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A Long Strange Trip: Chicago Author David David Katzman follows his...

By Lara Levitan While David David Katzman was finishing his second novel, “A Greater Monster,” he was also performing a one-man improv show. Taking a single cue from the audience, he hopped around the...

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Ordinary People: Tony Breed Chronicles Real-Life Gay Marriage in “Finn and...

By Nikki Dolson Tony Breed is the creator of “Finn and Charlie Are Hitched,” the story of a married couple living their lives, working, helping (or trying to help) their friends and—once a...

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Big Truths: How Sheila Heti Created a Self-Help Novel with “How Should a...

By Ella Christoph In “How Should a Person Be?,” Sheila Heti’s new “novel from life,” Heti tracks the everyday adventures of her eponymous protagonist Sheila, who is recently divorced, struggling to...

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A Conversation: Patrick Somerville Recounts his Quest to Write “This Bright...

By Ella Christoph Writer, teacher, father and Wisconsinite-turned-Chicago-transplant, Patrick Somerville’s acerbic yet tender and honest novel, “This Bright River,” is a 450-page epic replete with...

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From Stage to Page: An Interview with 2nd Story’s Megan Stielstra on the...

By Greg Baldino For ten years the 2nd Story Collective has been telling tales before Chicago audiences. Now celebrating their first decade, the group has published an anthology of some of the best...

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Occasional Porn: C. Spike Trotman and the Resurrection of “Smut Peddler”

By Greg Baldino Chicago is known as a city rife with comic creators and small-press publishers. One of the city’s rising stars is C. Spike Trotman, whose experimentations with online publishing have...

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This Is Not For You: James VanOsdol Documents Radio’s Q101 Era

Much has changed in Chicago radio in the past few years, especially with longtime alternative rock station Q101. Those who grew up listening to “Chicago’s New Rock Alternative” are no doubt familiar...

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The Wonder of Fame: Debut Novelist Christine Sneed Shares “Little Known Facts”

By Naomi Huffman I first encountered Christine Sneed’s work in 2009, when I read her short story “Quality of Life,” about a twenty-something woman being coerced by her much older, wealthier lover to...

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“I Don’t Know How to Not Do This:” Tortoise Books’ Jerry Brennan on his...

By Alli Carlisle Chicago author Jerry Brennan recently published his book “Resistance,” an epic WWII novel about the Czech assassination plot against the little known but pivotal Nazi Reinhard...

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Delicate Balance: The Culinary Comics of Lucy Knisley

By Greg Baldino Instagram has turned everyone into an armchair food photographer, but there’s still no smartphone app for recording a memorable meal as an uplifting and insightful autobiographical...

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Transition Game: Longtime Reader Editor Michael Lenehan on Race, Basketball...

By Brian Hieggelke I’ve known Michael Lenehan for more than twenty years, in that distant friendly way you know your competitors. He was the top editor of the Chicago Reader from the time we started...

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Time and Talent: Meg Wolitzer on “The Interestings” and Writing Freely,...

By Kelly Roark Meg Wolitzer’s new novel, “The Interestings,” begins with a group of teenagers in a summer camp. Jules, the initial outsider, is there on a scholarship but finds herself embraced by a...

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The Want to Explode: Blowing it Up With David Shields

By John Wilmes ‘The business of literature is blowing shit up.’ David Shields quotes the phrase from an essay by publishing entrepreneur Richard Nash, and it seems almost the summation of what’s...

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Real Hell Holes: Debut Novelist Susan Nussbaum on Discrimination of the Disabled

By Kelly Roark Susan Nussbaum’s debut novel is eye-opening, devastating and laugh-out-loud funny. A group of young disabled people in a fictional Chicago institution tackle demons past and present....

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Finding Father: Author Stephen Rodrick’s Intensely Personal Journey Into the...

By Brian Hieggelke On paper (literally), Stephen Rodrick leads a swell life. He operates as a magazine journalist at the highest level, penning thoughtful cover stories about celebrities for the New...

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Save Us From Triviality: Catching Up with George Saunders after “Tenth of...

By Brendan Buck  George Saunders is a number of things. He’s a writer, a professor at Syracuse University and a MacArthur Fellow (aka “genius”). His newest collection, “Tenth of December,” has made him...

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Do What You Love, Pull the Plow: Neil Steinberg Answers the Questions About...

By Naomi Huffman  I’ll likely always remember Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg’s memoir “You Were Never in Chicago” as the book that made me fall back in love with this city. Steinberg’s nostalgic...

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Romance On the Brink: Lessons on Love and Delusion from Scott and Zelda and...

By Helen Kaplow Everyone knows about Scott Fitzgerald, writer of the semi-autobiographical “The Great Gatsby,” the latest lavish film version at your local theaters now. Scott’s wife Zelda was the...

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Breaking Ground Again: The Second Resurrection of Samuel Delany

By Greg Baldino  There was a time when experimental science fiction could sell a million copies. It helped that at the time science fiction (having acquired a reputation just slightly better than that...

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Free As A Bird: Debut Author Janice Deal on “The Decline of Pigeons”

By Sarah Cubalchini  Janice Deal’s debut, “The Decline of Pigeons,” is a short-story collection about broken people amidst the turmoil of loss, from a woman trying to rebuild herself after losing her...

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