[UPDATE: The March 16 Essay Fiesta has been canceled, due to concerns about the coronavirus. We’ll be back soon. Please stay healthy and safe in the meantime.] Essay Fiesta has been asleep for months. But now, after living off its own body fat all winter, it’s ready to crawl out of its hole, stand up … Continue reading
IT’S OUR 9TH BIRTHDAY. You are morally obligated to come down to The Book Cellar on Monday, November 19th at 7pm. Also, this lineup is going to be so good, we might never need to have another birthday: Archy Jamjun is a storyteller, writer, professor, server, partner, cat-owner and TJ Maxxsonista. His work has been … Continue reading
Essay Fiesta turns 9 years old this month, which is 63 in dog years, 52 in cat years, and 97.4 in live lit years. Like many middle-aged dogs and cats, Essay Fiesta can be trusted to be left at home alone without wrecking the furniture. It will, however, still pee on the floor from time … Continue reading
After you watch the solar eclipse and feel the need for an even more impressive astronomical phenomenon, come to The Book Cellar at 7pm on Monday, August 21st for this lineup of writers and performers whose brightness you can stare directly into without going blind: Amy Sumpter has been doing stand-up for 10 years. She … Continue reading
Ahoy! The next Essay Fiesta (as well as the next “International Talk Like a Pirate” Day) draws nigh on the horizon. Methinks ye ought to sail down to The Book Cellar at 7pm on Monday, September 19th for this lineup of jolly good writers and performers (unless ye’d rather walk the plank): Jeremy Owens is … Continue reading
Ahoy! On the horizon, nested in the sandy shores of Lincoln Square, there be the next installment of Essay Fiesta! Steer ye trusty vessel toward shore and drop anchor at The Book Cellar at 7pm on Monday, September 19th (which also happens to be International Talk Like a Pirate Day). Fearless captains Karen Shimmin and … Continue reading
September is upon us, and once again the sexiest holiday of the year draws nigh: National Punctuation Day. That’s right. We saw the way you used those brackets indicate a change in capitalization. Reports indicated that “[i]t drove us wild.” We want to be the semi-colon between your closely-related independent clauses; we want to be … Continue reading
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
They said that 2014 was the year of the essay. 2015 will be the year of Essay Fiesta. Or, at least, a year of Essay Fiestas. Which means this year will be a lot like last year, and the previous few years before that. Huh. Anyway, join Karen Shimmin and super special guest host Nathalie … Continue reading
Treat yourself to a tariff-ic night of essays at a tariff-ic venue (The Book Cellar) on Monday, May 19th at 7pm. These writers are sure to give tariff-ic performances (this is the only tariff joke we can think of so we’re really getting our money’s worth out of it): Dana Norris is the Editor-in-Chief of … Continue reading
Essay Fiesta 