You know what they say about Chicago: We've got two seasons... football and sausage. Wait. Is that right?

It's going to be cold tonight, but we'll warm you up right good at Tuesday Funk #77! Come see local hotshots James Kennedy, Kelly Swails, John Rich, Erin Shea, and Christopher Sweet. Your faithful hosts Andrew Huff and Eden Robins will be there, and they'll be counting on you.

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!

Erin Shea is a writer and editor. Her work has been noted in a number of publications, including Good Morning America, The Wall Street Journal, Self, the New York Times, O, The Oprah Magazine, and she's published in the Huffington Post, Bust Magazine, Time Out Chicago, Chicago Tribune, Oprah.com and the Chicago Sun-Times. She performs regular in Chicago at reading events such as Guts and Glory, Funny Ha-Ha and CHIRP. Erin's book, Tales from the Scale, was named one of the top six health-related books of 2005 by the Wall Street Journal. Erin irregularly writes at ejshea.com, and lives in Chicago with her husband and daughter. You can follow her on Twitter @erinjshea.

Please join Erin and all our winter wonders on Tuesday, January 6, 2015, upstairs at Hopleaf at 7:30 pm. This 21-and-older event is free.

Kelly Swails is a writer and editor who pays the bills by editing an online scientific journal. Her short fiction has appeared in several anthologies including Coins of Chaos and Boondocks Fantasy. She relocated to Chicago this past summer and has been busy exploring her new home. When she's not writing or working she watches geeky TV and pretends she's not a crazy cat lady. There's a rumor she sleeps on occasion, but that has yet to be proven. You can find her online at www.kellyswails.com.

Please join Kelly and all our awesome, potentially sleep-deprived readers on Tuesday, January 6, 2015, upstairs at Hopleaf at 7:30 pm. This 21-and-older event is free.

John Rich is a writer, performer, teacher, and arts administrator. He is currently the Director of the Guild Literary Complex, a cross-cultural presenting organization in Chicago, and was the founder of the Chicago Book Expo. He earned an MFA in Writing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he currently teaches, and a BFA in Painting from Grand Valley State University. He is a recipient of the Vaclav Havel Fellowship in Playwriting from Western Michigan University and a Ragdale Foundation residency in writing. He co-founded the collaborative theater group Attention Deficit Drama, served as company manager for Goat Island, and has performed with Every House Has a Door.

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

James Kennedy is the author of The Order of Odd-Fish, a young adult fantasy that was named one of the Smithsonian's Notable Books for Children. Booklist praised Odd-Fish as "hilarious" and Time Out Chicago described it as "a work of mischievous imagination and outrageous invention." James is also the founder and curator of the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival, in which kid filmmakers are challenged to create movies that tell the story of Newbery Award-winning books in 90 seconds or less, screening annually in New York, San Francisco, Portland, and other cities--including here in Chicago, on January 25, 2015, at Adventure Stage Chicago (1012 N. Noble)! James lives in Chicago with his wife and two daughters.

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

Christopher Sweet spent virtually his entire working life cunningly disguised as a high school English teacher in the Chicago suburbs. He blogs irregularly at Chicago Now, "Truth and Absurdity Spotting in Chicago," under his boyhood nickname, Kit.

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

Winter's chill will not stop the funk! Tuesday Funk, Chicago's eclectic monthly reading series, returns in January with guests James Kennedy, Kelly Swails, John Rich, Erin Shea Smith and Christopher Sweet.

The reading gets underway on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2014, at 7:30 pm in the upstairs lounge at Hopleaf, 5148 N. Clark St., Chicago. Doors open at 7:00 pm sharp -- no earlier, unfortunately, but get there as close to 7 as possible to grab a table, as the room fills up quickly. Andrew Huff and Eden Robins co-host, our lovely bartender Mark will have beers at the ready, and stop downstairs before or after the show for a nice, hot meal before heading back out into the cold. Admission is free, but you must be 21 or older.

RSVP right here and bring a friend. And hey, become a fan of the show on Facebook so you never miss an invitation to one of our readings. See you there on Jan. 6!

The Dec. 2nd edition of Tuesday Funk saw co-host Andrew Huff reflecting on Thanksgiving and the reason for the season.

Now that Black Friday
Stars on Thanksgiving Thursday,
watch out Black Wednesday.

Few things are better
thank leftover turkey and
racist relatives.

I had Cosby sweaters
when I was a teenager.
Bill, you let us down.

Watching bad movies
is like peeling a Band-Aid:
oh painful pleasure.

December feels like a month of Mondays. EXCEPT when it's Tuesday Funk! Hoo-wee! Then it feels, ah, funky? Anyway.

We started out the evening with a Tuesday Funk newbie, Clayton Smith, and he killed it with an excerpt from his novel involving adventure, peril, and imaginary friends. Next up was Jac Jemc, reading a lyrical, surprising story about sisters and murder from her new collection, A Different Bed Every Time. Co-host Eden Robins read an essay about a complicated relationship with her grandmother. And Karen Genelly closed out the half with fascinating tales from her time as a sex educator in Chicago Public Schools.

Mark educated us about beers, or rather, he filled our glasses for us. Not that he doesn't know about beer... the man knows about beer.

Co-host Andrew Huff read his topical haiku - skewering Thanksgiving and Bill Cosby in one fell swoop. G.P.A. (Greatest Poet Alive) blasted off in the second half with an equally cringe-worthy and heartwarming story about romantic rejection, and Jonathan Eig drove it home with a fascinating excerpt from his new book The Birth of the Pill. Yes, that pill.

It was a funky night indeed. A great end to 2014. Help us ring in 2015 with readings by Kelly Swails, John Rich, James Kennedy, Erin Shea Smith, and Christopher Sweet on January 6th!

Did Thanksgiving take a toll on your mind and body? Then come refresh yourself with beers and literature tonight at Tuesday Funk #76! It'll stuff your turkey! Or something.

Join your lionhearted cohosts Andrew Huff and Eden Robins, as well as local luminaries Jac Jemc, Clayton Smith, Karen Genelly, James Gordon (aka G.P.A.), and Jonathan Eig!

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!