A reading featuring Tara Betts, Rachel Jamison Webster and Toni Nealie.
Keynote Panel: What Makes Writing Good, What Makes Writing Great
You’ve taken writing classes, met with an agent or editor, and received feedback on your work – but what does it all mean? To many, the concept of great writing is subjective, and certainly, much of it depends on the taste of the reader. So how can we tell when writing is good, or even great, for that matter? How does a writer transcend mere competency and go from good to great? This group of editors and critics, who are also writers themselves, will help you make sense of it all. What makes them select a piece for publication, or give a glowing review? They’ll draw on their extensive experience in the field to wrap up the weekend with the big takeaways–the ones that will send us back to our desks ready to make great work. Featuring editors and authors Chris Fink, Gina Frangello, Brandon Taylor, and Jill Petty. Moderated by Toni Nealie.
Panel: Writing Resources in Chicago and Beyond
Good news! You don’t have to move to New York City to make it as a writer, or even to be at the center of the literary world. In recent years, Chicago has become a thriving hub of literary activity. As Chicago Review of Books recently declared, the “New Chicago Renaissance” is upon us. The city and surrounding suburbs are rich with writing organizations, bookstores, live lit series, book events, residencies, and venues for literary review. Our panel of experts will guide you through these local resources. Featuring authors Toni Nealie, Eric May, Ines Bellina, and A.X. Ahmad. Moderated by Michelle Falkoff.
Are you writing poetry, a short story, or an essay? In this workshop, writer, teacher, Pushcart Prize nominee and Literary Editor of Newcity, Toni Nealie will detail the various approaches to writing short prose and why this style so often blurs the boundaries between genres.
Q&A with Literary Editors
with Mike Levine, Toni Nealie, Zoe Zolbrod, and Eric Grawe (moderator)
Literary editors play many roles: they review submissions for literary journals—often the first place you’ll publish your writing—help writers polish and refine their work, and work with writers to get the word out about their books and public events in mainstream media. In this panel, literary editors will talk about the various roles they play in helping get a writer's writing—and name—out in the world. The panel features editor Mike Levine (Mike Levine Editorial), author and editor Toni Nealie (New City Lit editor), and author and editor Zoe Zolbrod (previous Sunday editor of The Rumpus).
I'm reading at the launch of David Lazar's "I'll be Your Mirror", along with Ryan Spooner.
Thursday, November 9 at 7 PM - 8 PM
Unabridged Bookstore 3251 N Broadway St, Chicago, Illinois 60657
Please join the Guild LIterary Complex in a conversation with authors and poets Stuart Cooke, Natania Rosenfeld, and Toni Nealie as we journey into conversation about transnational poetics at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W Division St, Chicago, IL 60642 in the downstairs salon theatre. Readings and a larger conversation about poetry and writing across the cultural miles of distant seas will set the tone for the night’s conversations.
The Chicago Review of Books and Volumes Bookcafe are teaming up for the biggest literary Halloween party in Chicago history: an evening of food, drink, and creepy tales from eight Chicago authors:
Jac Jemc, author of The Grip of It
Rebecca Makkai, author of The Hundred-Year House
Martin Seay, author of The Mirror Thief
Kathleen Rooney, author of Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
Maryse Meijer, author of Heartbreaker: Stories
Kim Brooks, author of The Houseguest
Michael Moreci, author of Black Star Renegades (Jan 2018)
Toni Nealie, author of The Miles Between Me.
Join hosts Alexius Cruz O'Malley and Mary Anne Mohanraj and a fabulous array of writers, musicians, comedians and more -- swing by for half an hour, or stay for the whole thing! Food and drinks available to buy on-site, a $10-$20 donation recommended (although more is gratefully accepted). All proceeds will benefit the Hispanic Federation's Hurricane Relief for Puerto Rico fund; 100% of the funds will go toward disaster relief efforts on the island.
Featuring comedians Andy Carey and Christy Bonstall, musicians Kamau Jones, Anjali Asokan Karia, and Maya Kuper, actor Oryana Quintero, writers Toni Nealie, Allison Baxter, Kat Tanaka Okopnik, Angeli Primlani, Amanda Daly, Molly Sackler, and more!
Traveling the World and Within
with Ines Bellina, Toni Nealie, Ozge Samanci, and Betsy Haberl (moderator)
Three world-traveling writers discuss the pleasures and pitfalls of writing about journeys. Topics of discussion include borders--imagined and real, physical and geographic, metaphoric and concrete, between adulthood and youth; as well as journeys across the globe, across the state, and within personal experiences.
Join Belt Publishing in celebrating the release of Rust Belt Chicago, a collection of essays, journalism, poetry, and fiction edited by Martha Bayne. The pieces in this collection tell the vibrant and culturally rich history of this great city, all together singing a forlorn love song to a place similarly marked, if less evident, by deindustrialization and economic decline as Rust Belt sister cities.
Britt Julious, Kathleen Rooney, Paul Durica, Toni Nealie, Rayshauna Gray, Zoe Zolbrod, David Isaacson, Yana Kunichoff, DJ Jake Austen
Business of Writing Seminar: Breaking In and Staying In: Publishing Advice for Writers
• Toni Nealie, Newcity Lit Editor and author of The Miles Between Me
• Abby Saul, Founder of The Lark Group literary agency
• Moderator: Sandi Wisenberg, Writer’s Studio instructor and author of The Adventures of Cancer Bitch
Conversation with Christian Picciolini, author of Romantic Violence and founder of Life After Hate. http://printersrowlitfest.org
Hungry for Stories is a book club about the Chicago point of view, as constructed (and demolished) by some of the city’s most divergent writers, artists, editors and publishers.
Adam Levin, Toni Nealie and Zoe Zolbrod read.
