Exciting new things are in store for Publishing Industry Programs in 2012–from an all-day publishing conference cosponsored by industry innovators O’Reilly Media to an eccentric afternoon at the Chicago Zine Fest–we’ll be popping up all over the city to enrich your literary lives.
March 9, 1 PM- 12AM; March 10, 11 AM-6 PM
Chicago Zine Fest
See website for various locations
Independent publishers and artists present their work and raise awareness of the vast wealth of creative output here in Chicago. DIY artists and publishers will be given the opportunity to network and showcase their work through tabling, community events, and workshops. March 9 will feature several workshops that are open to the public, followed by the exhibit on March 10 including 150+ tables. For a full detailed schedule of individual events look here.
March 21, 2:30 PM
“Beyond the Dream: What it Takes to Get Published”
Story Week at Columbia College, Harold Washington Library, Cindy Pritzker Auditorium, 400 S. State St.
Featuring Eli Horowitz, editor of McSweeney’s; Eleanor Jackson, Literary Agent, Markson Thomas; Tom Roberge, Publicity Director, New Directions; Kathy Pories, Sr. Editor, Algonquin Press; Host: Donna Seaman.
March 23-24
Creative Chicago Expo
Chicago Cultural Center, 4th Floor, 78 E. Washington St.
A two day conference for Chicago creatives and international artists from all avenues, to network, exchange ideas, and learn from one another. Attendees will participate in dozens of consulting sessions and free workshops.
April 9, 9 AM- 5 PM
Mini Tools of Change Conference Chicago
Mini TOC Chicago provides an opportunity for Chicago’s publishing and tech luminaries to share how they are forging ahead in the areas of publishing, tech, and content space. The best and brightest of Chicago’s publishing community will be gathered for a day of collaboration and connecting around the future of content. MiniTOC Chicago will include a day of presentations and conversations featuring speakers from our TOC New York and global events, as well as a number of speakers from Chicagoland’s local publishing scene. Topics will include everything from ebook design to reading devices to social media strategies — and will highlight the important trends and developments that are shaping the publishing world.
April 12, 6-8 PM
Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Assault and the Voices and Faces Project Writing Workshop
Chicago Cultural Center, 5th floor Millennium Park Room, 78 E. Washington St.
This public workshop will introduce issues of sexual exploitation and trafficking in the Chicagoland area. Attendees will receive a toolkit of resources and will participate in brainstorming discussions about how to effectively promote awareness and inspire activism in their communities. This event is hosted by the Neighborhood Writing Alliance with support from Chicago Publishes.
May 3, 7 PM
Morbid Curiosity Poetry Reading
Chicago Cultural Center, 2nd Floor GAR Rotunda, 77 E. Randolph St.
In order to harness the inspiration brought on by the tragic muse, the Chicago Cultural Center extends a special invitation to poets to visit “Morbid Curiosity: The Richard Harris Collection,” and to submit poems inspired by the exhibition, or that are explicitly about death. A panel of judges from Chicago’s poetry world will select five poems to be read at a special “seance” and poetry reading in the Chicago Cultural Center’s GAR Rotunda on the evening of April 5. All aesthetics, styles, and interpretations–from the contemplative to the comic–are welcome.
June 9-10
Printers Row Lit Fest, Chicago Publishers Tent and Programming
As part of its ongoing commitment to the written word and its support of literacy and literary endeavor, the Chicago Tribune purchased the Printers Row Book Fair in 2002 from the Near South Planning Board. Recently renamed to be the Printer’s Row Lit Fest, it is considered the largest free outdoor literary event in the Midwest-drawing more than 125,000 book lovers to the two-day showcase.
June 21-23
National Museum Publishing Seminar
This panel, on ”The Book as a Beautiful Object,” will feature Steve Woodall, Director of the Center for Book and Paper Arts, Columbia College; Jill Shimabukuro, lead designer, University of Chicago Press; Caroline Picard, Green Lantern Press; and Moderator: Danielle Chapman.
The National Museum Publishing Seminar is the only program of its type in the world. It brings together the professionals who publish within museums and similar nonprofit institutions for three days of discussion related to interpreting museum collections to a diverse public in an expanding array of media. Sessions range from the philosophical to the financial, from the political to the poetic. The program travels around the United States to showcase the latest regional expertise among professionals in different museums.
