! A Survivor’s Tales of Entrepreneurial Terror, this is a portion of Chapter 3, titled “Space Race.” Additional vignettes from the book will follow in upcoming weeks. Thanks for your interest in my latest book! —————- The last part of my college career at…

I have completed the manuscript of Ready, Fire, Aim! A Survivor’s Tales of Entrepreneurial Terror. It is now in the capable hands of my agent, Maryann Karinch of The Rudy Agency. With this blog, I am beginning a preview of a few portions of the book. I hope it will give you a taste of…