Kirkpatrick has worked as a
commissioning editor in the book publishing industry. While acquiring titles for
Thomas Dunne Books, Kirkpatrick edited
The Peasant Prince, Alex Storozynski's biography of
Tadeusz Kościuszko, published in 2009. He also edited Nathaniel Frank's
Unfriendly Fire.
Janet R. Maslin of
The New York Times praised the book as, "A sharp, vigorously framed analysis argued so discerningly, so substantively and so well." In 2012, Kirkpatrick edited and published ''The Wrecking Crew: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Best-Kept Secret'' by Kent Hartman, which won both the
Oregon Book Award for General Nonfiction and the
Audie Award for History. Maslin praised the book, writing "It makes good music sound better." In 2013, he published Bill Rodgers'
memoir Marathon Man: My 26.2-Mile Journey from Unknown Grad Student to the Top of the Running World. 2014 Boston Marathon winner
Meb Keflezighi credited Bill Rodgers' book with helping him plan his strategy for the race. In 2014, Kirkpatrick published Charles Falco's memoir
Vagos, Mongols, and Outlaws, which would serve as the basis for the TV series
Gangland Undercover. Kirkpatrick also published the memoir from musician Viv Albertine,
Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys. Rolling Stone ranked it as one of the 10 Best Music Books of 2014, and
Rough Trade named it the #1 Book of the Year. In 2019, the
New York Times named Albertine's book one of "The 50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years." In 2015, it was announced Kirkpatrick had moved to an imprint of
HarperCollins. He was the editor for
50 Years, 50 Moments, co-written by
Jerry Rice and Randy O. Marshall. In 2015, Kirkpatrick joined The Stuart Agency as a
literary agent. In his first few deals as an agent, he has represented authors
Bob Tewksbury,
Chael Sonnen,
Steven Novella from
The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, and
Olivia Hussey. In 2018, Kirkpatrick formed his own agency, Kirkpatrick Literary. In April 2019, Kirkpatrick brokered his first deal with his new agency in selling the rights to
David Wright's forthcoming memoir, to be co-authored by Anthony DiComo, to
Dutton, an imprint of
Penguin Random House. The industry web site
Publishers Marketplace named the sale its "Deal of the Day."
Writing Kirkpatrick is the author of
Cecil Travis of the Washington Senators: The War-Torn Career of an All-Star Shortstop (2005),
Magic in the Night: The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen (2006), and
1969: The Year Everything Changed (2009).
1969 was published in 2009 for the 40th anniversary of that year and was featured in a two-page story by
Craig Wilson (columnist) in
USA Today. The book received positive reviews from the
History (U.S. TV channel) Magazine, which called it "A compelling account of the historic year" and
Library Journal, which said, "In this compelling account, Kirkpatrick treats the tumultuous events of 1969 with the skills of a journalist, a historian, a sociologist, and a sportswriter and manages to insert moments of lightness and triviality into his grand tour." 2009 also saw the publication of trade paperback versions for his books on Travis and Springsteen. Following its paperback publication,
Magic in the Night was praised by
PopMatters as "A treasure trove for serious Springsteen fans," and
The Irish Times said "It is always salutary to be reminded that no matter how much you think you know something, there is always someone who knows more. And when it comes to Bruce Springsteen...Rob Kirkpatrick knows more, a lot more." Kirkpatrick has written about
film, music, sports, and cultural issues for such online sites as
The Huffington Post and PopMatters. In his most responded-to piece, he addressed comments on race and sports by
ESPN commentators
Rob Parker (sports journalist) and also
Jalen Rose, whose comments Kirkpatrick placed within a larger social narrative of
Uncle Tom-ism and the
acting white slur. Other works include "Epiphany at Coogan's Bluff" in the
Slow Trains Literary Journal (2007),
The Quotable Sixties (as editor), Lyons, (2006), and "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Knuckleball" in
Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature (East Tennessee State University Press, 2005). ==Personal life==