When Elmore Leonard was researching his new novel "Road Dogs," Venice Paper publisher Tibby Rothman showed him around Venice for a few hours. Now she's in some of the book's dialogue:

"...Tibby Rothman. You know her?..."
"I see her around, yes."
"She puts out the Venice newspaper, I understand, when she feels like it..."

True, Venice Paper is known for its as-needed publication schedule. Rothman calls herself the alleged publisher, but it's a real institution in Venice and has been around now since at least 2002, I think.