All of us here at the First Book office in DC have been hit hard by the recent death of one of DC’s most familiar figures, author and television host Tim Russert.

Loyal readers of the First Book blog might remember this post from our coverage of Book Expo America 2006, when the meeting was held here in Washington, DC. Tim Russert was the keynote speaker for the show. I had the luck to be there that night and to hear him tell the audience about “Big Russ,” his beloved son Luke, and the joys of the writing process. I’ll never forget it.

In a lovely tribute to Tim, our friends over at Book Expo America have posted the 2006 podcast of Tim’s speech on their web site. Please have a listen. And keep in mind these words from those great folks over at Storypeople.com:

“It is still so new & all we see is the empty space, but that is not how it is in the landscape of the heart. There, there is no empty space & he still laughs & grapples with ideas & plans & nods wisely with each of us in turn. We are proud to have known him. We are proud to have called him friend.”

Thanks, Tim.