Come see the greatest, most dominant literary roster ever assembled (okay, maybe not THE greatest, but pretty darn close) TONIGHT at the Book Cellar – 7pm:
Claire Zulkey is the author of AN OFF YEAR, published by Dutton in 2009 and selected by Indie Booksellers for the Autumn 2009 Kids’ Indie Next List and nominated as one of the ALA’s 2010 Best Books for Young Adults. Since 2003 Claire has run the blog Zulkey.com, which is now produced by NPR affiliate WBEZ. She is a television critic and contributor to the Los Angeles Times and AV Club. She lives in Edgewater and she runs the literary humor reading series Funny Ha-Ha.
Robyn Okrant is an actress, author & yoga teacher. She has appeared on the Today Show, CNBC’s The Oprah Effect, The Bonnie Hunt Show, The Joy Behar Show, and NPR’s All Things Considered. Her book, LIVING OPRAH: My One Year Experiment to Walk the Walk of the Queen of Talk, was published in the US, UK, Australia and oddly enough, Portugal. Robyn’s essays can be read at The Huffington Post, Washington Post, and robynokrant.com.
Stephen Markley is the author of the memoir Publish This Book: The Unbelievable True Story of How I Wrote, Sold, and Published This Very Book. In addition to serving as a columnist for RedEye, his work has appeared in the Chicago Reader, The Rumpus, and Perceptive Travel, and he blogs at RedEye’s Off the Markley. His e-short “The Great Dysmorphia: An Epistemological View of Ingesting Hallucinogenic Mushrooms at a 2012 Republican Presidential Debate” will, unfortunately, not be read tonight because he’s promoting this new digital book from the publisher GiveLiveExplore called “Tales of Iceland.”
Eric Bjorlin is a writer and essayist who has performed in a variety of venues across the city, from open mics in bars to the Moth GrandSLAM at the Park West. Last fall he starred in “Sorry to Disappoint Me,” his solo show that ran in the Chicago Fringe Festival. To pay the bills, he educates about and promotes biking, walking, and public transportation use with the Active Transportation Alliance. He hasn’t cut his hair since August.
Ian Belknap is the Founder and Overlord of WRITE CLUB, the world’s greatest competitive reading series. WRITE CLUB has 2 shows in Chicago – third Tuesday of the month at Hideout (tomorrow!) and the first Monday of the month at SPACE in Evanston. WRITE CLUB is also monthly in five other North American cities, with more on the way. In the fall of 2013, Ian will perform a new full-length solo show entitled “Bring Me the Head of James Franco, That I May Prepare a Savory Goulash in the Narrow and Misshapen Pot of His Skull.”
Essay Fiesta 