Norman Doucet was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and spent his formative years there, which is reflected in many of the mistakes he has made in his life. For instance, he likes to point out that he was both a...  read

Cameron McGill is a writer, educator, musician, and the poetry editor of Blood Orange Review. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The American Poetry Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, Mid-American Review, and elsewhere. His chapbook, Meridians, is forthcoming this...  read

Kenji Kuramitsu (he/him/his) is a writer, hospital chaplain and social worker living in Chicago. Kenji holds graduate degrees from the University of Chicago (MSW) and McCormick Theological Seminary (M.Div), where he serves as an Adjunct Professor in Ministry. Kenji's writing...  read

Sahar Mustafah is the author of Code of the West, an award-winning short story collection. Her first novel, The Beauty of Your Face, is forthcoming from W.W. Norton next year. She's taught wonderful and misunderstood teenagers for over twenty years. Please...  read

Elizabeth Gomez is a Chicago based comedian, writer, and storyteller. She established the city's first all female roller derby league, The Windy City Rollers, in 2004. She is the founding writer of a writing collective called Drinkers with Writing Problems...  read

Mare Swallow is a full-time public speaking and communications coach, occasional writer, and sometimes ukulele player. She shares her stories at events like this one - Tuesday Funk! Find her at mariannaswallow.com. Please join Mare and our other amazing readers...  read

James Finn Garner is a humorist and author of 9 books, the most famous of which is Politically Correct Bedtime Stories, which was an international bestseller and can be found on top of toilet tanks in bathrooms nationwide. He has...  read

Erin Watson is a Southern person living in Chicago. Her poetry chapbooks include No Experiences and Breathtaken. Her essays and criticism appear on the Volta Blog and in the forthcoming zine We Can Turn the World To Gold: A Carly...  read

Bill Savage teaches Chicago literature, history, and culture at Northwestern University and the Newberry Library of Chicago. He is currently working on a book entitled The City Logical: Or Why Daniel Burnham is Freaking Over-Rated, a history of Chicago based...  read

Tracy Harford-Porter was born in Brooklyn, NY and now resides in the Chicago suburbs. She has worked for Essence Communications as a photo editor, the Harlem Children's Zone as the managing editor of Harlem Overheard, StoryCorps as a facilitator coordinator,...  read