Tom Haley is a writer and pre-amateur freestyle lap swimmer. He has published several essays, and previously worked as a writing instructor, copywriter, and book critic for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Time Out Chicago, the Believer and others. He is currently employed as a creative director for a Chicago marketing agency called Jellyvision, and lives in Albany Park with his girlfriend Julie and his two sons. He is working on a collection of short fiction.

Please join Tom and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, October 3, 2017 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 7:30. It's free, and 21-and-over. RSVP on Facebook.

Jeff Phillips is a washed up varsity cross country skier and storefront theatre method actor. His short fiction has appeared in Seeding Meat, This Zine Will Change Your Life, Metazen, Chicago Literati, and Literary Orphans. He is the co-founder of Zizobotchi Papers, a literary journal dedicated to the novella and a regular contributor of short stories and essays at the site Drinkers With Writing Problems. You can find him on Twitter as @TheIglooOven or at TheOtherAuthorJeffPhillips.com

Please join Jeff and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, October 3, 2017 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 7:30. It's free, and 21-and-over. RSVP on Facebook.

Cohost Andrew Huff had just a couple haiku for us this month. But they spoke well and succinctly to the topics of the previous couple weeks.

Familial dread:
Relative's email starts with:
Eff Double-You Dee.

Labor Day arrived,
summer and autumn looked up,
hugged, and switched seats.

Wildfires west and north,
massive hurricanes down south.
Climate change is real.

September's Tuesday Funk was pretty incredible. In case you missed it, here's what went down.

Evan Stoner kicked things off with an excerpt of his book about becoming parents in a dystopian future, followed by a tale of a romantic betrayal from Angel Simmons. Cohost Andrew Huff read some of his patented haiku, then Mary Winn Heider told a spooky bit of her YA novel about a family business reanimating corpses.

After intermission, Michael Fischer shared a personal story about one of the people you meet in prison, and Lily Be closed out the evening by recounting a frustrating experience trying to save lives with no help from the police.

Join us at Hopleaf on Oct. 3 for readings by Ines Bellina, Norman Doucet, Tom Haley, Jeff Phillips and Anne Abel. See you there!

Don't let autumn put you in a funk -- unless it's Tuesday Funk! Your favorite eclectic monthly reading series returns Tuesday, Oct. 3 to the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf, featuring Ines Bellina, Norman Doucet, Tom Haley, Jeff Phillips and Anne Abel. Andrew Huff and Eden Robins cohost.

As always, admission is free, but you must be 21 to attend. Doors open at 7pm sharp (don't dawdle if you want a seat!) and the show will start at 7:30pm. Please RSVP on Facebook -- and if you haven't yet, please like our page so you get our announcements right in your stream.

Sponsored by the Chicago Review of Books.

Don't let the end of summer get you down! Come see some amazing writers and storytellers tonight! This month we've got Mary Winn Heider, Michael Fischer, Angel Simmons, Evan Stoner, and Lily Be!

Our readings take place at Hopleaf Bar, 5148 N. Clark St. in Chicago. We get started promptly at 7:30 pm in the upstairs lounge. Arrive early if you want a seat -- but no earlier than 7:00 pm. Our readings are free, but only those 21 and over will be admitted. No food can be brought in from the restaurant. See you there!

Angel Simmons is a Chicago south-sider who was raised in Englewood. As a Columbia College alumna, she does it all as a speaker, mentor, coach, runway and print model, president and CEO of The Message, Inc., and the current Ms. Worldwide USA Ambassador for the Live Out Loud Charity. She has been featured in books, magazines, the Chicago Tribune, Crain's Chicago Business, in Christian music, and as a guest on radio and television. Angel is the author of Love's Great Design, a columnist for Fabulous & Money Savvy magazine, and the co-host of Do Not Submit: Englewood. She has graced some of the city's finest storytelling stages on both the South and North Side. And now you can catch her face in 5 coming movies and on your TV screen in 12 different Chicago shows!

Please join Angel and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, September 5, 2017 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 7:30. It's free, and 21-and-over. RSVP on Facebook.

Michael Fischer is currently earning an MFA in Creative Writing from Sierra Nevada College. He is co-editor of Sierra Nevada Review, an assistant nonfiction editor of Profane, and a Moth Chicago StorySlam winner. His work has been supported by fellowships and grants from the Luminarts Cultural Foundation, Grubstreet, the Lighthouse Writers Workshop, Hippocamp, and the Chicago chapter of the Awesome Foundation. His essays appear or are forthcoming in The Sun, Brevity, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. In his free time, he chases his baby niece down a hallway with a large stuffed bear.

Please join Michael and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, September 5, 2017 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 7:30. It's free, and 21-and-over. RSVP on Facebook.

Lily Be is a Chicago native, born and raised in Humboldt Park. A momma, a nanny, and storyteller. Lily Be is the creator and cohost of the bimonthly storytelling series, The Stoop, which takes place second and last Thursday of every month at Rosa's Lounge. Lily exists to help people own their narrative and inspire them to be their truest self.

Please join Lily and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, September 5, 2017 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 7:30. It's free, and 21-and-over. RSVP on Facebook.

Evan W. Stoner is the author of this bio and the novel Birthday Suits, a book that asks the question: if you inherit a disease from your parents, can you hold them legally responsible? While not a courtroom drama, the book explores the emotional fallout of this scenario as it affects the various members of one family. By day, Evan is a legal writer working to ensure foreign scientists are granted green cards, and by night he's working on his next book about a wrench-wielding vigilante. He finished his M.A. at the University of Chicago, and is obsessed with Ryan Adams, all things bass guitar, and his cat Miss Cleo. His previous work has appeared in Underground Voices and Colloquium, and you may follow him online @evanwstoner.

Please join Evan and our other amazing readers on Tuesday, September 5, 2017 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 7:30. It's free, and 21-and-over. RSVP on Facebook.