GREAT WHITE Founder And Guitarist MARK KENDALL Announces 'Soul Of A Man' Memoir Deal With DIVERSION BOOKS
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Mark Kendall, founding member and lead guitarist of the multi-platinum and Grammy-nominated rock band GREAT WHITE, has announced that he has signed a book deal with Diversion Books for his forthcoming memoir, "Soul Of A Man: My Life In Great White, From The Stage And Beyond", with publication scheduled for fall 2027. The deal was negotiated by Jeffrey Mangus, founder and principal literary agent of Mangus Literary Group (MLG). Represented by Mangus, Kendall will share the deeply personal story behind the music and the man the world has known for over four decades.
Written in his own candid voice, "Soul Of A Man" traces Mark's rise from the Southern California club scene to international stardom with GREAT WHITE, and moves beyond the mythology of the Sunset Strip era into the addiction, recovery, devastating loss, lasting love, faith, and second chances that have defined his life since the music stopped.
"This isn't only a story about rock 'n' roll," said Kendall. "It's the story of everything that happened when the music stopped — the mistakes, the miracles, the people I've loved and lost, and the grace that allowed me to keep going. I wanted to write the truth, not the highlight reel. I've lived a life I never could have imagined, and I'm finally ready to tell the whole story."
As GREAT WHITE's founder and signature guitarist, Kendall helped bring such enduring rock classics as "Rock Me", "Save Your Love", "House Of Broken Love" and the Grammy-nominated worldwide hit "Once Bitten, Twice Shy". Behind the platinum records, sold-out arenas, and decades on the road lies a deeply human story of survival and redemption — one Kendall is now ready to tell in full.
Keith Wallman, editor-in-chief of Diversion Books, led the acquisition. Diversion's list includes acclaimed narrative nonfiction in music, biography, and pop culture.
"Mark's story sits at the intersection of rock history and genuine human transformation," said Wallman. "'Soul Of A Man' is the rare music memoir that earns its redemption arc rather than assuming it."
"Mark approached this book with a level of honesty that's rare in the genre," said Jeffrey Mangus. "He didn't set out to write a rock memoir; he set out to tell the truth about his life, with the music and the meteoric rise to the top as the backdrop. Placing this project with Keith and the team at Diversion Books was exactly the right fit."
"Soul Of A Man" also takes readers inside Kendall's journey through sobriety, the profound partnership he shares with his wife, Bridget, and his current fight against Stage IV cancer — all while he continues to make music and live with gratitude, purpose, and faith.
Publication details and a release date will be announced by Diversion Books at a later date.
In an April 2026 interview with I Ask No One With Kevin Re LoVullo, Kendall stated about his upcoming autobiography: "We're 14 chapters in. I was trying to think of a title [for] it, and I'm calling it 'Soul Of A Man' because I'm pretty much baring my soul in this thing. I'm going all the way back to childhood, telling every story you can imagine, and with the guitar in there.
"What happened was this Canadian company approached me about doing a book, and I started writing it on my own," he explained. "And they said, 'There's too many stories. We just want you to talk about the guitar.' I'm going, like, me being a fan myself, I like to hear what Billy Gibbons [ZZ TOP] is doing on the weekends, part time, when he is not on stage. So I would figure that fans would wanna get to know me better. And so I didn't do it. I just stopped it right there. I go, 'I really don't wanna do that type of book.' It could be maybe called an autobiography, but it's really gonna be a biography. 'cause I'm letting the cat outta the bag here. You're gonna get to know Mark Kendall here. So, out of the blue, some other guy approaches me. His name's Jeffrey Mangus, and he's written 38 books. He just finished Al Di Meola's book and all this. He approaches me… So I go, 'Man, yeah. I'm really into it.' So we've been working for about two and a half months, maybe three months. And we just get together, and I'm just going through the years. And the timeline's right. We're going album to album, telling stories, lacing in stories in between. And I'm trying not to make it a real dirt book, but I'm telling the truth, so some feelings could get hurt. I don't know. But I'm not gonna hold back anything. I'm just gonna be truthful about everything and just call it the way I've seen it."
Born into a musically gifted family, Kendall grew up in Huntington Beach, California. His father played jazz trumpet; his mother sang her heart out to jazz tunes before adoring audiences. His grandfather, too, was a virtuoso on the piano. Citing Jimi Hendrix, CREAM and THE DOORS as early influences, Kendall's passion and natural abilities got him hooked on guitar.
(Source: www.blabbermouth.net)
