FRIDAY! Night of the Blood Zine, a short film release and Halloween themed zine reading, will be at Uncharted Books.
FRIDAY! Podcast Bad Karate, hosted by author Mason Johnson and comedian Dan Shapiro, holds its final recording at Chicago Publishers Resource Center.
FRIDAY! Portland, Oregon author Amy McCullough reads from her memoir The Box Wine Sailors at the Book Cellar.
SATURDAY! Members of the Lifeline Theatre perform their 29th Annual Edgar Allan Poe Readings at The Clarke House Museum in Bronzeville.
SATURDAY! As part of the Chicago Humanities Festival, Poetry Foundation welcomes Rae Armantrout as guest of their Poetry Off the Shelf program.
SUNDAY! City Lit Books welcomes author Michael McGregor to read and discuss his work Pure Act: The Uncommon Life as Robert Lax.
SUNDAY! All Hallow's Day Variety Show benefit for Chicago Publishers Resource Center with authors Audrey Niffenegger and Billy Lombardo, comic artist Marnie Galloway, poet Jacob Saenz, shadow puppet readings and more at the California Clipper.
— John Wawrzaszek
Reviews Mon Oct 26 2015
Just in time for Halloween, Chicago's own Audrey Niffenegger has edited and illustrated a collection of her favorite ghost stories from Edgar Allan Poe to Kelly Link in Ghostly, a fairly nostalgic take on the genre featuring a lot of familiar names.
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— Adam Morgan
FRIDAY! Gaper's Block hosts 20x2 at Schubas, where 20 select artists, musicians, filmmakers and writers answer the question, "When Did You Know?"
FRIDAY! Chicago Zine Fest holds their annual fundraiser reading Hallowzine at Chicago Publishers Resource Center.
SATURDAY! Author Ta-Nehisi Coates is conversation with reporter Natalie Y. Moore discusses race in American at Northwestern University Cahn Auditorium as part of Chicago Humanities Festival.
SATURDAY! Literary magazine Goreyesque holds a Halloween reading at the Book Cellar.
SUNDAY! Writer and blogger Jenny Lawson reads from her new book Furiously Happy at Women and Children First.
SUNDAY! Featherproof Books holds a Fall Release Party for their newest titles with readings and book sales at the Rainbo Club.
— John Wawrzaszek
Author Thu Oct 22 2015
Popular young adult authors Ally Condie, Jandy Nelson, and Meg Wolitzer bring their nationwide book tour to the Skokie Public Library (5215 Oakton Street) on Thursday, November 5 at 7:00pm. The Penguin Random House authors are on tour together promoting the releases of their new paperbacks: Atlantia by Ally Condie, I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, and Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer. 
The moderated panel discussion will take place in the Petty Auditorium of the Skokie Public Library, and books will be available for purchase courtesy of The Book Stall. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is available online to those with a current library card from the Skokie or other suburban public libraries. If you do not have a library card or if you live in Chicago, call (847) 673-7774 to sign up by phone.
— Jeremy Owens
Author Wed Oct 21 2015
Women and Children First Bookstore hosts Beyond Lolita: Literary Writers on Sex and Sexuality at the Swedish American Museum (5211 North Clark Street), Thursday, Nov. 5 at 7:30pm. This Chicago round-table event will be moderated by writer Anna March and feature Chicago-area authors Rachel Dewoskin, Audrey Niffenegger, Megan Stielstra, Luis Urrea and Cyn Vargas.
"Beyond Lolita" brings writers and editors together for a discussion on sex and sexuality in literature. Participants will reflect on their own work as well as the work of a diverse array of modern and contemporary writers. Topics may include: craft considerations; the impact writing on these topics has on the culture and on writers themselves; the challenges authors have in writing their own experiences and writing beyond their own experiences; the importance of writing diverse sexuality; aspects of LGBT culture; and more.
The Chicago stop is one of five events being held around the country (Boston, Los Angeles, New York, and Portland) to benefit the PEN America's Writers' Emergency Fund. This event is free and open to the public, reservations are not required.
— Jeremy Owens
FRIDAY! Reading series Funny Ha Ha kicks off at the Hideout.
FRIDAY! The third Friday each month welcomes Bad Grammar Theater with readings held at Powell's Bookstore in Greektown.
FRIDAY! The Best American Comics series editor Bill Kartalopoulos sits down for a discussion with 2015 Chicago contributors Gina Wynbrandt and Anya Davidson at Quimby's Bookstore.
SATURDAY! Author Loreen Niewenhuis discusses her books about her trek around the Great Lakes at the Newberry Library.
SUNDAY! Sunday morning at 11am, drop by Story Sessions for readings and music at City Winery.
SUNDAY! Join the Queer Readers Book group this afternoon at Women and Children First.
SUNDAY! The Marrow is back with readings at the Whistler in Logan Square.
— John Wawrzaszek
Like the Poetry Slam of the '90s and early aughts, storytelling is having its live lit moment in the sun in recent years. Popularized by shows such as The Moth in New York City, contemporary storytelling is the reading or performance of personal narratives in front of a live audience.
Chicago has no shortage of regular storytelling events, but each year an audience gathers around a cozy firepit on the North Shore for Story Sessions' Annual Campfire. This year's show featured stories by Doug Reed, Diane Kastiel, Dan Sheehan, Kristin Clifford, (Gaper's Block own) Andrew Huff and Jennifer Peepas. This year's Campfire Stories took place on Saturday, Sept. 19. This year's theme "Creep," did not disappoint.
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— Jeanne Newman
Poetry Tue Oct 13 2015
On Oct. 7, the Chicago Public Library partnered with the Library of Congress to host the 61st annual Poetry Day celebrated with a reading by the U.S. Poet Laureate at the Harold Washington Library.
Every September the Library of Congress announces the next Poet Laureate who will serve until May. The laureateship has seen the likes of William Carlos Williams, Robert Frost, Gwendolyn Brooks, Rita Dove, Robert Pinsky, and most recently Philip Levine and Charles Wright. On Sept. 15, Juan Felipe Herrera became this year's Poet Laureate.
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— Emma Terhaar
SATURDAY! Open Books holds an Open House with activities and the launch of their new Publishing Academy.
SATURDAY! Poet Robert Eric Shoemaker celebrates the release of his newest book 30 Days Dry at Chicago Publishers Resource Center.
SATURDAY! Featherproof books co-founder Zach Dodson celebrates the release of his newest book Bat's of the Republic at the Hideout.
SATURDAY! Author Glenn Head reads from his newest graphic novel Chicago at Quimbys Bookstore.
SUNDAY! Reading series That's All She Wrote celebrates their three year anniversary at Great Lakes Tattoo.
SUNDAY! Legendary rocker Patti Smith reads from her new book M Train at Dominican University's Lund Auditorium.
— John Wawrzaszek
SATURDAY! Seminary Coop/57th Street Books hosts two afternoon author discussions beginning at 1pm with Carolyn Marie Wilkins author of Melody for Murder and continuing at 3pm with John Corbett author of Microgroove.
SATURDAY! The Paper Machete holds their weekly afternoon reading at the Green Mill.
SATURDAY! Literary publication .LDOC holds a release party for their first issue at Chicago Publishers Resource Center.
SATURDAY! City Lit Theater's celebration of Banned Books Week entitled Books on the Chopping Block ends its engagement this weekend.
SATURDAY! Uncharted Books hosts the poetry event The Occupation that Keeps Us from Thinking Small.
SUNDAY! Here, Chicago, half pot luck, half reading series, is at the Wit Theater.
— John Wawrzaszek
Join the Chicago Public Library at the Harold Washington Library Center (400 S. State) this month as it presents a variety of programs in conjunction with the current One Book, One Chicago selection, The Third Coast by Thomas Dyja.
On Monday, October 5 at 6:00 pm the Lower Level of the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium will offer a sneak peak premier of the film In The Game. The movie, directed Maria Finitzo, takes a look at four years in the life of the girls' soccer team at Chicago's inner city Kelly High School in the primarily Hispanic Brighton Park neighborhood. This event will be followed by a panel discussion.
Do you wish you could design a home like the architects in The Third Coast? You'll get the chance on Monday, October 12 at 1:00 in the library's Maker Lab. Participants will learn architectural and design skills on a small scale when they make a doll house with a laser cutter in this Really Tiny House Maker Lab Series. This series will continue through April 2016 resulting in a complete "Really Tiny House."
Teddy Cruz, a Rome Prize-winning architect, will be on hand Tuesday, October 27 at 6:00 pm in the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium. Architectural historian Dianne Harris will interview Mr. Cruz about the societal implication of his architectural work. Cruz is known for using the Tijuana-San Diego border as a laboratory to re-think global dynamics, including the issues of hospitality inherent in immigration issues and the expanded gap between wealth and poverty.
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— Jeremy Owens
