Participants Reading #159

Meet the Readers: Eden Robins

Eden Robins is the author of Remember You Will Die, which has been longlisted for the 2024 Massachusetts Book Awards, When Franny Stands Up, which was named a best book of 2022 by the Chicago Reader, and the forthcoming Don't Cross Mo Ellery, which she co-wrote with Mary

Readings Reading #159

Tuesday Funk #159: June 3, 2025

As the weather warms up, so does Chicago's favorite eclectic monthly reading series! Join us in the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf on June 3 for readings by Diana Babineau, Dayna Bateman, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Eden Robins, and James Stewart III. It'll be a little of everything

Debriefings Reading #158

May 2025 Debrief

We had a wonderful turnout for Tuesday Funk on May 6. The upstairs lounge at Hopleaf was filled with folks ready for anything, and that's exactly what your favorite eclectic monthly reading series gave them! J. Rohr got things started with a lightly fictionalized story of a wild

Participants Reading #158

Meet the Readers: Molly Sackler

Molly Sackler is a theatre brat. She grew up in a family that moved often for her father’s work as a playwright, director, and screenwriter.  After college, she cut her teeth in NYC book publishing. At the Doubleday Crime Club, Molly learned how to write lurid flap copy and

Participants Reading #158

Meet the Readers: Bradley Morgan

Bradley Morgan, a media arts professional in Chicago, is the author of U2's The Joshua Tree: Planting Roots in Mythic America. He manages partnerships on behalf of CHIRP Radio 107.1 FM and is the director of its music film festival. His forthcoming books are Frank Zappa'

Participants Reading #158

Meet the Readers: J. Rohr

J. Rohr is a Chicago native with a taste for history and wandering the city at odd hours. He writes noir, horror, crime fiction, and scifi. His short fiction can be found in anthologies such as Sherlock Holmes: Further Adventures in the Realms of H.G. Wells Volume Two; Dragon

Participants Reading #158

Meet the Readers: Kate Prior

Kate Prior is a corporate trainer who teaches cybersecurity basics by day, works on her novel by night, and creates art on the weekends. Occasionally, she tells stories at Do Not Submit, Serving the Sentence, and Is This a Thing? If you like what you hear tonight, you can watch

Participants Reading #158

Meet the Readers: Mike Puican

Mike Puican’s debut book of poetry, Central Air (Northwestern Press), was published in 2020. He’s had poems in Poetry, Michigan Quarterly Review, and New England Review among many others and he won the Tia Chucha Press Chapbook Contest for 30 Seconds. He was a member of the Chicago

Readings Reading #158

Tuesday Funk #158: May 6, 2025

Spring has sprung, and as the leaves return, so does Chicago's favorite monthly reading series. Join us at Hopleaf on Tuesday, May 6 for readings by Bradley Morgan, Kate Prior, Mike Puican, J. Rohr and Molly Sackler, as well as haiku by Andrew and a toast by Erin.

Debriefings Reading #158

April 2025 Debrief

Thanks to everyone who joined us for Tuesday Funk on April 1 — y'all aren't fools! Our show ended up being one reader short, as Rachel Mennies was sick, but we had a great time anyway. Marc Fischer got us started with a collection of emails disclosing

Participants Reading #157

Meet the Readers: Lily Be

Lily Be is a Chicago West Side born-and-raised, award-winning storyteller. She is the first Latinx winner of a Moth GrandSLAM championship, and creator and producer of Stoop Style Stories, formerly The Stoop. She is a huge advocate for the marginalized and a lot of her storytelling work is centered around

Participants Reading #157

Meet the Readers: Marc Fischer

Marc Fischer is the administrator of Public Collectors, an initiative he formed in 2007. Public Collectors’ work brings the periphery to the foreground. Its projects include the Library Excavations publication series and Hardcore Architecture—a blog and publication about the houses where  people in punk bands lived (mostly while still

Participants Reading #157

Meet the Readers: Meredith Nnoka

Meredith Nnoka is a Chicago-based poet, educator, and prison abolitionist. They have a BA from Smith College and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, both in Africana studies. They teach poetry in carceral facilities and have received fellowships from Lambda Literary, Illinois Humanities, and the Prison + Neighborhood Arts/Education

Participants Reading #157

Meet the Readers: Rachel Mennies

Rachel Mennies is the author of three poetry collections: The Wolf, forthcoming from BOA Editions in 2027; The Naomi Letters (also BOA Editions); and The Glad Hand of God Points Backwards (from Texas Tech University Press). Her poems have appeared recently in American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, Poetry, and

Participants Reading #157

Meet the Readers: Kim Moldofsky

Kim Moldofsky is the Bold Belief Builder at Scrappy Affirmations, where she helps people find meaning, reflect and make art, and navigate transitions right up until the end of life. Known for creative gatherings, she fosters welcoming spaces that invite openness, self-discovery, and the sharing of wisdom. Kim created and

Readings Reading #157

Tuesday Funk #157: April 1, 2025

Chicago's favorite monthly reading series returns to the Hopleaf on April 1 — no foolin'! Join us for readings by Lily Be, Marc Fischer, Rachel Mennies, Kim Moldofsky, and Meredith Nnoka, as well as haiku by Andrew and a toast by Erin. Admission to Tuesday Funk is always

Debriefings Reading #156

March 2025 Debrief

March came in like a lion with some fantastic live lit at Tuesday Funk! First, Kat Jercich told a story about a determined search for a special duck. Next, Andrew Cothren read a collection of flash fiction pieces. Then Keidra Chaney read an essay about the challenges and misconceptions about

Participants Reading #156

Meet the Readers: Lindsay Porter

Lindsay Porter is a standup comedian, storyteller, and teaching artist in Chicago. She’s performed at Zanies and the Laugh Factory, and at bars, parks, cannabis lounges, nursing homes, and in line at Trader Joes. She tours nationally with the Bad Momz of Comedy and Moms Unhinged. She is the

Participants Reading #156

Meet the Readers: Mary Winn Heider

Mary Winn Heider’s novels for children include The Losers at the Center of the Galaxy (Little, Brown, 2021), The Stupendous Switcheroo series (Knopf, 2023-24), and The Mortification of Fovea Munson (Disney-Hyperion, 2018). The latter was long-listed for the Edgar Award; Mary Winn also wrote the book of the Fovea

Participants Reading #156

Meet the Readers: Andrew Cothren

Andrew Cothren grew up in New York's Hudson Valley, though he has spent the last three and a half years living in Chicago, where he works as an editorial assistant for the city government. He holds an MFA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and his work has

Participants Reading #156

Meet the Readers: Kat Jercich

Kat Jercich is a writer and editor living in Chicago. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Advocate, Bust, Cosmopolitan, and the Sacramento News and Review, along with several other gone-but-not-forgotten outlets. She attended the Cuttyhunk Island Writers' Workshop. Please join Kat and

Participants Reading #156

Meet the Readers: Keidra Chaney

Keidra Chaney works at a national disability justice nonprofit by day. After work hours, she plays bass, fusses over plants, makes zines about music and fandom, and watches movies from the 1970s and '80s on Tubi. She’s @kdc and @WildRampPublishing on BlueSky or @keidrachaney on Instagram. Please join

Readings Reading #156

Tuesday Funk #156: March 4, 2025

March 4th? That's right, march forth and join us in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf for the latest edition of Chicago's favorite eclectic reading series! We'll feature readings by Keidra Chaney, Andrew Cothren, Mary Winn Heider, Kat Jercich and Lindsay Porter, plus haiku by

Debriefings Reading #155

February 2025 Debrief

It might be winter in Chicago, but Tuesday Funk's audience gave everyone a super warm welcome! Chicago's favorite eclectic reading series played to a packed house February 4. Mare Swallow started us off strong with a story about doing cosplay for the first time at C2E2.

Participants Reading #155

Meet the Readers: Eric Shoemaker

Robert Eric Shoemaker is a poet, translator, and interdisciplinary artist. Eric is the author of Magical Poetics (Bloomsbury Academic, forthcoming), Ca'Venezia (2021, Partial Press), We Knew No Mortality (2018, Acta Publications), and 30 Days Dry (2015, Thought Collection Publishing). Eric’s work has been nominated for a Pushcart