Cate Brecht is a recovering Floridian who’s been calling Chicago home for over a decade. She’s worked plenty of odd jobs to make rent and now finds herself in insurance—which pays the mortgage. She’s shared stories about her wonderfully messy...  read

Cean Gamalinda is a Rogers Park Swagapino Taurus with suburban characteristics. They write poetry and emails. Please join Cean and our other excellent readers on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025 in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf. Doors open at 7pm, and...  read

Howard Friedman is a writer living in Chicago. He has had poetry published in Pioneertown, Catch, Cellar Door, Combat!, Roots and Reverence, The Desperate Reader and Dissent: An Anthology To End War And Capitalism. He currently works as a Chicago...  read

Susan Buttenwieser is the author of Junction of Earth and Sky, her debut novel, which was just published, and the short story collection, We Were Lucky With the Rain. Her writing has appeared in literary magazines as well as Women's...  read

eri lucia kapling (it/its) is a transfeminine writer, deer, reluctant bartender, and mother in Chicago. Its poems and short stories have been published in New Session and The Pill, and in the acclaimed zines THIS DISH CANNOT BE FOUND and...  read

See you in September... for Chicago's favorite eclectic reading series! Join us in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf on Tuesday, Sept. 2 for readings by Caitlin Brecht, Susan Buttenweiser, Howard Friedman, Cean Gamalinda, and eri lucia kapling! Admission to Tuesday...  read

It feels like this summer has been flying by! Fortunately we have the rhythm of Tuesday Funk to help mark the time. Our show August 5 was standing room only, demonstrating just how much Chicago loves live lit! Courtney Justus...  read

Dan Baron is a storyteller and a communications professional who writes about social issues for nonprofits, universities, and other organizations. He has an identical twin, but for some reason insists that there’s nobody like him. He’s also a dad, a...  read

Courtney Justus was born in Houston, Texas, raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina and now lives in Chicago. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she received the Jason Alexander Bradford Award. She...  read