John Freeman, the new american editor of Granta, Cambridge University-based literary magazine, recently announced in an interview that their next issue will be covering the Windy City. Since Granta is known for publishing famous authors, you’re probably wondering who’s in it. Freeman dropped a few names: Aleksandar Hemon, well-known Chicago author who was recently seen [...]
The Parlor, a website featuring monthly online readings from famous authors, gave Chicago author Joe Meno the mic this month. His latest book, The Great Perhaps has won a lot of acclaim from critics. You can visit The Parlor to hear the full reading.
I just stumbled across a rather interesting article by Julia Keller over at the Tribune about location in literature. In her estimation, location plays a key role in shaping a body of literature and in attracting readers. We Chicagoans, she says, love to see our city as the central location of a novel.
In a lengthly review, the Sun-Times examines first-time author and new Chicagoan Andrew Grant’s recently released book Even. The article actually seems to be more of a review of the author’s life than of his novel, though it still gives an interesting look at the super-hero style adventure.
Everyone knows Chicago is a hot spot for crime–just look at the police records. Chicago author Theresa Schwegel’s 4th book examines a part of the crime culture in the Windy City, focusing on a serial rapist and a young female detective. The Tribune has a full review of the book, set for release [...]
I was lucky enough to attend the Chicago Book Clinic’s “University,” a.k.a. day-long seminar, this week. The meeting was in Glenview and was comprised of five different seminars and lectures that had to do with publishing (in various ways). The event was in Glenview, so I hopped the Metra, walked through a bit of suburbia [...]
What’s going on this weekend? We’re glad you asked.
Kristy Bowen of Dancing Girl Press is sponsoring a reading, a.k.a. salon, featuring Kathleen Rooney, Carol Guess, and Switchback’s Brandi Hamon. Details: Saturday, June 27th, 2 p.m., 410 S. Michigan, Studio 921
Lumpen, sister of Proximity, is celebrating 18 years of publishing with a partay. You can [...]
Yesterday, Gapers Block made a post about Ewan Morrison’s list of the top ten literary threesomes. Apparently the list contained two Chicago author’s books. The Volcano Lover by Susan Sontag, a University of Chicago Alum, came in at #7 while Ernest Hemingway took the cake with The Garden of Eden placed at #1. Apparently he [...]
Famed historical publisher Arcadia recently announced that is has teamed up with electronic publisher Alexander Street to create a website that collects images and texts from across the U.S. and Canada and displays them in a searchable database. The site is called Local and Regional History of American Life in Images and Texts and can [...]
Or at least comicbook.com does. They call Barack the Barbarian, Devil’s Due’s hit comic that depicts *ahem* President Obama’s adventures on “the Quest for the Treasure of Stimuli,” a #1 Hilarious Adventure. Overall, they loved the comic, noting that in addition to being a rollicking good time, the artwork is executed nicely. They do [...]
Just another quick highlight on Chicago superstar Luis Urrea: his newest book Into the Beautiful north has a review on Bookslut. Their verdict? The book is a magical adventure. “Urrea simultaneously explicates the seriousness of Mexican-US immigration while drolly narrating a Wizard of Oz-like circular fairy tale.”
The Horrid Henry series is for children, and each book contains four short stories with illustrations by Tony Ross. Horrid Henry is a little boy who is constantly getting into trouble, and can’t seem to get along with anyone around him. I got the chance to read four of Simon’s books, which equaled twenty-eight short [...]
Joe Meno, Dave Reidy, and Aleksandar Hemon have all had reviews of their books in newspapers or blogs this week. The Great Perhaps by Joe Meno received a glowing review from the Chicago Tribune in last Sunday’s book section (which is woefully not available online) and a mention in this week’s New York Times [...]
A success has occurred in the continuing saga of parents trying to ban books they find too risque from schools. Antioch Community High School has decided to keep Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian on it’s required summer reading list for its 400 incoming freshmen. Parents have complained about the [...]
Doug Fogelson, founder of Front 40 Press, weighs in on global warming in his new book The time After. Front 40 specializes in coffee table style art books, and The Time After is no exception. The book is a labor of love completed after many years of contemplation. Fogelson uses his photography to explore global [...]
What’re you up to next Wednesday? If you’re free, you might want to check out the “Change and Adaptability” seminar being put on by Chicago Book Clinic. For $35 (if you pre-register) you’ll be able to attend an all day seminar with various speakers from all over the industry, including Dominique Raccah, founder of Sourcebooks. [...]
I started out wanting to dislike Bitchin’ Bodies: Young Women Talk about Body Dissatisfaction. Why? Because I’ve read a lot of books on this topic, and I’ve noticed an overwhelming trend in all of them: a lot of bitching without a lot of action. Let’s take a moment for me to flesh that out a [...]
Bill Ott over at Booklist would like to know. The latest issue of Booklist features a rather challenging quiz on its back page that asks the quizee to match 26 different Chicago authors to the books they wrote and the Chicago location that plays a significant role in each book. This one’s a toughy. If [...]