This week Mare Swallow spoke with Moira Pujols, Executive Director of Contratiempo, a writing center and local publisher. Contratiempo’s publications are printed exclusively in Spanish. Hear about what makes Contratiempo distinctive, and where else its writers have been published.

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This past weekend was the Printers Row Lit Fest, Chicago’s annual outdoor book festival in the historic Printers Row neighborhood.  As always it was a great opportunity to sell books and to reconnect with  Chicago’s energized literary community.  Even the weather was wonderful, if you don’t count the mini monsoon that passed over the city late Saturday afternoon–but, then again, what would Printers Row be without the threat of thunder to keep things lively?

There was a time, right around the turn of the 20th Century when German was the second language in Chicago after English.  Over time, three things happened: the children of German immigrants assimilated quickly and chose English as their language; other immigrant groups competed against the Germans for space, economic success, and political influence; and the onset of World War I made speaking German socially unacceptable.

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We’re in the thick of the holiday season, and to celebrate Chicago Publishes is getting in on the giving.  We’re giving away books, literary items, and gift certificates that have been donated to us from Chicago publishers and literary organizations. 

This week the Chicago Cultural Center, home of the Chicago Publishers Gallery, will host two events presented by Chicago publishers: a Spanish-language reading from contratiempo and the Cricket Magazine Holiday Fair.

On Thursday, December 9th, contratiempo, the Spanish-language publisher based in Pilsen, will bring over fourteen readers from nine different countries to the stage for a dynamic Spanish-language reading from their Ediciones Vocesueltas book imprint.  The reading will be followed by a panel discussion with five of the authors.  Join us at 6PM in the Millenium Park Room on the 5th floor of the Chicago Cultural Center to be part of this compelling gathering of voices.

Just last week, Chicago Publishes and CAR-Literary were born. To celebrate these new websites, last Tuesday, November 9th, we hosted an event that drew a crowd of nearly 300 people at the Chicago Cultural Center,  featuring an Internet cafe, Argo Tea and snacks, hundreds of free giveaways and prizes, a performance by The Paper Machete, and detailed website walk-throughs from the people who brought these two sites to life.

The Spanish -language literature scene in Chicago is growing, with several publishers helping shape the movement.  One such publisher is  contratiempo–read an Artist Story by Gerardo Cárdenas, contratiempo’s editorial director, on CAR-Literary–a Chicago literary and publishing center  based in Pilsen that created its book imprint Ediciones Vocesueltas in 2007 to present and promote local immigrant voices who are creating high-quality work in Spanish.  On December 9th, Vocesultas will present an engaging and dynamic multi-author reading, followed by a panel discussion, featuring authors from its five books.