Pilcrow Lit Fest

Opening Night Party at Matilda's In Lakeview and Tonight's Events

2009-05-18T15:29:00.003-05:00

Pics are rolling in from last night's Opening Night cocktailing at Matilda's in Lakeview. Remember, the Pilcrow Lit Fest flickr pool is open to anyone, we just ask that one of your photo tags is Pilcrow09. Easy enough.

Tonight's Pilcrow line-up offers three events from which to pick:

{7-10p}
Reading Under The Influence
Sheffield's
3258 N. Sheffield Ave. (map)
RUI is a reading series based in Chicago developed by a group of Chicago writers who happen to like drinking. Featuring reading by Joe Meno, John Berger and RUI co-hosts. Jointly-hosted by Julia Borcherts, Robert Duffer, Jessee Jordan, Gabriel Levinson and Pilcrow founder/director, Amy Guth. $3 cover, open to the public, 21+.

{7p}
Boring Nude Girl In The Boring Devil's Boring Territory
w/ Gina Frangello
The Book Cellar
4736-38 N. Lincoln Ave. (map)
The final stop of the 25-city Live Nude Girl in the Devil's Territory Tour, Zach Dodson will read from his novel Boring, Boring, Boring, Boring Boring, Kyle Minor will read from his story collection In the Devil's Territory, Kathleen Rooney will read from her memoir Live Nude Girl and featured guest Gina Frangello will read something awesome. No cover, all ages are welcome.

{7:30p}
Waiting 4 the Bus
w/ featured guests Larry O. Dean and Charlie Newman
Jak's Tap
901 W. Jackson Blvd. (map)
Waiting 4 the Bus is an open mic on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month, a poetry collective, and a workshop of writers talking with writers about writing, held in the backroom of Jak's Tap. Hosted by Buddha 309. No cover, open to the public, 21+.

WBBM 780

2009-05-18T15:27:00.001-05:00

Nice shout-out on Chicago's WBBM 780's website today, as well as snippets on the air.

Shout Out from HuffPo and Dropping Bombs

2009-05-09T15:25:00.004-05:00

In a post about the state of publishing and literature in Chicago, Pilcrow Lit Fest got a nice shout out from Gina Frangello in the Huffington Post.

"for many years Chicago's book publishing community was almost nonexistent, but now new independent book presses like Featherproof Books and So New are popping up like wildfire to fill the gap left by New York; now Chicago is host to almost back-to-back AWP Conferences and Pilcrow Literary Festival is helping to also organize writers independent of the academy."

Thursday night at the Chicago Nerd Social Club, I was chatting with Terry from Third Coast Comics. He's speaking on the panel about graphic novels and described Pilcrow at "Literary NATO: We'll be dropping literary facts on people like bombs."

Amy and I promised to steal that from him and share it with you all. So get out to Pilcrow from May 17 to the 23rd and we'll be dropping literary facts like bombs.

2009-05-07T09:37:00.000-05:00

Shout-Out from Outsider Writers

2009-04-16T19:57:00.002-05:00

Pilcrow got some love from Outsider Writers Collective's Tim Hall this morning:

The 2nd annual Pilcrow Lit Fest will be held the week of May 17-23 in Chicago, culminating with a full day of panels on the 23rd and a fantastic “rebuilt books” auction to cap off the event. Those of us who were there for the inaugural event last year can attest to how amazing it was, and what a brilliant job organizer Amy Guth did putting together events and panels that were really informative and interesting.

Merci!

Photos and Video and Podcasts, Oh My!

2009-04-07T11:10:00.003-05:00

Last year we opened the doors to photographers, videographers and podcasters to help document Pilcrow Lit Fest. The result was hundreds of photos, great videos and excellent roundtables.

This year we are inviting you back and we have something special in store for the podcasters and video folks. We're going to have a space set up in Baby Atlas for you to record on May 23rd. That way you can sneak away to a quiet spot, get your interview done and then quickly rejoin the festival upstairs.

Want to be a part of the team to document this year's Pilcrow Lit Fest? Leave a comment or contact me. I'll even make you a special badge.

Rebuilt Books

2009-04-06T15:30:00.003-05:00

Rebuilt Books is on again this year, and in a big way.

Rebuilt Books is, as many of you remember, a fundraiser which asks writers to disassemble their own books (or partner with an artist and have him/her do it) then rebuild the book into a piece of art.

This year, Pilcrow Lit Fest/Chicago will be raising money for Young Chicago Authors, a wonderful organization for the young and inspired, and we encourage all writers to participate, whether they plan to attend Pilcrow Lit Fest or not. All we ask if that you email us so we can anticipate the arrival of your artwork, either when you ship it or deliver it. Easy enough.

See inspiration of last year's Rebuilt Books here with Timothy Schaffert's doll parts book, Laurel Snyder's switchplates, Laura Van Prooyen's word-lanterns, and one I still hear mentioned now and again, the Hitler turtle by Peter Davis.

Oh, and the auction isn't just an auction this year. Nay, this year, the auction is all week, in various venues, starting with the kickoff cocktail reception at Matilda's in Lakeview, and finishing in one wild event we're throwing alongside Opium's Literary Death Match here in town.

Oh yes, that Literary Death Match.

In Praise of the American Short Story

2009-04-04T16:29:00.001-06:00

From A. O. Scott/NYT Week In Review:

... a good story, or a solid collection of them, can do more than a novel to illuminate the textures of ordinary life and the possibilities of language. And the short story may provide a timely antidote to the cultural bloat of the past decade, when it often seemed that every novel needed to be 500 pages long and every movie had to last three hours — or four years, if it took the form of a cable series.
The new, post-print literary media are certainly amenable to brevity. The blog post and the tweet may be ephemeral rather than lapidary, but the culture in which they thrive is fed by a craving for more narrative and a demand for pith. And just as the iPod has killed the album, so the Kindle might, in time, spur a revival of the short story. If you can buy a single song for a dollar, why wouldn’t you spend that much on a handy, compact package of character, incident and linguistic invention? Why wouldn’t you collect dozens, or hundreds, into a personal anthology, a playlist of humor, pathos, mystery and surprise?
The death of the novel is yesterday’s news. The death of print may be tomorrow’s headline. But the great American short story is still being written, and awaits its readers.

(hat tip to Megan Stielstra)

Controversy, Then Not, Then More Controversy, Then Not at Inaugural Dubai Lit Fest

2009-03-01T13:43:00.005-06:00

The first-ever Dubai lit fest, which finishes up today, opened to controversy when a The Gulf Between Us, which features a gay sheik, by brit Geraldine Bedell was rejected from the festival line-up. The Emirates Airlines International Festival of Literature officially insists it's not a matter of censorship at all, but of simply a book out-of-synch with the event. "This has nothing to do with censorship... We simply found after reading the book upon the request of its publisher, Penguin, that it is not suitable for the festival," said festival director Isobel Abulhoul.

Author Margaret Atwood (veep of PEN, by the way, the literary anti-censorship organization), pulled out of the festival immediately, but wrote this weekend in the London Guardian that she regretted her move, which was admittedly based on the belief Bedell's book was banned. So, now Atwood is participating in the festival via video conference, at, of course, a last-minute discussion panel about censorship.

You Give Me Growing Pains, Theodore Huxtable

2009-02-27T15:22:00.002-06:00

A 80's-themed reading? Wish granted. Chicagoans, and those passing through, do stop in at Black Rock Bar (3614 N Damen) on Wednesday, March 4th at 8pm as the regular Recroom series goes 80's for "You Give Me Growing Pains, Theodore Huxtable", with readings by Jac Jemc, Zach Plague, Lindsay Hunter, Mary Hamilton, Tobias Amadon Bengelsdorf, Nicolette Bond, Meg Barboza, Allison Gruber, and Erin Teegarden.

March is Small Press Month

2009-02-20T16:00:00.000-06:00

March, as the title of this post implies, is Small Press Month. Get some small press love on the event's website here, including this fine list of things to do to support small press.

6S2, Word Riot News, AWP/Chicago

2009-02-11T09:38:00.006-06:00

What with the AWP circus being in Chicago this week, Pilcrow went out and represented last night at the Dzanc/OV/Keyhole soiree last night. Fabulous time of course.

Friend of Pilcrow, Six Sentences has news: The authors included in Six Sentences, Volume 2 anthology have just been announced, and a piece of mine is included, along with a few friends of Pilcrow: So New and Word Riot author David Gianatasio, Heather Leet, Shelly Rae Rich and Jason Jordan. Most excellent news. Catch that in March. And, apparently, word on the street anyway, is that there are more author names that'll be announced for special sections of the book, so that's fun.

Speaking of Word Riot, chatted recently with WR's Jackie Corley about World Takes by Timmy Waldron (out soon) and Midnight Picnic by Nick Antosca (out in days, but pre-order is up now). Eyes peeled for those.

Ready?

2009-02-10T22:21:00.002-06:00

This year:

The Rebuilt Books Auction is back, but this time with a killer twist. Stay tuned here on the Pilcrow blog for more info. Want to deconstruct and rebuild your book this year? Do let us know.

And, we're back!

2009-01-01T15:47:00.002-06:00

Join us May 17-23rd, 2009 in Chicago.

Here a Fest, there a fest, everywhere a fest, fest!

2008-05-29T10:47:00.003-05:00

As luck has it, Pilcrow Lit Fest shares time on the calendar with both the Calabash Jamaican Literary Festival and the Hay Festival of Literature in Wales. (Have you read Paul Collins' Sixpence House? Do it. Do it, now.) Anyway, I have been following both festivals with great interest and thought this article in The Independent was a fine one.

How is everyone, post-fest? I'm great!

Search, RSS and Becoming a Geek

2008-05-28T10:19:00.002-05:00

During my Social Media Toolkit for Authors, I promised a blog post in lieu of a hand-out. Here is that blog post.

First off, I begged you to start using search engines other than Google.

For Blogs
Google Blogsearch
Blogpulse
Technorati

For Forums
Boardreader
Omgili

For Twitter
Tweetscan
Summize

For Images
Flickr

For Videos
YouTube

Then I said, "Learn how to use RSS and then use it to monitor your name. Cause your name is your brand."

RSS Readers
Bloglines
Google Reader
Newsgator

Then we talked about becoming geeks and learning how to do video on the go. But most of the questions were about picking a blogging platform. Lucky for me, ProBlogger has that covered much better than I could do.

Did I miss anything? Drop me a line if you want additional links up in the post.

2008-05-26T18:13:00.001-05:00

2008-05-26T13:58:00.002-05:00

We're quite pleased with how everything went this weekend and will be taking the day off here at Pilcrow HQ.

Recap of the festival to follow.

Last Night.

2008-05-23T08:14:00.002-05:00

Pics are up on Pilcrow's flickr page. Here are some highlights:

Rebuilt Books Auction.

2008-05-22T07:34:00.002-05:00

Re: Rebuilt Books Auction

Bring cash and bring your checkbooks; we can't do much of anything with credit/debit cards. That said, get ready-- we have things for every budget to help rebuild the New Orleans Public Libraries-- for example, my ~~stylish clutch handbag~~ fabulous eyeglasses case made from Three Fallen Women on perhaps the lower end, a two-month membership to Uptown Writer's Space somplace in the middle range of things, and say, Nick Hornby's hand-written brainstorm for Songbook (a first edition alone, much less a first-edition signed copy of the actual book goes for a pretty penny, so a one-of-a-kind hand-jotted list? Um, yeah.) and Tony Fitzpatrick's beautiful piece of art, "Luck", on the higher end of things (I will not be mad at anyone if they would like to purchase this beautiful piece of art for me. It's beautiful. I gasped when he handed it to me yesterday.)

And, remember, every penny from this auction on Saturday evening goes directly to New Orleans Public Library Foundation. Pilcrow is covered for the things we need for the most part, but New Orleans needs our help, and that's where the help will go.

2008-05-21T08:29:00.000-05:00

Pilcrow's official bookseller + author speaking at Pilcrow = start the Pilcrowing early

2008-05-20T17:53:00.003-05:00

Here at Pilcrwo HQ, we heard Pilcrowista Rachel Cline is reading from her fabulous book, My Liar, tomorrow evening at our most beloved bookstore, The Book Cellar (4736-38 N. Lincoln Ave.) and thought it would be just lovely for those of us locals and early-to-arrive-in-towners to start the celebrating early and head out to show some her some love.

Twitter said what?

2008-05-17T12:44:00.002-05:00

Okay, you know that @amyguth, @leahjones and @pilcrowlitfest are on Twitter, but what other participants are? (I know I'm going to miss people, so add a comment and I'll update this thing.)

Industry Folks
@luxlotus
@katieschwartz
@wendy_mc
@meganstielstra
@larryodean

Documentary Folks
@helloleticia
@philgomes
@thefemgeek
@Lahrsawyer
@dubster2k
@BobbiDigital
@zemote

Who did I miss? Lemme know and I'll get you up there!

Meet Our Documentarians!

2008-05-17T12:32:00.003-05:00

A lot of people stepped up and said, "Yeah, I'll come and document some stuff at Pilcrow!"

Joining from the Gomecile, we have Phil and Leticia. We've got Jeffery Smith and from UnScene Chicago we've got Tiffiany and Sawyer coming. I heard a rumor that Dubi might drop by and we're crossing our fingers that we'll see Zemote.

Are you bringing a camera, a video cam or a microphone? Let us know and we'll add you to the list.

News!

2008-05-17T12:04:00.003-05:00

You guys! So much to report!

Uptown Writers' Space has donated a two-month membership to their fabulous facility that will be up for auction at Pilcrow Lit Fest's NOLA party along with all of our Rebuilt Books, Nick Hornby's handwritten list of songs to include when he first brainstormed Songbook, and many other fabulous things.

We outgrew Saturday's panels, so we added five panels on Sunday-- who wants in? Hit the Pilcrow panel page and email your truly for a seat on any of the fabulous newly-added panels.

Flickr Pool!

2008-05-17T10:45:00.002-05:00

Coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest and bringing a camera? Hooray!

Do you also store your photos on Flickr? Doubly hooray!

We made it easy for you to share photos with other Pilcrowistas by creating a Pilcrow Pool. All of the members of the documentary team will be adding photos to the pool and we invite you to join and add to it as well.

Want to go a step further? Add the tag Pilcrow08 to any of your photos, blog posts or videos about the weekend.

The weekend that is next weekend. Can you believe it?

A Fresh ChipIn

2008-05-15T13:21:00.001-05:00

Wow! We've had donations flowing in for Pilcrow Lit Fest. We have authors giving time, local businesses donating spaces, artists donating art and lots of our friends (and family) donating money.

Our first ChipIn raised $908 for Lit Fest operating funds before it closed at noon today. Then after it closed, we got an email saying, "I tried to donate and couldn't, what can I do?"

So.... I made a new ChipIn widget since it is so easy to do and a great way to give. Thank you to everyone who has helped this little idea become an amazing reality!

Nick Hornby (hearts) PIlcrow Lit Fest.

2008-05-14T20:54:00.003-05:00

I sure am excited for the Pilcrow NOLA auction of Rebuilt Books. I love hearing about the things some of you are creating. And, I realize that some folks want to donate but wanted to donate something else.

Like today, for example, when I got a wonderful item in the mail from Nick Hornby. He yanked a page from his notebook, the page where he brainstormed which titles to use for Songbook, signed the back, and mailed it to me with the nicest card. What I'm saying, my dears, is that the auction is going to rule.

Where do I buy tickets and other questions?

2008-05-14T11:29:00.002-05:00

Today I got an email from a Milwaukee based publicist asking how to buy tickets for Pilcrow. Good question!

You don't.

Since it is our first year and we're trying to make things easy, peasy, we aren't selling tickets. There is a suggested $20 donation to attend the NOLA fundraiser, but everything else is free and open to the public.

What about the publisher stalls and tables? Can I buy books from them?

The Book Cellar, a fantastic independent bookstore here in Chicago, is going to be the one stop shop for all the books of all the authors you'll be meeting. They are setting up shop in The Fixx and will be selling books all weekend. Thanks Book Cellar!

What other questions do you have? Ask away and we'll serve up some hot and tasty answers!

Just when you think Pilcrow cannot get any better...

2008-05-13T14:38:00.003-05:00

We've stuffed our Saturday panels to the gills, some panels are over-stuffed with your brilliant minds, even. Yet, we're still having authors and publishers and the like wanting to come do Pilcrow.

We could either start turning people away (try again) or knock out a wall, roll out the blueprints and build a new wing (yes).

So, we are adding about four or five panels on Sunday. Leah and I are deciding what those panels might be over the next three days. So, stay tuned, if you want in on the Sunday action.

Amazing Interview with Amy Guth!

2008-05-11T20:07:00.002-05:00

from This Podcast Will Change Your Life via the blog.

Five with Jackie Corley

2008-05-02T11:26:00.003-05:00

Our next guest in Pilcrow Lit Fest's "Five with" interview series is my fellow So New Publishing author, and Madam Queen over at Word Riot Press. Everyone please welcome the one and only Jackie Corley.

1. What are you working on now?

I have a short story collection coming out from So New Publishing later this year, so I'm working on promoting that. I'm writing a second novel manuscript on my favorite subject matter-- confused, misanthropic Jersey youth. (My first novel manuscript is getting shopped around.)

On the Word Riot Press front, I'm putting out two short story collections this year: Mind Games by David Gianatasio, who is too goddamn funny for words, and World Takes by Timmy Waldron, a fellow proud Jersey dude and a tremendous rising talent. WRP took a hiatus in 2007 so I'm eager to get some good fiction out into the world this year.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

The online and small press literary community is so close-knit and supportive but we're all so spread out that we very rarely get a chance to socialize. I love being able to take in a few screwdrivers and babble about writing until all hours. It's pretty rare in my day-today life to get to be around a large group of people passionate about the lit world and just be able to riff on books.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

I really dig what Featherproof is doing. They've taken small press to this sleek, professional new level and still kept this independent spirit about them. Dzanc is incredibly impressive in their devotion to their authors.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

David Barringer. I think he's one of the best small press talents out there. He's such a craftsman with his writing. There's so much care and devotion there. Also, I don't think many people realize it, but a lot of small presses (like WRP) are dependent on his well-honed design skills. The covers he designs are immaculately constructed. There wouldn't be as many small press books out there if it wasn't for him.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

"Follow the Swallow" by Deckard. Choice lyrics: "This is the future, how does it suit ya?" and "Here's a dream I dare to dream right now," but, you know, in a non-emo way.

Saying Thank You!

2008-05-02T11:22:00.002-05:00

If you've been following my series of social media for authors, then you are using RSS, monitoring your name and your book's title, trying out Twitter and getting more comfortable with all this stuff.

Yes it takes time, but hasn't RSS made Googling yourself so much easier?

What is the next step? Getting involved in the conversation about your book. When you get notified in your RSS reader that someone mentioned reading your book, click through and leave a comment. It is so powerful when an author says, "Thank you for reading my book."

RSS means you can say thank you within a day (or hours) of the post going up. This is a great way to move from having readers to having a community of readers.

Five with Laural Winter

2008-05-01T14:51:00.005-05:00

I met our next guest at 2007's (Downtown) Omaha Lit Fest and immediately thought she was just so fun to talk with and she was part of the original "hey-let's-start-a-lit-fest" discussion. So, I'm pleased to present our next guest in Pilcrow Lit Fest's "Five with" interview series, Laural Winter.

1. What are you working on now?

As a writer I am writing a novella about teens hanging out in Portland, Oregon. I write several pages almost everyday. I started writing it with National Novel Writing Month last November. I am having a lot of fun with the characters and their adventures with popularity, dating, love, and self determination. I am also working on a collection of love poems. And I am trying my hand at blogging too.

As a librarian I am speaking in early May at the Oregon Virtual Reference Summit. This month I am helping staff a table at the Stumptown Comics Fest. I am making zines for this outreach event. We do a zine called Where to Find Zines in Portland. And we also do a zine called Where to Find Comics in Portland. I am making about 250 copies in the next few days. Today I am coordinating a program at the Central Library with Jason Shiga (Bookhunter), Elijah Brubaker (Reich) and Aron Nels Steinke. I love my job!

2.What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

My favorite part is walking away from a festival motivated and inspired. I become inspired through making new friends and participating in the festival. I like attending and participating in the readings and panels with people who want to be there. It gives me the feeling of a community connection. Because Amy, you are right-- Writing is usually a solitary process. I always envied my friends who were in bands. They work together for days or weeks on a song or album. So I guess being part of a literary festival feels like I am a BOOKSTAR rather than a rockstar.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

Well, I tend to know or pay attention to the locals in Portland Oregon. I watch Sparkplug Comic Books, Tugboat Press or Future Tense Publishing. I have been watching Kevin Sampsell of Future Tense Publishing for years. He's definitely a mover and shaker. And he's one of my faves.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

Jancee Dunn. I loved her biography But Enough About Me. It was hysterical and moving at the same time. Still laugh about it though I read it a year ago.

David Sedaris- still haven't seen him live. And I 'd love to see him on a panel especially a controversial one.

Cecil Castelucci- love her young adult novels and her graphic novels. They are bittersweet and cool at the same time.

Also two friends from Portland Oregon who are authors: Sara Ryan (Empress of the World) and Blake Nelson (Paranoid Park). I wish they were coming so there could be a Portland Posse.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

Le Tigre's "Get off the internet!" Because I want to say come on down to the Pilcrow Lit Fest we will show you a good time! Or at least get off the internet and go to a book store or library.

Looking forward to meeting everyone!

Five with Jennifer Banash

2008-04-30T05:16:00.001-05:00

Next up in the Pilcrow Lit Fest "Five with..." interview series is our new friend who lives, works, and writes in Iowa City, Iowa. She is the co-founder and co-publisher of Impetus Press, an independent publishing house that champions serious literary fiction with a pop or urban edge. Her novel, Hollywoodland: An American Fairy Tale, is published by Impetus Press, and her Young Adult series, The Elite, will be released in June from Penguin, Berkley. Please welcome Jennifer Banash:

1. What are you working on now?

Right now I'm working on finishing the third ELITE book, and a new YA series called BITTEN, which is about an Upper East Side NY family who buys Dracula's castle in Romania, and promptly moves to Europe with their precocious twin, sixteen year old daughters. I'm also writing a work of literary fiction that takes place at the court of Versailles under the reign of Louis XIV.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

Socializing with people I haven't seen in a while, and drinking copious amounts of wine with them afterwards.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

Soft Skull Press--Richard Nash is my personal hero--Featherproof, OV Books, Dzanc Books. I'm also a big fan of Jeffrey Lependorf and the Literary Ventures Fund.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

Kate Braverman, Carole Maso, Joan Didion, Paul Auster, and Bret Easton Ellis.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

Goldfrapp's A&E.

Get your volunteer boots on!

2008-04-29T16:25:00.002-05:00

Okay, you won't need boots to volunteer for Pilcrow Lit Fest, but we are looking for volunteers of all sorts.

Digital Volunteers
1) Photographers
2) Podcasters
3) Video peeps - do you vlog?

Service Volunteers
1) Greet and check-in authors
2) Point and direct guests to panels
3) Help us dress The Fixx up for the Rebuild Party

Gophers
1) We don't even know yet, but we need you.

Drop Amy or I an email and say "I wanna get my boots on!"

Five with Elaine Soloway

2008-04-24T12:16:00.005-05:00

Our next guest in Pilcrow Lit Fest's "Five with..." interview series is a wonderful woman I've had the pleasure of both reading with and introducing at the Fixx Reading Series (see photo-- she arrived in a "Girls Rock" t-shirt she picked up at a NOW convention and I begged her to do part of her reading bearing the gorgeous tattoo on her upper arm). If you don't now her/her work, then you, my friends, are missing out. Plus, she named one of my favorite songs ever as an ideal Pilcrow theme song, so there's that, too. Everyone, please welcome Elaine Soloway.

1. What are you working on now?

As we chat, I'm finishing up Draft 2 of a 200-page fiction (one more draft to go) titled She's Not The One. It's a coming-of-middle-age novel about a woman who's knocked off track when she encounters people and places more alluring than her husband and suburban lifestyle. It's a fictional tale that includes names and places familiar to Chicagoans, as well as others from the writer's imagination.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

Catching up with friends. In this case: Elizabeth Crane, Charles Blackstone, Leah Jones, Katie Schwartz, and The Amy Guth; as well as authors I've enjoyed but have never met in person; i.e. Wendy McClure and Jonathan Messinger. Discovering writers who are brand new to me is another bonus.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

Oops, make this an important part of #2. I'm lacking in the knowledge of small presses, and hope to use the festival as an opportunity to meet publishers, agents, and other dream-makers. And, as someone under five feet, anything related to "small" wins my heart.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not.

Could you place a call to Jill Soloway, author of Tiny Ladies in Shiny Pants? Maybe she'll listen to you and hop a flight from L.A. While you're on the phone, give a ring to Faith Soloway in Boston, author of musical comedies Jesus Has Two Mommies and Miss Folk America (check out YouTube for hilarious snippets here and here, for example).

If you can't convince those two to participate, maybe some of their writing buddies, like Hillary Carlip, A La Cart, The Secret Lives of Grocery Shoppers; Brett Paesel, Mommies Who Drink; and Sarah Thyre, Dark At The Roots would pretend to be my daughters.

And just for me: invite the most wonderful, Anne Tyler.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

Feeling Good by Nina Simone. Says it all.

Getting Your Book Online

2008-04-22T09:42:00.003-05:00

About a month ago, publicist Lisa Roe sent me a copy of Ronald Cutler's The Secret Scroll to review on my blog. Lisa is a new breed of publicist who helps bridge authors and online communities. She does both blogger outreach, which is how she found me, and allows bloggers to contact her to request books for review.

I think there is a lot of value in both getting your book into the hands of bloggers and getting bloggers to talk about your book. It might be book reviews, interviews like our five questions here, a blog tour, a Flickr contest, or a short film about the book. Start thinking beyond the last page of your book and traditional marketing.

We'll be doing a couple workshops on this at Pilcrow, so we'll help you get there!

Five with Jami Attenberg

2008-04-22T05:53:00.000-05:00

Our next guest in the "Five with..." interview series holds a special place in my heart, I must admit. Not only have I spent something like a total of sixteen really (no really!) enjoyable hours in a car with her but, you see, a few years ago, she and I arrived in Omaha for the (downtown) omaha lit fest, shared a reading at a local bookstore, and within a matter of hours, got into a barfight with a complete stranger and won. How do you like that? A first for each of us, no less. It took one wrong word from this stranger and my glasses were off, her earrings were off, a darling lesbian couple jumped up to help, and it was on.

And, please note that exactly one month from today, she will be kicking off Pilcrow Lit Fest by reading at the Fixx Reading Series! Please welcome Jami Attenberg:

1. What are you working on now?

I am 2/3 of the way through a new novel, which means, basically, I need to figure out how it's going to end. If anyone has any suggestions, they should be sure to let me know.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

I like making new writer friends from all over the country. I know that makes it sound like summer camp or something, but I have met so many cool people at lit fests. There's something comforting in knowing folks from Portland or Omaha are going through the same thing I am out in Brooklyn. And even though there are so many writers in Brooklyn and NYC in general, it is still easy to fall into the trap of isolations. It's good to have something that forces you to interact and exchange ideas.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

Chiasmus Press, because they just published Kevin Sampsell's wonderful new book Creamy Bullets.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

Is Monica Drake coming? I want her to come.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

As We Go Up, We Go Down, by Guided By Voices.

Guest Blogger for Pilcrow, oh, and for the Earth

2008-04-21T09:12:00.006-05:00

I am a guest blogger today over on The Debutante Ball and gave all of you a shout-out for Earth Day.

Five with Adam Deutsch

2008-04-19T17:52:00.004-05:00

Our next guest in the "Five with..." interview series is none other than Adam Deutsch of Ninth Letter, man-about-the-festival here at Pilcrow HQ, two-time Fixx Reading Series veteran, and author of North Park Gallery Series at Big Game Books.

1. What are you working on now?

At the moment, a 1959 Vespa 125. I got it in pieces and have had to put the engine back together. It's coming along. Once the new kick-start with the right splines comes in, I think it'll start right up.

Did you mean writing? I've spit-shined a manuscript of poems for the MFA, will see how it holds up to getting sent out in the fall once I settle into a new job.

A chapbook JUST came out from Big Game Books.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

Traditionally, moving a bunch of Ninth Letters, then getting drinks. You mean when I'm there to talk about writing, right? It's fun to hear about all the details everyone else is goofing with in their own writing; more stuff to play with when the fest is done, and I'm back in my studio apartment writing alone.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

Jill Alexander Essbaum (winner of the Micropress Pageant) scooped me, but I'm a total sucker for Bloof Books. I really dig everything they've put out so far, and it's nice to have confidence in an aesthetic like that.

I don't know who else. I don't know if I really know what's "small" any more. Is BOA Editions small? They're dope. And Milkweed's kicking major ass lately.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

Other than all the dead people I'm thinking of, I'd like to see Brian Lumley. I read the Necroscope Series when I was a kid, and really enjoyed the hell out of them. Maybe also Nick Flynn. And definitely Srikanth Reddy. Can I have 3 wishes?

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song from Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

"Left Side" of Kid Koala's You're Mom's Favorite DJ. Sometimes, there are reasons I'm not in change of stuff.

Five with Tim Hall

2008-04-18T10:10:00.003-05:00

For our next "Five with..." guest, please welcome new-friend-of-Pilcrow, Tim Hall:

1. What are you working on now?

I'm finishing up a new non-fiction novel, called Full Of It: The Birth, Death, and Life of an Underground Newspaper. I've also just launched AuthorShares, which is a way for writers and small presses to issue stock to raise money for their projects.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

My favorite part of literary festivals is realizing that I'm not the only crazy dreamer out there. It's so inspiring to get out of the house and see my fellow travelers once in a while. I'm always humbled and amazed by the amount of talent and creativity at these festivals. Then I go home again for another year and my imaginary friend and I talk about it.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

I'm amazed by the Chicago literary scene, actually--the energy, wit and passion I've seen since moving out here are overwhelming. So I'd say pretty much the entire Pilcrow roster constitutes my favorite mover/shaker types right now, especially Jonathan Messinger, Jason Behrends, and Ben Tanzer, all of whom I've recently met or become acquainted with. I'm also a big fan of Maud Newton's blog, I think her output and generosity have been amazing.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

Selfishly I'd like some of my NY posse to be here, especially my fellow Blacksmiths For Literary Progress--Brian Cogan, Mike Faloon, and Ken Wohlrob. They're my homeboys and some of the coolest, smartest, funniest/weirdest people I have the honor of having restraining orders against. Also Karen Lillis, who's in Pittsburgh now, is another amazing writer and small press advocate I wish was here. My old friends, in other words.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

Well, "Tears On My Pilcrow" would be one, or anything by The Black Pilcrowes.

Actually, I'd say "Waiting Phase One" by Porcupine Tree: "Waiting for the drugs/to make it real/Waiting for the day/when I will crawl away." Pretty much sums up this whole literature gig, doesn't it?

Today:

2008-04-17T17:21:00.001-05:00

Word Riot gave us a nice little shout-out.

Twitter this!

2008-04-17T16:47:00.003-05:00

Twitter again, Leah?

Yes, my Pilcrow dears, Twitter again.

We are certain that Twitter is going to add a fun layer to your time with us in May, but want to make sure you have plenty of time to get used to using it. Something cool we've added is that we're now using Group Tweet for the @PilcrowLitFest Twitter account.

What does that mean? it means that if you send a direct message to @Pilcrowlitfest, it will be broadcast to all the followers. This will make it easier to talk to everyone at once, instead of having to quickly add everyone you meet after you get on site. Although, we recommend doing that too.

Not sure about this twitter thing? Check out this post to catch up.

Five with Megan Stielstra

2008-04-15T22:19:00.000-05:00

Our next guest in Pilcrow's "Five with" interview series is Megan Stielstra. The first time I met her was the evening she came to read at the Fixx Reading Series, and when she asked me, with pink iPod in hand, if she could have a sound cue during her reading (sure!), then proceeded to underscore a fabulous story of her teenage self with Madonna's Like A Prayer, well, once all of those events transpired, I was pretty sold on her fabulousness. Ladies and gentlemen, Megan Stielstra:

1. What are you working on now?

I work story development for 2nd Story, an urban storytelling series set in wine bars where we craft stories the same way you'd tell them to your best friend over a glass of wine (or two or five). Some are confessional, some raunchy, some sad, and I've got all sorts of material from those shows. Right now I'm piecing them into a personal essay collection, rewriting to make the performance translate to the page.

I'm also kicking a novel around, but there's no light at the end of that tunnel. Just a big mess of What the Hell is happening here? and, frankly, I'm having a blast. I like the exploratory part of the process.

Most importantly, I've spent the past nine months building a human being. From scratch! And now that he's arrived, I'm working on navigating this new territory of being a writer and a mom.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

Inspiration. It's like there's a fire lit under my ass, and I have to rush home and get to work. You meet all these great people doing great things, and for me that translates into all sorts of ideas and plans and drive.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

The obvious answer for me, living in Chicago, is Quimby's, an independent bookstore that's been a home for small press for nearly two decades. They stock everything from two dollar Xeroxed zines to fifty dollar art books, plus all sorts of graphic novels and alternative work that you can't find elsewhere. Well, maybe the internet, but I still need the tactile experience of bookstores: wandering around, reading first pages, thumbing through new pages ... Quimby's is the place to go for sure.

The guys at Featherproof are doing some great things with making publishing really accessible and fun: downloadable mini-books, rock-readings, great design. I've always been a fan of Punk Planet, the magazine and now the press (they've published two of my favorite contemporary writers: Joe Meno and Elizabeth Crane). Same goes for Other Voices, whose editor, Gina Frangello, is a big role model for me. Great writer, publisher, teacher and mom. I saw her read an S&M scene from her novel My Sister's Continent when she was eight months pregnant. Totally badass.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

Heather Armstrong from dooce.com. I've read that blog for years and she's just a kick-ass writer. Also, I know she's got a book coming out, and while many of us use our blogs to promote our other projects, her blog is what scored her other projects. It'd be interesting to hear about that flip side.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

Eurythmics, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This). That's a damn good theme song for EVERYTHING.

Five with Larry O. Dean

2008-04-14T14:04:00.004-05:00

For our next guest, I'm pleased to present Larry O. Dean, a very funny fellow I just recently met when he read from his "I Am Spam" at the Fixx Reading Series. He is part of a reading tonight in Chicago at the Sulzer Library, by a delightful coincidence. I'm going, and so should you. It should be noted, I suppose, that while I generally include only one photograph of the featured author, when presented with a photo of someone in rock-mode and a photo of the same person as a wee tiny, well, I'm going to post the both.

Anyway, without further ado:

1. What are you working on now?

Two collections: Brief Nudity, which is your basic kitchen sink's worth of poems of no definable cohesion other than they're new to the neighborhood; and Loma Prieta, a series of persona poems based on the 1989 San Francisco Bay Area earthquake. The former has a lot of humor, the latter, needless to say, is much more serious. I was living in San Francisco at the time, and while my own experience of the quake was benign, I was haunted by testimonials in print of those who weren't so lucky, and later newspaper articles about those who died. Loma Prieta focuses on giving the victims voices.

I'm also writing a batch of new songs for my band, The Injured Parties' second album. Our debut, Fun with a Purpose, which was mixed by Mark Nevers (Lambchop, The Clientele, Calexico) in Nashville, is due out later this year.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

The clean bathrooms. I find that literary types are very careful urinators, urethrally if not always literarily.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

C.J. Laity at ChicagoPoetry.com has been an ardent and sometimes controversial presence on the local scene for many years; any discussion of the state of Chicago poetry that deducts him from the equation is sorely lacking. Also, tooting my own horn, Fractal Edge Press, Wayne Jones' local imprint that published my chapbook, I Am Spam, deserves a shout out if for no other reason than for the sheer number of titles Wayne's put out in a short period of time. Also Puddin'head Press, Featherproof Books, Switchback Books, and Teachers & Writers Collaborative Press.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

I'm gonna go for two: Marc Behm, who died last July, and Alden Nowlan, who died in 1983. Behm was an American expatriate, living in France, probably most famous for writing the treatment for Help! But it was his series of surreal and creepy neo-noir novels, such as Eye of the Beholder and Queen of the Night, that really grabbed me. Nowlan was a Canadian poet and novelist, also little known in the US, who's a particular favorite of mine.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

“Blinded by the Light,” for sure – the Manfred Mann's Earth Band version, not the original by Springsteen – because with all the literary talent on display at Pilcrow, I'm sure we'll have to squint our eyes. Also because Mann's singer pronounces “deuce” like “douche.”

Donate and Win!

2008-04-12T11:05:00.002-05:00

In the funny world of "it takes money to raise money," we are trying to raise money to be able to properly fundraise for NOLA Libraries and get all the little odds and ends it takes to have a festival.

The plan is to have a fabulous event on Saturday night. We have an award winning Jambalaya cook on board, we are picking a playlist, and we have authors galore creating Rebuilt Books. At the event we will wine and dine each other, bid on the artwork, laugh out loud and at the end of the night write a big ol' check to NOLA Libraries.

How can you help? We are in the process of raising $1500 to put towards extra food, extra beer, printer cartridges and other unforseen things. Each person that makes a $25 donation via ChipIn between now and May 1st will be put into a drawing for a gift certificate to Wishbone! For every $25 you donate, you'll be entered for another chance to win.

Mmmm, Wishbone. Yes, it is in Chicago, but you're coming here in May or you live here or you need a reason to come here, right?

Five With Amy Guth

2008-04-10T23:31:00.002-05:00

Well, it had to happen sooner or later. Since the "Five With..." interview is open to any author involved with Pilcrow Lit Fest, and well, I'm an author and I'd say I'm rather involved. I thought it was perhaps teetering on garish to interview myself, but more than one person asked when my interview would be up, and so, well, why not? Here goes nothing.

Ahem.

For today's "Five With..." interview, I present yours truly, Amy Guth, author of the novel Three Fallen Women and the forthcoming novel, Light of Waters Brought. And, you know, the one who said, "Hey, guys, we should have a lit fest!"

1. What are you working on now?

Doy. Pilcrow. It's been a large undertaking, but I've enjoyed it thoroughly-- from scribbling ideas on brunch napkins, to hocking everyone for things to fill the swag bags with, to finding venues for panels and parties, getting the logistics for all the programming to line up, making sure everything was done as eco-friendly as it could be, finding organizations and vendors to partner with, and convincing everyone else to come along for the ride-- well, Pilcrow has certainly had my focus since I decided to go for it. It's been great so far; I can't wait to see how festival weekend goes. I have nothing but high hopes. I've been thrilled with how positive of a response Pilcrow has gotten from everyone, fellow authors, publishers, venue owners-- man, even the lady who donated some of the table linens for the New Orleans Public Library fundraiser was so excited that she squeaked! But, now that most of the heavy lifting is finished, I need to figure out what to wear. And, I need to disassemble my novel, Three Fallen Women, for the Rebuilt Books event at the NOLA Public Library fundraiser.

But, it hasn't been all Pilcrow all the time. I recently finished editing an essay collection, Emotionally Pantsed, by Katie Schwartz. My second novel, Light of Waters Brought, is making its way into the light of day later this year, which I'm very excited about. Also, I've been working on my third novel and just started tinkering with two non-fiction projects-- one a biography that will likely take me a few years to research and write and the other a more memoir-format thing based on the assortment of unusual day jobs I held at different points in my life. I'll be continuing as host of the Fixx Reading Series here in Chicago this year as well, and hopefully many years to come, and editing an anthology of the first year's guests. And, of course, wrapping my head around next year's Pilcrow Lit Fest. Already. Can you believe some folks are already asking me about next year?!? I joke. I love it. Next year is going to be even better. Pssh, I'll have it down to a science by then!

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

Wine and schmooze, all the way. I think I'm really charming after a couple glasses of pinot grigio. Keyword: think. See for yourself during Pilcrow, I'm sure. No seriously, I am a big fan of literary festivals. The things we do, whether on the creation or production side of writing, lend themselves to isolation far more than they do to, say, community-building, so I've always enjoyed being around a lot of other people who understand that so well at festivals. I've left every festival I've attended with the best feeling of connectedness and met some of the most interesting and wonderful people and made some great friends at each festival. And, I've become familiar with all sorts of books and authors I might never of otherwise know.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

Well, self, that's a tough one. I certainly haven't any intention of playing favorites. Especially not after I invited all of you folks here to Pilcrow. That said, I think Featherproof's mini-books are a fabulous thing, and such a creative idea. I am really into what Bloof Books is up to, and really love the we're-all-in-it-together-ness of their authors' touring efforts. Soft Skull Press has always put out books I've liked and they've shown Pilcrow a lot of love, and obviously I'm a big fan of my publisher, James Stegall of So New. Wait, speaking of Featherproof-- does the kid in this clip look like a young Jonathan Messinger to anyone else? Not the wicked baby, the older kid. Maybe? You think?

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

Hell, I don't know. I can barely hear myself think-- all I can hear right now is my upstairs neighbor having sex. Let's see, if I could put, say Tom Robbins, Chuck Palahniuk and Don DeLillo all together at one lit fest, I might be high on life for years. Final answer.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

Well, you know me, such a Morrissey/Smiths fan, so A Rush and a Push and The Land is Ours.

I'm looking forward to seeing all of your smiling faces in May!

Five With Gail Konop Baker

2008-04-09T08:43:00.003-05:00

Today's Five With guest is a newcomer to Pilcrow Lit Fest, Gail Konop Baker, author of Cancer Is A Bitch, Or, I'd Rather Be Having A Midlife Crisis.

1. What are you working on now?

I’m writing a proposal for a book called ANATOMY OF A MARRIAGE.

Sex Love Sex Sex work Sex Nest Sex Kids Money Work Exhaustion sex Money Work Boredom Temptation Baggage Trauma Regret obligatory sex Frustration was that sex? Temptation Re-negotiation… or Bust.

My husband hasn’t seen the tagline yet…

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

The palpable synergy of people gathering in the name of loving the word.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

I’m not sure I’m qualified to answer this question but I do love small presses and lit mags and really they’re the only ones who have ever paid much attention to my writing… but I think I’ll say Literary Mama because they took a chance on my Bare-breasted Mama column and didn’t censor, didn’t try to rein me in. And they pride themselves on providing voice to the edgy, the unconventional, the marginalized, the other.

Also, I’ll add Amy Guth. I get a sense she has the energy to move and shake and make things happen...

4. Thanks, Gail! Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

Grace Paley. I know she’s dead but I met her years ago at Dan and Whit’s in Vermont (Dan and Whit's?-ag) before I was published and after she gave one of her amazing readings and talks and said something like (and I paraphrase), Don’t write unless you have to, unless you feel it in your sternum (and she pounded on her chest). I didn’t realize at the time that I probably didn’t feel it strongly enough in my sternum, that it took years of struggle for me to feel it so intensely in my sternum that I thought I might choke. And I guess I wish she could see me at my first lit fest as a published writer. Also she always gave a reading that took the top off of my head.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit fest this year, what would it be?

Not to be self-serving but I’d pick “Mother’s Little Helper” from the CANCER IS A BITCH playlist (yes, there is a playlist that goes with my memoir). Originally I included it at the end of the book but it wasn’t practical to keep it in but if you e-mail me I’ll send you a CD of it!

Chicago Public Transport + Google Maps = The Awesome

2008-04-08T12:59:00.002-05:00

Pilcrowers, we have excellent news! The CTA and Google Maps hooked up and we get to reap the benefits. We can now figure out how to get from point A to point B on Chicago public transport using Google Maps!

Here is the blog post announcing it and a video explaining it better than I ever could.

Round-Up

2008-04-07T15:55:00.002-05:00

Pilcrowers are no slouches, I'm here to tell you. Let's see... skimming some headlines... Lauren Cerand was quoted in Time Out NY, Jami Attenberg wrapped up her book tour to support The Kept Man, Anne Boles Levey wrapped up the Cybils Awards for this year, Rachel Cline's My Liar came out and seems to be doing well, Elizabeth Crane just finished a whole slew of readings back east to promote You Must Be This Happy To Enter, Peter Davis is doing a little poetry goodness with the ladies from Bloof TONIGHT in Indiana, Jonathan Messinger reads from his Hiding Out on Wednesday night in Chicago, Two Dollar Radio kicks it at good ol' Morningside Bookshop this weekend in NYC for the new novel 1940, Megan Stielstra has a few shows coming in the next few weeks in Chicago... and what else? Pilcrowites, shout out. What are you up to between now and the festival?

Five with Pete Coco

2008-04-07T12:29:00.001-05:00

Please welcome our next "Five with..." guest, Mr. Pete Coco, half of Please Don't literary webzine.

1. What are you working on now?

I'm writing a novel about a guy who lives at home and figures out how to recreationally overdose on his father's cholesterol medication. That's the beginning, anyway.

More short-term, I'm finishing up the second chapter of Axl Watch, Please Don't's serial-collaborative noir. I'm also starting on preliminary designs for my personal website, petecoco.org.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

If you care about writing and reading, you do so against the grain of the larger culture. Maybe that makes us noble, but only just a little. More than anything else, it just makes us lonely. These are pretty solitary endeavors, after all. So we get together now and then, pull a chunk of time and space out of the larger continuum and seal it off for party and conversation. I think that's pretty reasonable.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

There are so many good answers to this question. I'm always checking the catalogs of presses like Soft Skull, Akashic, Graywolf, McSweeneys, Future Tense, etc. With so many indie presses you know you're getting a labor of love, and that's meaningful. There's not enough money changing hands for this to be a cynical business.

I work in an academic library, and the other day I had occasion to pore over like ten shelves of Dalkey Archive back titles and select a bunch for our collection. The depth of that catalog is just astonishing, and I can't think of a press that better demonstrates the vital necessity of independent media. As self-evidently worthwhile as so many Dalkey titles are, most couldn't get in the front door of mainstream publishing. I don't want to demonize mainstream publishing for that, exactly, but it's vital that we have an alternative to that business model, a flood channel for art's sake.

Because, you know, art and commerce, blah, blah, blah. It's an evil pairing sometimes, those two.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

The best book I've read in ages is Dan Chaon's "You Remind Me of Me." It's been four months, give or take, since I finished it and I still think of it every time I sit down to write. It embodies this cosmic tenderness to which I think all writers should aspire. Or at least I aspire to it, anyway.

I hear Steve Earle has finished a novel. He's always been one of my favorite storytellers so that's a book I look forward to reading. If you want a nice, compact object lesson in story structure, his songs aren't a bad place to start.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

If I were in charge, I'd have to think up some elaborate justification for choosing something off this acoustic Peter Tosh album, "Talk Revolution," that I've been enjoying lately. It's lo-fi and sparse and just pretty damn great.

Also, while working on Axl Watch I've had occasion to watch the video for "Estranged" almost daily for the past couple months. So that song is on my brain. When I'm walking the dog, for example. We'll turn a corner and suddenly that menacing, plaintive guitar lead floods my consciousness.

Shut Up, I'm Talking

2008-04-07T10:50:00.002-05:00

One of the cool things about being involved in Pilcrow is that I'm suddenly much more aware of readings, book launches and author events going on around the country. Also, my friends are more aware too and are starting to send things my way.

Last week I went down to UIC to the Jane Addams Hull House to see Adam Mansbach read from his new book, The End of The Jews. He was the featured speaker for a class, but lucky for me the reading was open to the public. I'm only a chapter in, so I can't give you a review, I can just tell you that I went.

Coming up in New York, Gregory Levey (the best friend of a friend) is launching his new memoir Shut Up, I'm Talking: And Other Diplomacy Lessons I Learned in the Israeli Government -- A Memoir. I wish I could go, alas, I don't live in New York. Maybe you do?

What readings are you hitting this month?

Five With William L. Bryan

2008-04-04T07:49:00.004-06:00

For our next guest on Pilcrow Lit Fest's "Five With..." interview spots, I'm happy to introduce all of you to William L. Bryan.

1. What are you working on now?

My lovely and talented writing partner (one Angela Gant by name, to be found all over the Pilcrow pages) and I are working on a horror screenplay. It should have been a vampire movie, because it is sucking the life right out of us.

Individually, I am working on a YA novel about a boy whose dog is possessed by a being from another dimension who has to try to help the boy save the universe.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

You learn so much by listening to people talk about whatever they want to talk about – literary festivals are particularly wonderful in this regard because so much discussion is logically about writing that my interest is more than prurient. Even the most obscure perspectives on the craft can be helpful.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

I have to give respect to D-Town’s own Joyce Meskis, who owns the Tattered Cover, America’s best independent book store and is the Director of the University of Denver Publishing Institute, who has done and continues to do more for the literary scene here than any other ten people combined. Steve Church and some other very talented people have started a literary magazine called The Normal School which drops this fall – they have a lot of really cool stuff on tap for the first issue, so I am looking forward to that.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

David Simon, because if I can take anything back to The Wire, I will. Joolz Denby. Nick Arvin – I think he owes me beer.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

Everybody wants to make this meaningful, but I figure if it gets played at every event, I just want it to be something that does not suck. It should be a Chitown artist because that’s part of what Pilcrow is all about, so I considered some of the greats – My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, Material Issue, Liquid Soul, The Wesley Willis Fiasco, Molemen, The Bomb. I finally settled on Big Black’s “Bad Penny.” It’s brilliant, short, crude and who embodies the spirit of independent Chicago arts more than Steve Albini?

Live from The Fixx

2008-04-03T20:04:00.002-06:00

I'm sitting in the middle of The Fixx Coffee Bar and we've just applauded the last poet of the April reading. This is the last reading before the reading the night before the Pilcrow Lit Fest.

OMG! Can you believe it? I can't, but it is coming.

So I'm sitting back here, looking around the room and imagining what this room will look like when it is filled with Rebuilt Books, supporters and authors dressed to the nines and smelling Jambalaya.

It is going to look great and you will look fabulous. I promise!

Five With Jill Alexander Essbaum

2008-04-02T08:26:00.000-06:00

Our next guest for Pilcrow Lit Fest's "Five With..." interview series is Jill Alexander Essbaum. She's coming to Pilcrow this year from her home in Europe. Not too shabby for us, right? Nope.

1. What are you working on now?

A book of poems I'm calling (L) O V E R.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

The belly-up-to-the-bar-ness of them, the conversations that take place not on panels but over ice clinking around in highball glasses. Finally, meeting the people you've been reading, emailing, hearing about. The antics.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

I'd be a fool to not mention No Tell Books headed by the extraordinary Reb Livingston and Neil Ellis Orts' press NeoNuma Arts-- they've published me, loved me, cajoled me, and worked very hard to bring me (and many other fabulous authors) into print. There's also Pilot Press, Coconut Books, Bloof Books-- so much goodness to be had these days! The cup runneth over!

4. Speaking of Bloof, some ladies of Bloof are reading here in Chicago tomorrow, Thursday April 3rd at the Fixx Reading Series. What a coincidence! Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

Hmmm. John the Revelator.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

Carole King: "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?"

Signings, Book Tours, Buzz

2008-03-31T10:26:00.002-06:00

One of the writing blogs I subscribe to is The Writer's Edge. It comes from some of the folks involved in the Algonkian Novel Writer's Workshop. (I swear, I'm not on Michael's payroll, I just had a very good experience there.)

I thought all y'all writers might want to check out a couple of new posts and a promising new series that started today.

The first is To Sign or Not to Sign: Why Writers Should Consider Doing Book Signings

But book-signings can help you make tremendous inroads into reaching your
reading audience. And a good book tour, as part of a complete promotional plan
that includes targeted advertising, a strong web presence, effective media
coverage, and good distribution, can really get your sales going.

The second is How to Build a Book Tour Audience –Part I

Many authors are leery of doing book tours, not only because it's expensive
to travel across the country, but also because it's difficult to create a
good-sized audience. How can a relatively unknown writer hope to guarantee
crowds at signings? Here are some suggestions (with more to follow in a later
post) to help put butts in the chairs, and hopefully, ring up sales:

Of course, you can also get involved in the Pilcrow Lit Fest and other festivals. Great networking coming to a Chicago festival near you!

Five With Lauren Cerand

2008-03-31T08:12:00.000-06:00

The photo really says it all. Our next "Five With..." guest is Lauren Cerand, a delightful woman I met at last year's (Downtown) Omaha Lit Fest who has more charm and style than just about anyone else I know. Truly, and she has the uncanny ability to make ease of even the most daunting. And, she's been an incredible supporter of Pilcrow since it was merely scribbles on a brunch cocktail napkin. She is an independent pr representative in NYC and blogs Lux Lotus. Please give her a warm welcome:

1. What are you working on now?

This spring, I am publicizing Janice Erlbaum's new memoir HAVE YOU FOUND HER, available now; Rudolph Wurlitzer's new novel, THE DROP EDGE OF YONDER, which will be out in days; Min Jin Lee's FREE FOOD FOR MILLIONAIRES, a debut novel that's now a national bestseller and will be out in paperback late next month; and Roxana Robinson's next novel, COST, coming in June. I also work on Barnes & Noble's "Upstairs at the Square" series of conversations pairing authors and musicians and the highest-profile cultural projects for the Goethe-Institut New York. Those are my main things right now.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

Getting out of New York, for obvious reasons.

3. Who are your favorite small presses mover/shaker types at the minute?

I am particularly fond of the small presses I have worked with-- Two Dollar Radio, Coffee House and Soft Skull are all particularly brilliant, as are the authors they've published: Rudy Wurlitzer, Laird Hunt, and David Breskin, respectively.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year that is not?

Selma Blair. I enjoyed her short story in the erotic anthology, 'Stirring Up a Storm.'

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

"Feel the Love" by Cut Copy. It's just glittery enough!

Panels!

2008-03-31T07:02:00.002-06:00

I'm a woman of my word: Pilcrow panels!

Green books, stickers, Eco-Libris, and Panels

2008-03-27T14:33:00.007-06:00

Eco-libris is partnering with us for the festival and stickers will be available throughout the event to purchase for your own books, books that will one day live in the New Orleans Public Library, and/or books that you purchase while at Pilcrow. Wait, it gets even better! Eco-Libris plants a tree for every stick purchased to offset books. But, during Pilcrow at the NOPL Rebuilt Books fundraiser, Eco-Libris will plant two trees for every sticker people buy on behalf of NOPL.

Stickers? What stickers? Read this. That's right. Yours truly has ordered tons of these stickers for Pilcrow weekend. See what they look like just to your left. Yeah, that green circle with the tree-book. That.

Now, panels. Yes, panels. Due to the incredible turn-out, not only by participants, but by people just coming to listen and hang out, we are securing an additional venue. In fact, it's nearly secured. But, we have to wait for the green light before we can go flapping our traps about it. You understand. So, Monday morning, a list will be up. That's a promise. If it's not up, I surely got conked over the head over the weekend. (I shouldn't joke, I am moving this weekend.)

Five With Peter Davis

2008-03-25T15:51:00.003-06:00

One of my very favorite things about our next guest, Peter Davis, on "Five With...", besides his delightfully funny book Hitler's Moustache, is that because the name "Peter" and the name "Davis" are rather popular ones, I found myself Googling "peter davis hitler" when I went to link to him. So there's that.

1. What are you working on now?

A book called Poetry! Poetry! Poetry! It’s a book of poetry.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

Traveling. Meeting people. Usually my wife comes with me, so it’s nice for us to get away from the kids, stay in a hotel, drink too much, and have sex.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

At the minute? Bloof Books, Action Books, Didi Menendez, Matt Hart…

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

Kurt Vonnegut. But I’m just happy to meet Amy Guth. That should make up for the missing Vonnegut.

(Aw. Funny you say my name and Vonnegut's in the same answer. I did pose for some rather odd photographs in Vonnegut's honor. -AG)

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

The Hives, “Tick Tick Tick Boom”

(Please note. Pilcrow Lit Fest does in no way mean to imply that Peter Davis looks like, or worse, is, Hitler. WE just don't have a photo of him handy.)

Beyond mastergoogling.

2008-03-24T19:24:00.003-06:00

You've Googled yourself, right? Come on, how can you be a writer if you've never Googled yourself. If you are like me, you know how many times, if any, you come up on the first page of Google. You know if those links are about Hooray Things or Boo Hiss Things.

What else can you Google and where else can you search?

Things to search:
Your name
Your name misspelled
Your correct book titles
You book titles slightly wrong
You book's nickname
Your ex-boyfriend's nickname
Your agent's name
The URL of your blog or website (to see who linked to you)

What are people saying about you on the blogs?
Google Blogsearch
Blogpulse

What are people saying about you on the forums?
Boardreader

Are people putting up photos of you on Flickr? Videos on Youtube? A fan page on Facebook? You better search there too.

I broke one rapper's heart, temporarily, when I taught him about all these search engines. He knew he ruled page one of Google, but didn't know that he didn't rule the blogz. He does now, trust me, he does.

Five With Cris Mazza

2008-03-24T10:42:00.004-06:00

Today, on "Five With..." I'm proud to present to you Cris Mazza, who, as luck would have it, is not only coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest, but who is also reading at the Fixx Reading Series this Thursday evening, hosted by yours truly. Cris Mazza is the author of Waterbaby.

1. What are you working on now?

My next book, Trickle-Down Timeline, just went into production at Red Hen Press. It'll be a 2009 AWP Conference (in Chicago) release. I'm hoping it can help celebrate a democratic presidential inauguration. If it’s a choice between voting and buying my book, please vote!

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

Bull sessions with colleagues and peers, because my husband and dog-training friends don't understand, so I can't vent at home.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

Richard Nash of Soft Skull Press (publisher of my current new novel, Waterbaby) for his original vision about the world of literary writing. Gina Frangello of OV Books, for her willingness to expend energy publishing other people’s books. Kate Gale, of Red Hen Press for being the maven (maveness?) of independent publishing.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

Jeffrey Eugenides

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

“WAR (What Is It Good For?)”

Five With Leah Jones

2008-03-21T15:36:00.000-06:00

For our next "Five With...", I'd like to introduce you to someone who has mostly been toiling away behind the scenes here at Pilcrow, making Pilcrow the social media savvy festival it is. But, during the festival, she'll be leading a one-hour workshop for authors and publishers and utilizing social media, which will be very cool, as I can personally attest to her mad skills in that area. Anyway, without further ado, I present, Leah Jones.

1. What are you working on now?

My day job is Digital Culture Evangelist at Edelman PR in the Digital group, but my nights are spent blogging at Accidentally Jewish, doing freelance marketing gigs for authors, artists, and lit fests, and trying to write my first book.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

Shhh, don't tell anyone, but I've never been to one. I guess that means my favorite part is the anticipation of not only attending my first lit fest, but getting to be on the organizing staff. That means I'll get to shmooze with the nerdy hawt writers, right?

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

It isn't books, but I'm most closely involved with the PresenTense magazine. It's a small magazine that also has a sister organization for start-up social entrepreneurs each summer in Jerusalem.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

Oooh, that's good! I wish that Scott Westerfeld and Hillary Carlip were coming. Scott because he's just so kind to his readers. He writes Young Adult Lit and I think he does a great job of talking to his readers and keeping them involved. Hillary, because I've met her and always want to hang out with her. Also, through the Memoirists Collective, she's helped build a community of people telling personal histories. That's rad!

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

Immediately the lyrics, "I wanna rock and roll ALL NIGHT and PARTY every day" popped into my head. I don't know what that means, but I'm gonna go with it.

Pilcrow, Jambalaya Celebrities & Rebuilt Books

2008-03-20T14:01:00.004-06:00

Officially, a special guest contestant from FitzGerald's 14th Annual Mardi Gras Jambalaya Cookoff Contest will be dishing up his special jambalaya at Pilcrow's fundraiser for New Orleans Public Libraries as we auction off the Rebuilt Books.

Where you can connect with us!

2008-03-20T11:15:00.002-06:00

Are you on Facebook? Join the Pilcrow group on Facebook!

Are you on Twitter? Follow PilcrowLitFest on Twitter! (And Leah and Amy, too!) Hint, if you go to PilcrowLitFest and see who we are following, you'll see a lot of other Pilcrow participants that you can follow.

Do you have an extra dollar in your wallet? Join us on ChipIn!

Five With

2008-03-20T09:57:00.004-06:00

Remember, if you are participating in some capacity in Pilcrow Lit Fest and have not submitted a set of answers for the "Five With..." interview and would like to, don't be shy! We can only post what we've received, so send away. Thanks.

Five With Katie Schwartz

2008-03-19T09:36:00.004-06:00

Next up, in our "Five With..." interview series, I'm pleased to welcome Katie Schwartz, stand-up veteran, playwright and author of a collection of essays coming out shortly called Emotionally Pantsed. She's also been a friend of Pilcrow Lit Fest since the idea was little more than some scribbles on a cocktail napkin, so please give her a warm, Pilcrowy welcome!

1. What are you working on now?
At the minee, I'm focused on promoting my first forthcoming non-fiction essay collection from So New Media, titled Emotionally Pantsed, an irreverently honest and shameful confessional, conveying the absurdities and travesties of my life thus far.

FYI: Whenever I type "pantsed", I get the MS Word squiggly red line underneath, indicating that it's a typo and should be changed to "panted". I looked it up—I know what it means, but I wanted more detail. One of the dictionary.com definitions is "To long demonstratively; yearn". Ironically, that's one of the pink-elephant-in-the-room themes of Emotionally Pantsed.

I'm writing an epistolary-ish book based on one of the essays from Emotionally Pantsed, called Shrinktails. Right now it's in that ruminating-snippets-here-and-there-still-defining-itself place. I'm into it. I'm also working on mounting one of my plays, possibly a man, too, but I'm way more passionate about the play.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?
To be honest, I'm popping my literary-festival-cherry with Pilcrow and I'm so excited, I could burst at the seams. I can't wait to meet all of the writers I've read and admired from afar. I'm looking forward to the panels and listening to what other writers are saying about all things writing. Plus, hello, I love a good litdish fest and Pilcrow is the perfect opportunity for that as well.

3. Who are your favorite small presses mover/shaker types at the minute?
There are so many wonderful emerging and established indie publishing companies out there. I'm passionate about folks most dedicated to promoting up and coming voices with the least amount of censorship.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year that is not?
I wish two authors were coming, Adrienne Rich, a poet, an essayist and a radical feminist I revere and have always dreamed of meeting. I wish Andrei Codrescu was coming, too. I love his work. I'm also a huge fan of Exquisite Corpse a vulvarific literary feast.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?
"Let the River Run" by Carly Simon. The song is about embracing your dreams with fearlessness. It's beautiful and uplifting and makes ya's feel like anything is possible. What's bad?!

bigger Pilcrow?

2008-03-18T20:50:00.001-06:00

Oh, so, through a seriously generous contribution, we just might be expanding the programming on Sunday of Pilcrow. Stay tuned a couple more days for the scoop. Oh boy, oh boy!

Follow us on Twitter!

2008-03-16T20:15:00.002-06:00

I am super-hooked on Twitter and I've pulled Amy along into the game. It goes without saying that we'll be using Twitter at Pilcrow in May. Are you on Twitter? Then add PilcrowLitFest, me and Amy.

Don't know what Twitter is? Once again I turn to my friends at Common Craft.

Do you go on writing retreats?

2008-03-16T12:42:00.002-06:00

In the past few months, I've been luck to attend two writing retreats. I like to go off to woods to work with other writers, it reminds me that of all things I need to do, I need to write.

In November I went to the Algonkian Park Novel Writer's Workshop with Michael Neff. I had a great experience and was forced to find a new idea for a novel in short order. It was just what I needed. Nights in a cabin with a fire roaring, in the living room writing with two others. Tapping away at our keyboards and sharing a bottle of wine. Later we'd turn off our computers and tell each other stories, look out on the Potomac River, and laugh ourselves silly.

Last weekend I took a shorter trip and went to the SOFER Writing Retreat at OSRUI in Wisconsin. This was a bigger group split into poets and novelists. Again we had a forest, great teachers and room to write. I even talked the organizer into blogging.

Do you ever go off to the woods to write? Off to the city? Off to a diner? What retreats would you recommend for fellow Pilcrowers?

What a pretty Pilcrow you have...

2008-03-13T08:29:00.004-06:00

I got a sneak peek at the festival posters yesterday! Look closely--

Big thank you to Momma's Boy Design, for making Pilcrow look so sharp.

Five With Charles Blackstone

2008-03-12T13:53:00.003-06:00

Next up in Pilcrow's "Five with", please welcome Charles Blackstone, author of the novel The Week You Weren't Here, as well as his new play, Rogers Party. (Psst, there's a benefit for Lifeline Theatre Company on May 6th. Go and get a preview of the play. And drink wine. Everyone wins.)

1. What are you working on now?

Trying to come up with a good excuse about why I've ignored these questions for so long. I am a bad, bad Pilcrower. It's not my fault. It's just been a busy couple of weeks. Rain on the Pilcrow, blood on the plow, this landfill nation, etc.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

I like getting to see in person those colleagues who I spend the rest of the year (sometimes the rest of the years) communicating with via email. These aren't even necessarily people who live in other cities. I also like the fact that in a world dominated by so many festivals (jazz, blues, food, booze, comic books, furries) that have little to do with all things literary that there can be a moment when words and the people who make them and think about them and care about them are all the rage.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

Impetus Press. I've gotten to know Jennifer Banash and the more I learn about what they're doing, the more excited I get about small press publishing. Usually small presses set out to be as unlike their mainstream counterparts as possible, which means they're going end up eschewing meaningful literary fiction that is more or less formally conventional, and Impetus isn't like that. They have pretty delicious covers, too.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

Zoe Trope. The last time she was in Chicago, we had such a blast. We went to IKEA, a Purim carnival, a Thai restaurant, a sushi bar, Mity Nice Grill with my friend Julie, a couple of used bookstores, the top of the Hancock building, the U-505 at the Museum of Science and Industry, Old Navy, Target, and, at one point, she baked me Snickerdoodle cookies. Now imagine adding Pilcrow to that list. Need I say more?

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

This song called "Folder," by Plastic Operator. Why? Because it's going through my head right now, and because it contains the term "copy and paste," which to my mind no other song has ever included. It's also on my iPod, so it wouldn't be hard to broadcast, and it's fast, so you can run to it.

Start using RSS!

2008-03-10T20:24:00.002-06:00

I'm helping the Guthster with the Lit Fest on all things having to do with social media. What's that? All the new fangled stuff on the interwebs. Blogs, social networks like Facebook and MySpace, photo sharing sites like Flickr, video sharing sites like YouTube, microblogging sites like Twitter and Pownce... You know what I mean?

Since I'm the one helping with that stuff, I thought I would teach some skills as we lead up to the festival where you'll be fully prepped to ask me stuff in person.

The first on the list? RSS.

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and you might already be using it. Got a personalized Google home page? Using MyYahoo? Personalized your MSN? Then you are using it but learning how to really use it will save you time. Time that you could be using to write the next project!

I'm going to let Common Craft explain RSS and then I'll be back.

Lee mentions a few feed readers: Google Reader, Bloglines, NewsGator and MyYahoo. I have used both Google Reader and Bloglines and have to say that I'm a Bloglines Girl. It is the first reader I ever used and I like being able to empty it to zero, you can't with Google Reader and sometimes I like to start from scratch.

So, your mission? Set up an account on a feed reader and add five of your favorite blogs and two favorite news sites. Let me know when you've done that.

P.S. I also endorse the Back In Skinny Jeans post about RSS.

International Festival of Mystery...?

2008-03-06T10:08:00.000-06:00

I started with the idea of getting local authors together, then I realized by the time I rallied my peeps, and those peeps rallied their peeps, that Pilcrow would bring authors together from around the country. Well, my friends, Pilcrow goes international as of today with a fabulous guest from Berlin. Not bad, kids. Not bad at all. Details shortly.

Five with Timothy Schaffert

2008-03-03T10:37:00.003-06:00

Happy Monday! Ready for another "Five With..."? We thought you might be. Welcome Timothy Schaffert, author of Devils In The Sugar Shop, The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God and The Phantom Limbs of The Rollow Sisters, and is the man behind (Downtown) Omaha Lit Fest.

1. What are you working on now?

I foolishly have two novels in the works at the same time. I started one that I like very much, but it was coming along only in fits and starts, needing more time to fester in my brain, then this other one cropped up and commanded my attention, fluttering its eyelashes and stealing me away.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

I would say the torrid affairs, but I have yet to have one at a literary festival. So I'll say the potential for torrid affairs. The reasons should be obvious.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

I was just at a conference where there were miles of tables of small press people, all of them so skinny and nerdy-glam with horned-rim spectacles and cigarette pants and charming Attention Deficit Disorder, so I'm having a hard time picking my favorites. So I'll be biased and pick a few who have been good to me lately: I love what Jonathan Messinger does (full disclosure: he accepted a story of mine for a featherproof mini-book), and the work he publishes is super-tantalizing. Kate Bernheimer, with her Fairy Tale Review, and now the Fairy Tale Review Press which is reissuing great books, is one of my favorites too. (Full disclosure: I have a story forthcoming in the Fairy Tale Review.) And both of them are fiction writers producing inspiring work of their own. I also want to include Zachary Schomburg and Mathias Svalina, who produce some beautiful books with their own Octopus Books, and who are destined for stardom.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

Flannery O'Connor, peacocks and all.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

"(You're) Having My Baby" by Paul Anka, because we'll all be pregnant with ideas.

"you're so Pilcrow"

2008-02-28T18:22:00.003-06:00

Swoop on out this evening to The Fixx Reading Series at Fixx Coffee Bar on N. Sheffield, just south of Belmont, as one of the readers this evening is Pilcrower, Adam Deutsch. And, it's hosted by yours truly. And, I'm so Pilcrow.

Five with Jonathan Messinger

2008-02-27T22:26:00.003-06:00

Next at bat with Pilcrow's "Five with" series is Jonathan Messinger author of Hiding Out, co-publisher of Featherproof Books and the book editor of Time Out Chicago.

1. What are you working on now?

I'm working on a novel right now. I was sort of floundering for a while there, but think that I've finally hit some sort of stride with it. Which, I think means I've just jinxed it.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

I like meeting readers. I find that when confronted with the people who read your work for no other reason than they felt like it, it's a much more illuminating and gratifying experience than, say, speaking with the press. Every time I talk with someone who read my book, whether they liked it or didn't—and they're always honest about that opinion—I'm astounded that someone set aside a few hours to read what I had to say. It's mind-blowing.

Also, if there's free food, I'm for it.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

I'm really impressed by what Aaron Petrovich is doing over at Hotel St. George Press. There's such a wholly contained aesthetic, something I think is extremely difficult to achieve. I always like what Featherproof's good buddies Switchback Books are up to. And I think one of the great indie presses that doesn't get talked about in quote-unquote literary circles, because those circles are dumb, is Tachyon Publications, who publish some of the best sci-fi in the world.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

Christian Tebordo, who's by far one of my favorite young writers around.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

There's a busker on Chicago's Blue Line who sings Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff" to a karaoke track. He keeps an old phone receiver in his back pocket, with the cord tucked down the front of his pants, and at various points in the song he pretends to dial and says, "Hello, Paris Hilton? Will you come over tonight and give me some hot stuff?" or, "Hello, Jewel Foods? Do you have Hot Stuff brand potato chips? You do? OK. I'm going to come get me some."

At Pilcrow, I'd like for that guy to be on repeat.

(You and me both, Messinger. Who wouldn't want that?)

Swag bags

2008-02-26T22:53:00.003-06:00

Still time to add goodies from your company or organization to Pilcrow swag bags. Email us for info. Super easy. You'll have your logo or product in the hands of many authors, publishers, librarians and booky types all weekend and beyond.

Rebuilt Books, Soft Skull, Pilcrow

2008-02-25T09:40:00.003-06:00

...and again! Soft Soft Press shows Pilcrow's Rebuilt Books some love.

The Rebuilt Book event on Saturday May 24th at The Fixx Coffee Bar on Sheffield is shaping up to be a fabulous event, with so many participants. If you're making artwork for us, make sure you send us your name, title of the book you're destroying and title of your artwork (if any), so we can accurately print up the auction placecards. Thanks!

Soft Skull gives good Pilcrow

2008-02-24T19:19:00.002-06:00

Soft Skull gave a nice little shout-out to Pilcrow Lit Fest.

Five with Nick Ostdick

2008-02-23T13:53:00.005-06:00

Welcome to another edition of Pilcrow Lit Fest's "Five with...". Our guest today is Nick Ostdick, editor of RAGAD.

1. What are you working on now?

Right now, I'm working on a few short stories, which is where I spend most of my time. I really love the short form, much more so than the novel or anything longer like that. I think part of this is because of length--short stories are just more compact by their nature, but also because there is more immediacy with a story than a novel or something. There is more room for fluff in the novel, more room to wander some. With a story, everything has to be matter, which is not say that everything doesn't have to matter in the novel, because it does. But stories have to be more precise--you don't have 200 pages to work a character or plot out, you have 20, and as a result the level of care and consideration has to be much greater.

The stories I'm working on right now aren't really related, but I think that maybe they could be some day. I'd like to get a collection together soonish here, either with the stories I'm working on now or starting from scratch and writing a collection without using any of my past stories, which is more gutsy, I think--to start from pebbles and make a mountain.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

I think my favorite part of literary festivals is meeting and hanging out with other writers. Writing is a pretty solitary act, and it's nice to get out once and a while and see that there are in fact other people out there who share your love for this odd thing you do. It's reaffirming. It's good to listen to other writers too, to listen to their stories and to talk to them about how they work and what they're working on and so forth. Plus, meeting anyone who has taken the time to read my work and likes or doesn't is pretty awesome as well.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

Right now I'm digging on Chicago's own Featherproof Books. They're doing great things over there. I'm stoked that they are going to be attending the festival. BUY THEIR BOOKS!

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

Hmmm...off the top of my head I have to say Amy Hempel. I'm sure she wanted to come though--she cool like that (I'll give her a call later and see if she can put in an appearance). On a more realistic level, I would love to have Richard Grayson from NYC come out. He works the short form so well--it would be great to hang with him. I would also like to see the much lauded Tao Lin. Although I don't necessarily dig all his stuff, I think he's a very interesting guy and I would love to watch him sit on a panel or something...

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

For some reason, the first song that comes to mind is Obama's theme song, Stevie Wonder's Signed, Sealed, Delivered For You. Maybe that's just because it's voting day in two states today, but I don't know...I think it applies.

"As the (Pil)crow flies..."

2008-02-21T10:00:00.002-06:00

Take a moment, if you will, and look at the delightful piece posted on the Time Out Chicago blog about Pilcrow. That'll put a little spring in the ol' step.

Five With Angela Gant

2008-02-19T13:12:00.003-06:00

"Five With..." asks five simple questions of someone involved with Pilcrow Lit Fest. For our next guest, please welcome playwright, producer, writer, comedian, Angela Gant.

1. What are you working on now?

Working on a few things. Currently, I am rewriting a current project, The Body of Eva Peron, based loosely on Juan Peron's rerise to power. The play begins with the arrival of Eva Peron's body at his doorstep in Madrid 15 years after she her body went missing. (I didn't make that part up. It's historical). I am producing a movie, Back Page, that shoots in March in Texas (you know, the friendly state). The director/ story idea man in Richard Massey. I am really excited by his reels and look forward to working with him on this one. Also, I'm developing a new play, Jesus, the Drinking Years (if he wasn't crucified), and finishing up a screen play Sins of the Father, a psychological horror movie, with William L. Bryan.

In other words, I am keeping busy by trying to keep paddling, and keeping the noggin afloat.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

Many writers tend to be solo artists. It's always fun to poke your head out of the shell and see there are others just like you. I think the companionship and camaraderie does everyone a world of good. It's also nice to take an artificial break, and be in another location for a few days, and put things in perspective. It's easy to get caught up in the day to day grind and lose focus. I think lit festivals are a great Jamba Juice IV to infuse a little wiggle back into your tired old keypad.

3. Who are your favorite small presses mover/shaker types at the minute?

I don't want to name names...so I'll allude. If you are small time and looking for a break, we've all been there and we are rooting for you. I like 'em young and hungry or old and ornery.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year that is not?

I have to go with Gary Garrison. The guy is a great motivational speaker, and a fun writer. My favorite quote of Gary's, "No one asked you to be a writer". Kind of puts a spin of the pity party we like to throw for ourselves sometimes.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

The theme song to The Greatest American Hero. If you haven't heard it in a while, give it a listen.

Not for Winehousian Purposes

2008-02-18T13:20:00.001-06:00

Pilcrowers? Show of hands, who went to rehab and wrote about it?

Five With Zach Plague

2008-02-15T10:10:00.005-06:00

"Five With..." asks five simple questions of someone involved with Pilcrow Lit Fest. For our next guest, please welcome Zach Plague.

1. What are you working on now?

I'm working on my debut novel, boring boring boring boring boring boring boring. It's a hybrid typo/graphic novel, which means it's heavy on the design end. I took my time writing and editing it, and the result is I kind of have to design in a panic. Beyond that I'm always working to promote the swell authors we put out on featherproof. This Will Go Down on Your Permanent Record is our latest book, and it's a YA novel, which is different for featherproof, so there are a lot of new outlets to explore.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

I like the schmoozing, the boozing, and the... perusing. Of good books.

3. Who are your favorite small press mover/shaker types at the minute?

A perennial favorite is Open City Books, they just do a few a year, but you always know they'll be fantastic books. The designer in me is blown away by PictureBox.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year who is not?

Oh, gosh, I don't know. I am excited about some of the people who are coming. Namely Pete Coco, Timothy Schaffert, and Scott Stealy. Great writers, great guys.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

Let's say 'For Whom The Bell Tolls' by Metallica, but with some minor lyric substitution:

For whom the pill crows!
Guth marches on!
For whom the pill crows!

(AG: Wow. I never thought I would ever, ever see my surname slipped into a Metallica song. That might go without saying. Rock on.)

Rebuilt Books and Pilcrow Lit Festers Are Doing Fabulous Things (volume one)

2008-02-14T10:30:00.004-06:00

Don't forget! If you would like a spot for the Rebuilt Book auction, please drop one of us an email and let us know. Of course, you can just come and hang out and buy the Rebuilt Books, too. Everything we raise that evening (Saturday, May 24th) goes straight to help rebuild New Orleans Public Libraries. Ron Biava, campaign coordinator of of NOPL will be our special guest that evening and we hope to send him home with piles of money.

Also, in Pilcrow Lit Festers Are Doing Fabulous Things News:

Timothy Schaffert has a mini-book out with Featherproof and you can download it, assemble it yourself and enjoy it for free by clicking here.

Jami Attenberg is touring this month to promote The Kept Man. She's very likely reading someplace near you very soon, which you can check right here.

Rachel Cline's new book, My Liar, is officially out in mere days.

Matilda's/babyATLAS

2008-02-12T10:57:00.003-06:00

Matilda's/babyATLAS might be the run by the nicest man in Chicago. Pilcrow thanks this joint and the man behind it from the bottom of our little Pilcrowey hearts for the overwhelming support. Truly. Make a mental note, all of youse, to be sure to spend your hard-earned literary dollars there often. We'll be there Friday, May 23rd for the launch party and we'll be there again Saturday morning for some of the panel discussions.

Five with Ben Tanzer

2008-02-10T20:22:00.000-06:00

New feature, kids. "Five With..." asks five simple questions of someone involved with Pilcrow Lit Fest. Our first guest is a gentleman I've interviewed once before and had as a guest at the Fixx Reading Series. Please welcome Ben Tanzer.

1. What are you working on now?

I believe its public knowledge that I am furiously rehearsing for the Wham! reunion show this summer at Coachella. Things have definitely been stressful between George, Andrew, and I over the years, but we are really looking forward to this. It’s like a new beginning.

I am also continuing to endlessly hype my debut novel Lucky Man , which everyone who reads this should totally buy multiple copies of, and as always am encouraging people to visit my blog “This Blog Will Change Your Life”.

I’m putting the finishing touches on my new novel Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine and getting ready to shop it around so anyone out there who has been dying to work with me, this is your chance. Run, don’t walk.

I also want to be sure to mention that my zine “This Zine Will Change Your Life” is launching April 1^st and people can submit work to thiszinewillchangeyourlife (at) yahoo.com. The plan is to run two pieces per month online, there is no link yet, sorry, and then create a hard copy compendium of my favorite pieces at year’s end. I am looking for pieces that run 1200 - 1500 words, 2000 if they rock, and I am open to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and comix. I like writing that is dark and humorous, and borderline inappropriate, not so much into experimental or speculative fiction, not that I’m all that sure what the latter is.

Finally, as I seek to expand my faux media corporation TBWCYL, Inc., I have started rolling out “This Podcast Will Change Your Life” and I am currently recording podcasts with a literary bent. If anyone out there wants to pitch themselves as a possible participant, is in Chicago, has a free bed and/or is open to buying drinks give me a shout. Please also look for the launch of “This T-shirt Will Change Your Life” and “This Perfume Will Change Your Life,” the latter of which will have an airy cumin and cinnamon scent.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?

I love the groupies of course, though please don’t print that if you think my wife is going to read this. Eh, fuck it, go ahead, it’s easier than talking to her. I also like the swag, new MP3 players and cool sunglasses are always nice, and appreciated, and though I had intended not to do any plugging here, thank you Ray Ban. More than these things though, my favorite part of literary festivals is meeting other writers, talking about their work, what they struggle with, their process, listening to them answer questions, that never gets old to me. I love writers and writing, and at festivals it’s all there to be engulfed, fully, wholly, and obsessively, a feast of words and people who love them.

3. Who are your favorite small presses mover/shaker types at the minute?

I am contractually obligated to write that my publisher Manx Media does work so groundbreaking and brilliant that one day epic poems will be written about their prowess. Though seriously, they do rock. That said, I love the kinds of things that Jonathan Messinger at Featherproof and Todd Dills at THE2NDHAND are up to, though I don’t know them all that well. There are others though, somewhat more off the radar, though not for long, that I’ve also had the opportunity to spend time with, people like the 20dissidents crew in Raleigh-Durham and Russ Marshalek at Wordsmiths Books in Atlanta, just cool people, and supportive of me, and writers in general. I also have a lot of love for Nick Ostdick at RAGAD, Pete Anderson at the PeteLit blog, and the Jasons (Behrends and Pettus) at What to Wear During an Orange Alert and the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography respectively, who are doing some great things around independent arts and culture. I also want to give shout-outs to Matt Staggs at Skullring down in Mississippi, the good gentlemen at Wonka Vision magazine in Philadelphia and the rocking Joana Topor who just co-launched The Parlor reading series/podcast love fest here in Chicago which I think is going to be great. All these people take care of and celebrate quasi-obscure, or near obscure, artists, and I love that.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year that is not?

I’m sorry Eric Spitznagel of Fast Forward fame won’t be there, but that is purely because I’m feeling lonely. Otherwise, I have had the chance to read five very different books recently and would be geeked to meet any or all of these authors. First off, Rusty Barnes has this short collection of short stories out called Breaking it Down, and its genius, really, the drunken, bastard baby of Raymond Carver and Breece Pancake. There’s also Sherrie Flick who has the killer flash fiction collection out called I Call this Flirting, great stories of love and longing. Jeremy Shipp who wrote the absolutely insane science fiction novel Vacation, which is crazy and awesome, though I have no idea what it’s about. Kelly Moran the author of this romantic and sort of inspirational novel When the Leaves Stop Falling, something I would normally not read, but I connected with her, we swapped books, and I have totally enjoyed it. Corey Mesler who wrote the novel Talk, he is a good friend, albeit a virtual one, and a great guy, or so he says, and Talk is a spot-on novel about male behavior. And finally, Elizabeth Crane, unless of course she’s coming that is, and if she is coming, please let me know so I can get a haircut or something.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?

I’m not sure if I am supposed to pick a Smiths song here or what, but I am going to go with “When Irish Eyes Are Burning” by the Ike Reilly Assassination off his recent disc “We Belong to The Staggering Evening.” He’s a local dude and he really rocks. I’m not sure why this guy isn’t huge, but this song is big and fun and I think it would work. Here’s an excerpt:

It doesn’t matter if you’re seventeen
It doesn’t matter if you’re twenty-one
It doesn’t matter if you’re thirty-three
Forgive me baby, Jesus what I done
Forgive me baby, Jesus what I done

I belong to the staggering evening
I belong to the sweltering nights
I belong to the girl that’s leaving
But all we’re gonna do is fight tonight

Nice, right?

-BT/ag

Orange Alert + Pilcrow

2008-02-07T11:38:00.000-06:00

Pilcrow Lit Fest, naturally, found its way into an interview I did this week for What To Wear During An Orange Alert. How fun! Click. Read. Enjoy.

Five with...

2008-01-30T23:24:00.000-06:00

Another feature starting up this week is the Five with... It's pretty much exactly like it sounds. It's five questions each time with a different Pilcrow guest participant. Stay tuned for that.

Pilcrow wants your email.

2008-01-30T22:41:00.001-06:00

Please note on the front page of the Pilcrow site, we've added a mailing list sign up. We're not going to stuff your inbox with a ton of useless crap, don't even worry for a minute. But, what we will do is keep you looped as new things happen that you might be interested in.

BookCellar

2008-01-30T15:14:00.000-06:00

Excellent news!

BookCellar in Chicago has agreed to serve as the official bookseller for Pilcrow Lit Fest. We couldn't ask for a better bookstore for the job and are really looking forward to hanging with them during the festival.

Rebuilt Books

2008-01-28T19:27:00.000-06:00

The fabulous party taking place Saturday May 24th will be a fundraiser to benefit New Orleans Public Libraries damaged during Hurricane Katrina. To help rake in the dough, we're asking authors to take a copy of their own book, destroy it, and rebuild it into a piece of art. Sculpture, on canvass, whatever. Just art. Recruit a team, if you must. Let us know if you're down to destroy your book, magazine, whatever. As long as it's yours in some way.

This week...

2008-01-21T10:17:00.001-06:00

Pilcrow welcomes Sunday Salon Chicago to the festival. Stay tuned for details of the event we're cooking up on May 25th. Also, Trader Todd's is generously offering space for our use as well.

Birds of a feather...

2008-01-18T10:19:00.000-06:00

Jonathan Messinger and Zach Plague of Featherproof Books are on board. Do come out and say hello during the festival.

Monday News

2008-01-14T11:23:00.000-06:00

If you head over to the participant page, you'll see our lovely little participant list starting to shape right up. Fictionista Jami Attenberg is coming with her new novel The Kept Man in tow, Chicago author Charles Blackstone, publicist (and style icon) Lauren Cerand, award-winning playwright Angela Gant, author and (Downtown) Omaha Lit Fest mastermind Timothy Schaffert and comedic essayist Katie Schwartz. Hello fabulous. A whole slew of other folks will be posted this week, too, so stay tuned, RSS us and keep in touch.

With Day One behind us...

2008-01-05T08:58:00.000-06:00

If you trot yourself over to the participants section of the Pilcrow website, you'll see that even after one day of announcing the fest, we've added some really wonderful folks to the mix.

I have an announcement. (Ahem)

2008-01-04T00:00:00.000-06:00

Guth here. (Ahem)

I think that wonderful things happen when you bring people together that have common interests. Or, slightly compatible interests. Since my first novel came out, I've traveled a lot and gone to many places and met a lot of people. I have gone to Atlanta and enjoyed meeting and talking and brainstorming with writers and publishers at Darren Wang's Decatur Book Festival. Then, I went to Omaha and enjoyed meeting and talking and brainstorming with writers and publishers at Timothy Schaffert's (Downtown) Omaha Lit Fest (Something is going on with that usually-beautiful site, but I'm sure it'll be back up shortly). Then, I went to New Orleans, and did the same at Paul J. Willis' Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival. Then, I went back to Omaha and did it all again.

Somewhere, during all of that, I realized that these three festivals were more than something I enjoyed attending. There was something about the execution of these three festivals that I wanted to bring to Chicago. And, as I had this stuff all in my head in New Orleans last spring, I was standing outside watching a "Stellaaaa!"-shouting contest with Paul Willis and he turned to me suddenly and said, "Do you have any interest in curating a festival? You should. You'd be great." Two months later, I was sitting having fancy cocktails with Timothy Schaffert and I started to pick his brain, and, well...

Introducing Pilcrow Lit Fest. Brought to you by me.

There is a whole sea of things to say about it all coming together, filled with really helpful people that I brought in to help like Mommas Boy Design (to make things look beautiful as they come into being), like online/social/media shaker Leah Jones (to do all that stuff I just said), like Adam Deutsch of Ninth Letter (to organize his head off) and A Moveable Bit (to document the crap out of everything and then some). Just for starters.

It's going to be held May 22nd-25th all around the intersection of Belmont and Sheffield here in Chicago. You know, near where The Fixx is, where I host those readings every month. It all starts with the regularly scheduled Fixx reading on May 22nd, with very special guests Jami Attenberg and Katie Schwartz. And possibly another special guest, too. The rest of the weekend is a series of panel discussions, readings, lots of authors (local and from far away), a cocktail party or three, workshops, and ends on Sunday morning with an author brunch.

And, it's going to be really fun.

There is a blog, too.

You can be friends with us on Facebook.

Join us on Facebook, won't you?

2008-01-03T21:10:00.000-06:00

Pilcrow fans and fanistas, we want to be everywhere you are, which is why Amy asked me to be on board. I'm here to be the Social Media Shaker. After you take time to subscribe to our RSS feed here and check out the main site, why don't you join us on Facebook?

I hear the temperature there is just right for the launch of a new Literary Festival in Chicago.