Scott Smith is a digital strategist and an analog opportunist. A child of the Chicago suburbs, he cites his years attending college in Ohio as his most formative, and his years since, living in Chicago's city proper, as his most...  read

Ryan DiGiorgi makes things for the internet. He spends most of his time trying to convince large companies to approve his robot jokes. He also writes fiction, edits comedy videos, and eats at Chipotle. Please join Ryan and all our...  read

Jasmine Davila is pleased to return to the Hopleaf and Tuesday Funk. She has read in venues small and medium sized for Solo in the 2nd City, 20x2 Chicago, That's All She Wrote Chicago, and Miss Spoken. Please feel free...  read

Holly McDowell lived in Colorado, Georgia and South Carolina before discovering the magical city of Chicago. Now she can be spotted drinking glögg, searching for the world's best tapas bar, and writing in coffee shops all over the Windy City....  read

Leah Thomas frequently loses battles of wits against her students and her stories. Because You'll Never Meet Me, her debut YA novel about oddball penpals, is forthcoming from Bloomsbury in Spring 2014. A graduate of Clarion 2010, more of her...  read

Hannah Gamble is working on her second book of poems. She is the current artist-in-residence at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. Recent poems appear in The Believer, POETRY, and the American Poetry Review. She lives in Chicago where she...  read

It is with deepest regret that we inform you that Lawrence Santoro, writer, podcaster and so much more, passed away July 25 after a brief battle with duodenal cancer. He was 71. Gapers Block has an obituary. Larry read at...  read

Christine Simokaitis' fiction and creative non-fiction has appeared in Calyx, Natural Bridge, Matchbook, Frigg, and many other print and on-line journals, as well as the anthologies, Are We Feeling Better Yet? Women Speak about Healthcare in America and Mourning Sickness....  read

Britt Julious is a born and bred Chicagoan with a curiosity for weird, synthy music, shiny clothes, crappy television, and snappy pieces of really, really good writing. In 2014, Britt founded Inland, an online and print publication examining contemporary Midwest...  read

Lisa White is a born and raised Midwestern girl who's had numerous adventures and escapades writing. After moving here to attend college she fell in love with Chicago and despite a brief stint in New York returned to the city...  read