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 … Continue reading
Happy Festivus, one and all! Come to the The Book Cellar on Monday, December 15 at 7pm for the annual airing of grievances – er, we mean raising money for 826CHI. We’ll be joined by these five Festivus miracles: Lily Be is a momma, a nanny, a friend, and a storyteller. She’s a wise Mexican badass from Humboldt Park with a … Continue reading
It’s our birthday and we’re 5 and that means we can do whatever we want. And what we want is for you to join us at The Book Cellar this Monday, November 17 at 7pm. We want to raise a bunch of money for 826CHI, while listening to a night of awesome stories from these awesome people: Megan Stielstra is … Continue reading
We are 5 now. That means we are REALLY OLD. Like any other 5 year-old child, we can now count ten or more objects, peddle a tricycle, and speak clearly using more complex sentences. We are also better able to express our emotions. And we have so many emotions. It’s been 5 years since co-founders Alyson Lyon and … Continue reading
It’s Bela Lugosi’s 132nd birthday and ve vant to celebrate it vith you. Come to Ze Book Cellar at 7:00 pm on October 20th, 2014. Get ready to sink your fangs into stories from this vonderful lineup: David Boyle recently performed his original solo play “An Accidental Organist” at the inaugural Elgin Fringe Festival. He is the artistic director … Continue reading
We’re gnat** gonna let this dreary weather drag us down. Come on out to The Book Cellar at 7:00 pm on Monday, September 15th. This lineup is gnat*** something you want to miss. Stephanie Chavara is an actor, writer, and teaching artist. She’s worked at The Goodman, Strawdog, Remy Bumppo, Adventure stage, and Signal Ensemble among others. As … Continue reading
Come on out to The Book Cellar at 7:00 pm on Monday, August 18th. This lineup is so good, they could make a helium atom react. Kelsie Huff is a stand-up comedian and writing/stand-up instructor. She also produces and hosts a comedy show called the kates, held right here at The Book Cellar. The next show will be August 30th … Continue reading
Put on your Hemingway-shaped party hat and come on out to The Book Cellar at 7:00 pm on Monday, July 21st. Hosts Karen Shimmin and Willy Nast will be joined by a lineup so good, you’ll wish you could sit in a boat with them for days, trying to catch a giant fish. Scott Smith grew up in the suburbs of Chicago … Continue reading
Can’t wait until the next Fiesta on July 21st? Lucky for you, Willy and Karen produce a literary podcast and this week’s episode features three stories told at Essay Fiesta. Hop on over to All Write Already! to hear Erin Kahoa recount his greatest moment on the baseball diamond, Randy Richardson taking the birds and the bees … Continue reading
July 21st is not only the date of our next Fiesta, but it’s also the day that Ernest Miller Hemingway punched his way out of his mother’s womb in Oak Park, Illinois. Whether or not you were enchanted with his prose when your high school English teacher made you read The Sun Also Rises, you have to … Continue reading
Essay Fiesta 