The New Year may have arrived, but the New Year of Essay Fiesta doesn’t begin until Monday, January 19 at 7 pm. Willy Nast will be out of town, so come keep Karen Shimmin company at the The Book Cellar, as she raises some fancy, new 2015 money for 826CHI with the help of these precious jewels:
Erin Diamond grew up in Arlington Heights in a legendary neighborhood that is filled with stories. She is a proud theater school dropout and devoted fan of the band Third Eye Blind. Erin spent five years as the recreational rehab director at a residential home for adults living with severe mental illness. She left that job to spend more time writing and storytelling. She tells stories around town and is currently writing a play about two sister-wives who escape a polygamist colony and become burlesque dancers.
Ted Wesenberg left honest work in Shanghai and moved to Chicago for art school. He interns forTriQuarterly Magazine. His work is forthcoming in Sleet and Memoryhouse magazines. He lives in Rogers Park, where he is working on a novel.
At age 27, Nathalie Lagerfeld still remembers most of the French swear words she learned as a comparative literature major in college. This skill has never yet come in handy in her post-college jobs as a high-school writing teacher, food blogger, or professional coupon writer, but she still holds out hope. Meanwhile, she passes the time writing and performing at shows like Serving the Sentence and Miss Spoken, or binge-watching old X-Files episodes at her apartment in Logan Square. Nathalie will also be pinch hosting in Willy’s place. Luckily, she also has a PhD in toy accordion.
Paul Dailing is the creator of “1,001 Chicago Afternoons,” a literary journalism project in the spirit of the 1920s Chicago Daily News column by “The Front Page” author Ben Hecht. Three times a week, 1001chicago.com updates with new, true stories of Chicago and Chicagoans, written in the “journalism extraordinary” style Hecht championed.
Jeremy Owens is the creator and producer of You’re Being Ridiculous. He can see him at Davenport’s Piano Bar January 30 and 31st in the cabaret version of his storytelling show…You’re Being Ridiculous: The Musical. He has told stories with Lifeline Theatre’s Fillet of Solo Festival, Story Club, Guts & Glory, Story Sessions and The Paper Machete. He’s a food writer for Oy Chicago and Gapers Block and wants to be Whoopi Goldberg when he grows up.
Essay Fiesta 