Heresy Press acquires K. Riva Levinson memoir on K Street lobbying and scandal

Heresy Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, has acquired K. Riva Levinson’s second memoir, Misadventures on K Street, for publication on Feb. 16, 2027. The book revisits her decade inside Black, Manafort, Stone & Kelly and frames the story as a prequel to Choosing the Hero, with implications for how lobbying and U.S. foreign policy intersected in the Reagan era.

Why it matters: - Misadventures on K Street adds a first-person account of how Washington lobbying, political scandal and overseas influence campaigns intersected in the Reagan era. - The memoir could draw interest from readers focused on politics, lobbying and modern foreign policy history. - Levinson positions the book as both a personal origin story and a broader origin story for contemporary lobbying.

What happened: - Heresy Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, acquired Misadventures on K Street: My Decade with the Architects of Modern Political Scandal. - K. Riva Levinson is the author and chief executive officer of KRL International. - The book is scheduled for publication on Feb. 16, 2027. - Levinson described the memoir to Bloomberg Government as “the origin story” of lobbying today.

The details: - The memoir follows Levinson’s decade at the Washington lobbying firm Black, Manafort, Stone & Kelly. - Her account begins with the firm’s rise in 1985 and ends with its shutdown 10 years later. - Levinson was 24 when she joined the firm and was the only woman in the room, according to the book description. - The memoir moves between Washington boardrooms, back channels and hostile overseas settings. - The book includes original archival details about campaigns the firm ran for controversial international clients. - Levinson says the narrative covers hazardous missions in Angola, South Africa, Somalia, Pakistan, India, Kashmir, Nicaragua and Sri Lanka. - The book examines ethical compromises, covert operations and political theater tied to U.S. foreign policy. - Levinson says the memoir brings back to life friends and colleagues whose stories and lives were cut short by the fallout of high-stakes geopolitics. - Heresy Press Director Bernard Schweizer said he saw the manuscript as “special” because of its truth-telling, risk-taking and boundary pushing.

Between the lines: - The book is being framed as a prequel to Levinson’s earlier memoir, Choosing the Hero. - That positioning suggests the new memoir is intended to deepen Levinson’s personal narrative while also recasting lobbying history through her experience. - The subject matter reaches beyond memoir into a broader critique of the systems and people that shaped U.S. influence operations abroad.

What’s next: - Heresy Press will publish Misadventures on K Street on Feb. 16, 2027. - Levinson’s remarks indicate the release will likely be promoted as both a memoir and a historical insider account of lobbying’s rise. - Additional interviews and publicity around the book are likely as publication approaches.

The bottom line: - Heresy Press is betting that Levinson’s insider perspective on lobbying, scandal and foreign intervention will resonate with readers ahead of the 2027 release.