Chicago Writes

BOTY Hospital Heal Thy Self's Mark Taylor and Empire of the Sun's Stephen Zimmer

Mark Taylor is a former newspaper and trade magazine reporter who covers the business, financing and delivery of healthcare. Taylor is a former Kaiser Fellow and a co-founder of the Association of Health Care Journalists. He is the author of Hospital, Heal Thyself: A Mathematician’s Plan for Saving American Lives and Billions of Dollars, available at Amazon… Mark Taylor is also one of our book of the year winners.
Stephen Zimmer is an award-winning author, filmmaker, and broadcaster based out of Lexington, Kentucky. He specializes in the Sorcery and fantasy genres. His visual work includes the feature film Shadows Light, shorts films such as The Sirens and Swordbearer, and the Rayden Valkyrie: Saga of a Lionheart TV Pilot. Mr. Zimmer also co-hosts the Star Chamber Show, a weekly live audio podcast featuring creative talents from around the world. If that doesn’t keep him busy enough, Stephen Zimmer is the editor-in-chief of Seventh Star Press, a small press with multiple imprints, Stephen founded and co-directs The Imaginarium Convention, a 12th year annual convention held in Louisville, Kentucky for writers and storytellers of all genres.
His latest novel is Embrace of the Sun.
The website is www.stephenzimmer.com
Visit the Chicago Writers Association at chicagowrites.org

Amy Yee, Award Winning Author and Journalist, plus Adam Kaz, Jason Page and a Book Ban Update

Adam Kaz on getting published with Zines, and a writing and organizing technique. Adam talks about beat words. Connect with Adam at thegroundisuneven.com and check out his portfolio at kazadam97.journoportfolio.com. And on Facebook and  Instagram you can find him at kazadam97.
Zine World’s website, www.undergroundpress.org, has event listings, a list of zine libraries and infoshops, how-to articles, and links to many other resources.
Zinebook, www.zinebook.com, has articles on zine history, legal issues, how-to advice, and more. Templates for organizing pages for printing.
Our featured guest is Journalist and author Amy Yee. Amy currently writes for the Chicago Sun-Times Her book, Far from the Rooftop of the World: Travels among Tibetan Refugees on Four Continents, is one of our Book of the Year winners for 2024. A travelogue, a human saga, a memoir. For more on Amy Yee visit, amyyeewrites.com, and The University of North Carolina Press at uncpress.org/book/9781469675510/far-from-the-rooftop-of-the-world/
Jason Page is the author of The Mental Hospital Survival Guide, now in it’s 4th edition. Available on Amazon.
To hear my unedited conversation with Jason, visit my Substack page at wcturck.substack.com.
For more on Lindsay Schultz and her battle against book bans, visit The Spine Bookshop.
Visit PEN America and authorsagainstbookbans.com
The Chicago Writers Association is open to writers and authors all over the year. Unlock a wealth of writing resources by becoming a member today. Visit chicagowrites.org.

The Art of Writing Horror with Downpour Author Christopher Hawkins

On this episode of Chicago Writes, Christopher Hawkins is an award-winning author and a current book of the year winner from the CWA. His works of short fiction have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Cosmic Horror Monthly, Fusion Fragment, Underland Arcana and The Big Book of New Short Horror. He is a member the Chicagoland chapter of the Horror Writers Association. His latest novel is Downpour. The websites are: downpourbook.com (Downpour by Christopher Hawkins, is that through your publisher? And www.christopher-hawkins.com.
Don't forget to check out: A Plot Structure for Writing Terrifying Horror Fiction, by Pamela Koehne-Drube at Novlr.org
Unlock a wealth of writer's resources at chicagowrites.org

Forces of Nature: Author Sharon Ann LaCour and Anti-Book ban Activist Lindsay Schultz

Lindsay Schultz owns/manages The Spine Bookshop in Smyrna, Tennessee. Lindsay is battling efforts to ban or restrict books at schools and libraries. She is also the host of The Spine Bookcast on Youtube. The website is The Spine Bookshop. com
Sharon Ann LaCour’s debut literary novel, The Meeting of Air and Water, tells the story of three generations of Cajun women.
The Meeting Of Air And Water was a novel-in-progress finalist in the William Wisdom-William Faulkner novel competition in 2019. Visit sharonannlacour.com
Ana Castillo's latest novel is, Dona Cleanwell Leaves Home: Stories.
Consider joining or giving the gift of a Chicago Writers Association membership and unlock a wealth of author and writing resources by visiting chicagowrites.org
 
 

Historian, Author, Survivor. A conversation with Pat Camalliere

From maximizing your local market to building in history to deepen a novel and cautionaries on dialogue in memoir writing, Pat Camalliere is a survivor in more ways than one.
Pat Camalliere is the author of The Cora Tozzi Historical Mystery Series, including The Mystery at Black Partridge Woods. Her new memoir is a remarkable story of survival, Staying Alive is a Lot of Work: Me and My Cancer now available from Eckhartz Press.
The website is www.patcamallierebooks.com

David Ladensohn's off-beat memoir, Fly Fishing with Leonardo da Vinci

David Ladensohn is the author of an extraordinary and truly unique perspective on the brilliance of Leonardo da Vinci, titled Fly Fishing with Leonardo da Vinci. Fly-fishing is his passion. That passion has taken him around the world.
Ladensohn is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, he was the CEO of a manufacturing company in San Antonio. Ladensohn completed business programs at Harvard Business and Law Schools and recently spent six months completing a course of study at Oxford.
The website is flyfishleonardo.com.
A shout out to member Tracy Occomy Crowder, Tracy is the author of Montgomery and the Case of the Golden Key, a new Visions award winner, and a fun, mystery in which our protagonist uncovers a rich history complete with uplifting and empowering African American role models and history.
Congratulations to this year's CWA Book of the Year winners! Join us as we celebrate the winners of the 14th annual Book of the Year Awards  at the Warwick Allerton Hotel, 701 N Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL. January 18, 2025, from 7-11pm
Tickets to this event are just $9.99 for CWA members, Non-members, $19.99. Your ticket includes the BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDS CEREMONY / FOOD / DRINKS
Join CWA for only $25/year and then register for this event at the member rate.
You must register to attend. cwa12.wildapricot.org/event-5977283

DePaul's Blue Book and Hope for Next-gen Writing with Chris Solis Green

In the age of AI and social media it is easy to be cynical about the future of writing. In highlighting the best high school writing, across multiple genres, Depaul's Blue Book is testimony to the timelessness and vibrancy of written self-expression. 
Critically acclaimed, Chris Solís Green is the author of four books of poetry. He currently is a Distinguished Writer in Residence in the English Department at DePaul University. More information can be found at www.depaulsbluebook.com
Submissions for the 2025 edition are still open through January 31, 2025...
Submit high school literary magazines, newspapers, or individual work, in English or Spanish, to be considered for the next edition of the Blue Book, depaulsbluebook.submittable.com/submit.
For more on Chris Solis-Green, visit: https://www.chrissolisgreen.com/​

House of Honor: Margaret Philbrick, A Stolen Caravaggio and a Prodigal Child

Margaret Ann Philbrick is an award-winning author and poet. she is the contributing editor of the essay and poetry collection for women, Everbloom—Stories of Deeply Rooted and Transformed Lives. Her poems and articles have been featured in numerous anthologies and publications, including her award-winning poem, A Mother’s Art. Margaret is a founding member of the Red-bud Writers Guild NFP and a member of the Door County Published Author Collective. Margaret Ann is also the author of Margaret’s Child – A Young Entrepreneur of America’s Competition Winner, 2020. Her latest novel is House of Honor.   The website is margaretphilbrick.com and whostolethepainting.com

Writing for Educators: The Advocate Educator’s Handbook's Rebecca Kling and Vanessa Ford

On this episode of Chicago Writes, the Podcast of the Chicago Writers Association, Educator and Award-winning Children's Author of Calvin, Vanessa Ford M.A.T. and Author of the Critically-acclaimed No Gender Left Behind and Educator Rebecca Kling, Authors of The Advocate Educator’s Handbook: Creating Schools Where Transgender and Non-Binary Students Thrive available on Amazon. 
The websites are theadvocateeducator.com, also jrandvanessaford.com and rebeccakling.com.
Never worry about missing anything important to your writing by subscribing to the Write City Blog, and get Every new edition of the newsletter direct to your inbox at chicagowrites.substack.com
Registratration is open  for Let’s Just Write: The Chicago Writers Association Conference, March 21–23, 2025. To book your room at the iconic Warwick Allerton Hotel at the conference rate of only $129.00.
Visit Chicago writes .com

Writing to Make a Change with Tom Tresser

From CWA BOTY winner Linda Gartz' Redlined: A Memoir of Race, Change, and Fractured Community in 1960s Chicago, to Civic Lab founder Tom Tresser's NO GAMES CHICAGO How A Small Group of Citizens Derailed the City’s 2016 Olympic Bid, there are lessons writers can learn about storytelling, structure, media messaging, and marketing. The websites is nogameschicagobook.com.
CWA’s 9th Annual First Chapter Contest Opens August 10th. Visit chicagowrites.org
The Chicago Writers Association returns to Printers Row Lit Fest on September 7 and 8, 2024. Note: We have sold out all open slots for the weekend. If you'd like to add your name to the wait list in the event of any cancellations, please send an email to info@chicagowrites.org with the subject heading: "Add me to the Printers Row wait list."