Columbia College’s 14th Annual Story Week Festival of Writers kicks off Sunday, March 14th! Known as Chicago’s own Literary Lollapalooza, the festival features readings, panel discussions, performances and more as free events around the city. This year’s theme, “Genre-Bending: The Faces of Fiction,” examines the blurring boundaries between the literary novel and genre fiction, and features writers who have explored (and perhaps further blurred!) these blending forms within their own work.
Among the featured guests this year is Joyce Carol Oates, author of over one hundred novels in many genres, including We Were the Mulvaneys and The Gravediggers’ Daughter. Ms. Oates will be giving a question and answer session (moderated by Gavin Cologne-Brooks) at the Harold Washington Library Center (Cindy Pritzker Auditorium) on Monday, March 15th at 2:30 PM; at 6 PM (same location), she will be discussing her work with Chicago Public Radio book critic Donna Seaman.
But that’s not even close to all the festival has to offer! For more information on this upcoming literary smorgasbord, taking place from March 14th – March 19th, please visit the Schedule of Events on Columbia College’s website.
Writers on the Record with Victoria Lautman presents an interview with Lionel Shriver at 6 PM on Thursday, March 11th, at the Harold Washington Library Center (Cindy Pritzker Auditorium). American born but UK-based, Ms. Shriver is the author of ten novels, including We Have to Talk About Kevin and The Post-Birthday World. She will be discussing her most recent book, So Much For That, due to be released Tuesday, March 9th.
For more information, check out the event listing at the Chicago Public Library’s website.
Can’t make the live interview? Not to worry – it will be rebroadcast on Sunday, March 14th at noon, on 98.7 WFMT Radio.
For your monthly fix of the local literary scene, be sure to check out the readings and author discussions coming up at The Book Cellar, an independent book store located in Lincoln Square. Here are just a few of their upcoming events:
Saturday, February 13 @ 7 PM: Brian Costello hosts the reading series Second City / Third Person. Readers include Erin Teegarden and Brandon Will.
Monday, February 15 @ 7PM: ”Chicago’s only first-person charitable reading series,” Essay Fiesta, presents comedian Robert Buscemi, writer/comedian Kelsie Huff, comedian/SecondCityTraining Center instructor Bryan Bowden, novelist/essayist Mary T. Wagner, comedian Adam Guerino, and improviser Janna Sobel.
Wednesday, February 17 @ 7PM: Local Author Night at the Book Cellar! Featuring: Kathleen Rooney (author of the memoir Live Nude Girl, and a new essay collection For You, For You I am Trilling These Songs); Cristina Henriquez, (author of the short story collection Come Together, Fall Apart and the novel The World in Half, recently released in paperback); and Melanie Benjamin (author of the new release, Alice, I Have Been).
Friday, February 19 @ 7PM: More authors! Featuring: Jerry Gabriel (author of the new story collection Drowned Boy), Patrick Sommerville (New York Times Best Books of 2009 – The Cradle), and Mark Rader (Nominee for the 2009 Pushcart Prize).
Friday, February 26 @ 7PM: Kevin Sampsell reads and discusses his memoir, Common Pornography.
For more information, or to check out future events, please visit The Book Cellar Online Events Calendar.
I’ve been paying a lot of attention to landscapes lately. Maybe it’s because of autumn and that heavy wave of introspection it always brings. Maybe it’s because I’ve been in three states this month after not taking a vacation for a reallllllly long time. Two weeks ago we were in Colorado, nestled in the mountains and I was fascinated by the changing light. 
The days of full sun were bright, offering up clear, clean air that we breathed in hungrily on hikes. The last two days we awoke to gorgeous snow-covered peaks and a steady stream of flakes while the sky alternated between bright blue and snowy gray. The changing weather and the sturdy views were peaceful. We were very calm. (Although, the nightly visits to the hot tub may have had something to do with that!)
I came back to the studio excited to be home and it sounds kind of sappy, but I love being greeted by the adobe and green painted walls.
I miss the art hanging on the wall and like being used to seeing old friends day after day, too much time away from them leaves me ungrounded.
Can space really do all that?
We had dinner the other night with our friends Katie and Victor. (Katie’s new novel comes out in April and she’ll be at the studio to talk with us about it.) It was quite the treat because although I often see Katie for “writing dates,” it’s rare that our spouses get to hang with us. We met at Victor’s new restaurant, The Cellar (He’s the chef/owner of Stained Glass restaurant in Evanston too.)
The Cellar is only a few months old and the minute we walked in, it felt like home. Wood beams traverse the high ceiling, couches and tables grace the dining room. There are wine racks as art against one wall facing a bar with beautiful handcrafted wooden mirrors behind it. We sat for a couple hours talking about everything and nothing. A particular topic was the difference between Wrigley Field and Cellular Field, the way each stadium offered a different experience. (My focus was on the bathrooms!) Victor’s restaurant is that kind of place. You come for a beer and a bite to eat but the food is interesting--complicated and simple at the same time--and the atmosphere says, “stay, hang for a while.”
I’d always hoped that it was this same feeling that folks got when they walked into StoryStudio. Not only because we want to be that break from the world; but because we know how important space, setting, atmosphere truly is in stories. Eudora Welty’s essay, “Place in Fiction” is one of the best known and consulted on the issue. Contemporary writers in the news like Cormac McCarthy make place a vital character and our own StoryStudio writers are consistently evoking “place” in their work.
We’ve been rather interested in this topic lately and put together a great one-night class that Molly is teaching in Spring 2010, ”Writing the Land” will focus on the potential of setting in our stories.
I guess the lesson is to pay attention to where you are; it says a lot about who you are.
This announcement comes from SSC member Debbi Welch:
Join us for the 1st Annual Holiday Book Bash celebrating Chicago authors! Meet with more than 30 Chicago authors, including Nona Willis Aronowitz, Bill Ayers, StoryStudio teacher Elizabeth Bagby, Regina Harris Baiocchi, Kathi Baron, Bob Boone, Martha Biondi, Stephanie Bird, Timuel Black, Michelle Boyd, Elizabeth Brackett, Norm Cowie, Kate Devore, Brenda Ferber, Al Gini, Chris Green, Owen Hurd, Donna G. Humphrey ( Represented by Judge Joan Lefkow, her daughter), Esther Hershenhorn, Maggie Kast, Sally Sexton Kalmbach, Herb Kent, Stephanie Kuehnert, Cynthea Liu, Mike Leonard, Janice Metzger, James Shea, Erin Goseer Mitchell, Anne Elizabeth Moore, Mary J Peterson, Barbara Ransby, Mary Hutchings Reed, Darnell Thompson, Rita Coborn Whack, Sandi Wisenberg, & Shelomith Yisrael, all of whom will be discussing and signing copies of their books.
Friday December 4, 2009 – 6 to 9 PM
1 East Jackson Boulevard, Chicago (Concourse Level of DePaul University DePaul Center)
Ticket proceeds & a portion of book sales go to support Young Chicago Authors. Light hors d’oeuvres & wine will be served.
$50 General Admission, $15 Student Admission. Advance reservations are requested.
For questions & more info, contact Debbi Welch at:
