Lori Rader-Day's debut mystery, The Black Hour, received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal. The Black Hour won the Lovey Award for Best First Novel and the Illinois Woman's Press Association Mate E. Palmer Award in Communications for Fiction and was a finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, the Left Coast Crime Rosebud Award for Best First Novel, and the Barry Award for Best Paperback Original. Her second book, Little Pretty Things, is out now. Her fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Time Out Chicago, Good Housekeeping, and others. Lori is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. Originally from Indiana, she now lives with her husband and dog in Chicago.

Please join Lori and all our amazing readers on Tuesday, October 6, 2015, upstairs at Hopleaf at 7:30 pm. This 21-and-older event is free.

Fall is upon us! And your favorite eclectic monthly reading series returns to the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf for a cool reading on Tuesday, Oct. 6 with guests Jennifer Masengarb, Coya Paz, Lori Rader-Day, Carly Oishi and Tom Haley. Eden Robins and Andrew Huff co-host as always.

Doors open at 7:00 pm -- no earlier, we're serious. But get there as close to 7 as you can, because the room fills up quickly (hence no admittance before 7). The show starts at 7:30 pm. Admission is free, but you must be 21 or older.

Don't forget to RSVP on Facebook and bring a friend. And hey, become a fan so you never miss an invitation to one of our readings.

At the Sept. 1 edition of Tuesday Funk, co-host Andrew Huff was in no mood for jokes with his haiku ripped from the headlines.

Shot on live TV;
we're faced with the dilemma
of whether to watch.

The same day, two more
multi-victim shootings played
through the news cycle.

Teachers stopping kids
from shooting their classmates is
troubling good news.

Guns don't kill people,
the argument goes. But must
we make it easy?

The oscillation
of deafening cicadas
make it seem hotter.

Just like we mourn the passing of summer, so we will mourn the moving of our bartender Mark... to the Twin Cities. Tuesday Funk #85 was his last show with us, so in honor of his tenure, we drank extra hard. We also had some stellar readers!

Brian Heath started us off with a heartbreaking story about the passing of his father, and then David Daskal shared a dark excerpt from his novel about a teenaged girl who cuts herself. In a change of tone, Amanda Claire Buckley gave us a warm and humorous retelling of the Virgin Mary's story, set in present-day New York.

We drowned our sorrows in our final beers from Mark.

After intermission, cohost Andrew Huff enlightened us on current events in haiku form, and then Paul Dailing told a story about the annoyances and benefits of being colorblind. Finally, Jill Howe treated us to BOTH entries from her high school diary and a song about The Crucible, sung to the tune of Alanis Morrissette's "Ironic" and played on a ukulele.

Oh what a night. Won't you join us next month? Tuesday Funk #86 on October 6 will feature Jen Masengarb, Coya Paz, Lori Rader-Day, Carly Oishi, and Tom Haley!

Catch the tail-end of this summer's funk at Tuesday Funk #85 - Tonight! Featuring Brian Heath, Amanda Buckley, Jill Howe, Paul Dailing and David Daskal! Plus your humble co-hosts Andrew Huff and Eden Robins.

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!

David Daskal is a Writer, Salesman and Family Dude living in Chicago. He has written and starred in five one-man shows around Chicago including The Pursuit of Happiness, The Generic News Hour and Habitat.

Please join David and all our other fantastic readers on Tuesday, September 1, 2015, upstairs at Hopleaf at 7:30 pm. This 21-and-older event is free.

Amanda Claire Buckley is a self-proclaimed troubadour. Her storytelling, music, and writing as taken her across the country--from Chicago to New York to DC--and abroad. She's performed live-lit at Essay Fiesta, Write Club, Is This a Thing, StoryClub, Story Lab, and with the kates. She's written and produced shows that have played at The Annoyance and Stage 773. She was a Next Generation Scholarship Recipient for the National Storytelling Network and her show The Out of Tooners was named a "Favorite Show of the Fringe" at the Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, DC. She also forgot to buy cat litter last weekend.

Please join Amanda and all our amazing readers on Tuesday, September 1, 2015, upstairs at Hopleaf at 7:30 pm. This 21-and-older event is free.

Paul Dailing is the creator of 1,001 Chicago Afternoons, a website telling new, true stories of Chicago and real Chicagoans three times a week until he hits 1,001 stories. The project won a Peter Lisagor Award for Exemplary Journalism from the Chicago Headline Club in 2013 and will be featured in the upcoming "Chicago Authored" exhibition at the Chicago History Museum. He co-hosts the Welcome to the Neighborhood illustrated reading series, last seen at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. He teaches journalism part-time at Loyola, once found a triceratops femur and is working on a history of the South Chicago steel mills. Buy him a torta.

Please join Paul and all our amazing readers on Tuesday, September 1, 2015, upstairs at Hopleaf at 7:30 pm. This 21-and-older event is free.

Brian Heath is a veteran of film and television production turned writer, comedian and storyteller. He has performed sketch and improv at Second City, IO Chicago and The Annoyance Theater. He is currently a writer and performer for local sketch comedy troupe Cassandra. Cassandra has been featured at Chicago's Sketchfest as well as the Printer's Row Lit fest. The group also has a monthly residency at Hopleaf where they perform live-radio style sketch and music every last Tuesday of the month.

Please join Brian and all our multi-talented readers on Tuesday, September 1, 2015, upstairs at Hopleaf at 7:30 pm. This 21-and-older event is free.

Jill Howe co-produces Story Sessions, a monthly live lit event featuring true stories connected through a theme, live music and real-time story-inspired artwork at the beautiful City Winery in the West Loop. In addition to performing her own stories, Jill also coaches storytellers and organizes writing groups throughout the city.

Please join Jill and all our wonderful readers on Tuesday, September 1, 2015, upstairs at Hopleaf at 7:30 pm. This 21-and-older event is free.