ou won’t want to miss this summer’s literature packed tour from Featherproof Books, Chicago’s indie superstar in the publishing world. Their Dollar Store Summer Tour of Awesomeness (their title, not mine) will kick off at The Hideout on June 28th from 1-6 pm. For $8 dollars you’ll hear readings from over twenty authors, many of whom have been published by Featherproof. They’re also raffling off a “Featherproof-themed bike” (whatever that looks like) and a bunch of goodies, including a mini book, all the bbq you can eat, a raffle ticket (for the bike), and some other stuff.

The entire tour will encompass 11 cities in 14 days. See the Dollar Store site for the complete schedule.

aureen Lipinski, author of A Bump in the Road, recently sat down for an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times.  One of the most interesting things we found in the interview is the fact that she decided to write a novel about a woman going through an unexpected pregnancy while she herself had never had any children, and subsequently during the book’s production found herself unexpectedly pregnant.  Even more interesting, though, is the fact that her main character’s life seems to match her own to an almost uncannily autobiographical degree (for fiction).  ¶ View In Entirety… →

ans of Chicago author Joe Meno will enjoy the glowing review of his new book The Great Perhaps in the New York Times Book Review.

“Meno’s plain style is set off nicely by his taste for modernist formal daring: the novel makes room for drawings, long transcripts of old radio serials, declassified government documents and several chapters consisting of exactly 26 short sections, each headed by a letter of the alphabet.”

The Great Perhaps, published by WW. Norton & Co., is in stores now.

ewcity Lit has got an answer (or 50).

he names of prominent Chicagoans are engraved in stone throughout newly constructed Pritzker Park, on the corner of State and Van Buren Streets.  One of those Chicagoans happens to be Sandra Cisenos.

Wait, …what?

The author’s name is actually Sandra Cisneros. An error seems to have occured somewhere between the Chicago Public Library and Speedy Gonzalez Landscaping, the company who did the engravings. This may shed a little more light on Cisneros’ recent negative comments on her experiences growing up in Chicago as a Latina.  Given that her name has been spelled incorrectly, etched in stone, and displayed in a public space in downtown Chicago, I find it hard to blame her.

orgive me for posting about Printer’s Row again, but the Tribune’s review of the event screams to be shared.  Phil Vettel seems to have enjoyed the event, praising its success despite the weather.  His review is mostly a list of highlights.  There are authors, there are booksellers, and there are “picture perfect moments.”  He writes:

“Picture-perfect moment: A strikingly attractive woman in jeans leaned up against a building, taking occasional photos of the goings-on, while a fellow in a baseball cap, as discreetly as possible, lined up his camera to capture the good-looking girl leaning up against the building. Had I brought my camera …”

What is this stalkery creepiness doing in a Tribune article?  Go to Printer’s Row, you might buy some books, but you might also get to take pictures of cute, unsuspecting girls?  It’s sad to me that women can be turned into objects even in the middle of a Tribune article on a book fair.  I expect a higher level of journalism from them.

In other news, if you’re interested, the Tribune also has an article praising Dalkey Archive Press that is thankfully free of information about how many attractive women work there and the author’s, or anyone else’s desire to take pictures of them.

his June, we’re taking a new approach to our monthly book list. It’s time to give some periodicals the attention that they deserve. Chicago is home to fantastic periodicals from general interest, to literature, to online magazines. In the following list, you find Publish Chicago’s picks for the best ten periodicals in the Windy City. How did we choose these you ask? It was tough process, since there are simply so many to choose from. Mostly, we focused on who is successful, who is writing good articles, who is important, and who uses their webspace effectively. The following are the winners.

As always, your comments are welcome. Also, if you’re interested in checking out any of these publications, we proved links to each magazines distribution centers when the information was available. Otherwise, the Chicago Cultural Center’s Publishers Gallery has a subscription to nearly all of these publications.

dvertising itself as the magazine for high-minded low-lifes, Stop Smiling is one of my favorite magazines in Chicago, though it’s a bit bittersweet to feature it here. Their next issue will be their last, as they’re converting to a book press thanks to a deal with Melville House/Random House. I’m sure there are still great things to expect from them, though the magazine will be missed.

Each issue has a different theme, such as Chicago jazz, or hip-hop, or 20 interviews. The articles are well written, their website rocks, everything about them is great. I have to admit to loving their advertising scheme as well. The non-smiley gets me every time. ¶ View In Entirety… →

Michigan Avenue Magazine represents the posh side of Chicago. If you want to follow Chicago celebrities, high-brow events, designer fashion, and read articles by Chicago big-wigs like Mayor Daley and Oprah Winfrey, this is the magazine for you. The magazine has a dazzlingly high class quality to it, from the ads right down to the glossy, Vanity Fair-esque cover. This magazine deserves a shout out because it represents the fancy-shmancy side of our city–one that is often overlooked.

Ebony may be the single most successful magazine in America focusing on African American interests. The magazine is published by the Johnson Publishing Company, which is the world’s largest African-American-owned and-operated publishing company. The company also publishes Jet magazine. Johnson Publishing company was founded in 1942 by John H. Johnson as little more than a dream, but the company exploded into great success.

I chose Ebony for this list simply because the magazine is so important and well written. It focuses on issues important to African Americans ranging from fashion and entertainment to politics and technology. No matter what your race is, this is an important magazine for an informed citizen to read.

hicago’s latino/a community is growing, and with it is the number of spanish/english and spanish-only publications in the city. As of 2004, Contratiempo has operated as a nonprofit magazine and publication company serving the latino/a community. Contratiempo publishes both books and a montly magazine. In their own words:

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Chicago Wilderness Magazine is a publication that accompanies the work of several hundred nonprofit organizations working to protect the environment.  The magazine itself is less concerned with the conservation movement and more concerned with connecting Chicagoans with the natural world around them.  If you’re looking to learn about the outdoors in and around Chicago, this is the magazine for you.  In their own words:

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o list of publications would be complete, in this day and age, without an online publication. Narrative Magazine is an online literary publication of prose, poetry, and anything in between. In their own words:

“Narrative is the leading online publisher of first-rank fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. A nonprofit organization, Narrative is dedicated to advancing the literary arts in the digital age by supporting the finest writing talent and encouraging readership around the world and across generations. Our online library of new literature by celebrated authors and by the best new and emerging writers is available for free.”

So go read, enjoy, and donate if you’ve got some coinage.

hy do I like Poetry Magazine? First and foremost: it promulgates a lot of good poetry. Also, I love the simple cover design. I’m a fan of the Poetry Foudation, which publishes the magazine. They only accept online submissions, which is so much better for the environment and for author’s nerves. They pay their writers, which is also unusual but much appreciated. Finally, their website rocks. They have poetry podcasts and poems of the day and even *gasp* featured prose. They’re all about good writing, and I can get into that.

Today’s Chicago Woman is a women’s interest magazine that focuses on more than just clothes, dieting, and make-up. Though fashion is a part of the magazine, it’s audience is career oriented women and so it’s articles focus on interviewing successful women in Chicago, healthy family relationships, food and cooking, and career advice. In many ways, Today’s Chicago Woman reminds me of O Magazine. Its audience and its focus is similar. It’s nice, however, to read a magazine that focuses on your own city and community. It’s website is also well put together, featuring articles from the magazine, an events calendar, and more. This month’s cover story is an interview with Chicago’s City Treasurer Stephanie Neely paints a good picture of what this magazine is all about: successful female Chicagoans.

hether you’re in Wicker Park, the West Loop, the Gold Coast, Lincoln Park, or almost any residential neighborhood of Chicago, one of the first thing you’ll notice is that dogs are extremely popular in the Windy City. To serve Chicago’s pet owning community, Tails Pet Media Group, Inc. created Tails Magazine. The magazine is not just for dog owners, it runs features on all kinds of pets. In its most recent issue, Tails has articles on office-friendly pets, trips to take with your dog, and various foods and treats for pets.

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o list of the best periodicals in Chicago could leave out Chicago Magazine and Chicago Home and Garden, both of which are published by the Tribune Company.  The magazine encompasses every aspect of Chicago’s social scene and major events.  Chicago Magazine reaches about 1.5 million readers, and they both are of the most successful periodicals in the Windy City.

As I’ve stated earlier, one of my favorite things about Chicago Magazine is that it knows its audience.  The magazine is clearly targeting adult readers that live in and around Chicago, are interested in cultural events, and have some disposable income to devote to entertainment and leisure.  It covers events that its audience would be interested in, like new restaurants and social hot-spots, literary events, interview with important Chicago personalities, extensive event calendars, and special features like their Salary issue, which feautures various salaries of hundreds of Chicagoans of various occupations.

The final reason I’m such a fan is that they know how to use cyberspace exceptionally well to market their magazine.  They entice readers in with a nice design and a few articles from each issue.  Chicago Home and Garden keeps a running blog of design ideas on their website that’s insightful and well written.

If you want to be keyed in to whats happening in Chicago, you’ve got to read Chicago Magazine.

Publishers Weekley reported this morning that Sourcebooks, Naperville superstar, has expanded their New York and Connecticut office.  They’ve added three employees in New York one and a half employees in Connecticut, bringing their total number of employees up to 75.  We’d like to offer our congratulations and our compliments on their fantastic work.