A Look Ahead at Chicago Lit: May

by Allison Manley 

We are well into Spring, which means that the hours of sunlight during the day – and my TBR list – are getting longer. I’ll probably add even more books to my to-read pile after our event Celebrating Chicago’s Asian American Literary Community: A Zoom Reading. Join us Thursday, May 29 at 7 p.m. in Zoom as we hear a mix of poetry and prose from Chicagoland Asian American writers. Many thanks to our event host, Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Board Secretary Jane Hseu, as well as partners Kundiman Midwest; Banyan: Asian American Writers Collective; and the South Asia Institute. Register for the reading here. I’m also sure that in the future, I’ll be reading books by the winners of the Randall Albers Young Writers Awards. Join us as we celebrate the winners at the 2025 Randall Albers Young Writers Awards Ceremony & Open Mic on Saturday, May 17 at 2 p.m. Register to attend the event, held at the Harold Washington Library (400 S State St. Reception Hall), here.

I trust you have all stocked up on books from Independent Bookstore Day last month. But prepare more room on your bookshelves for your Free Comic Book Day haul! On Saturday, May 3 throughout the day, visit bookshops in the city to get free comic books. Find all the info you need at the Free Comic Book Day Shop Crawl website here. If you can’t make it to the crawl on the day-of, or if you just want to participate in more comics-loving madness, join the Free Comic Book Day Pre-Party at DMen Tap (2849 W Belmont Ave.) on Friday, May 2 at 9 p.m. Learn more about the pre-party here.

For those in the academic community, you’re likely well-aware that May coincides with the end of the semester for many Chicago colleges. Check out the MFA in Writing Graduate Reading at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago on Friday, May 16 at 4:30 p.m. at 112 S Michigan Ave. Talented students graduating from the SAIC MFA in Writing program will be reading their work, which spans genres, styles, and formats. Learn more about the event here. You should also stop by Madison Street Books (1127 W Madison St.) on Friday, May 9th at 6:30 p.m. for readings from L'Esprit Literary Review; the University of Illinois Chicago Program for Writers; and writers from the Roosevelt University MFA Program. Learn more about the joint reading, and learn about other Madison Street Books events, here. 

Are you interested in new poetry collections? Do you enjoy new operas? How about both? If you’re answered yes to any of those questions, be sure to catch Sandra Cisneros (Fuller Award, 2021) on her mini-tour in the Chicago area this month. On Wednesday, May at 7 p.m. at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall (50 Arts Circle Dr., Evanston) and via live-stream, join both Sandra Cisneros and Derek Bermel for a reading, discussion, and performance from the new opera The House on Mango Street. The opera adaptation of Cisneros’s seminal novel will premiere at the Glimmerglass Festival this summer; Cisneros and composer Bermel collaborated on the libretto. Reserve free tickets, access the live stream, and learn more here. On the next day, Thursday, May 8 at 4 p.m., Cisneros will stop by the Josephinum Academy (1501 N Oakley Blvd.) to discuss her life and work. Tickets for the May 8 event are $35 to the general public and $20 for students and educators. Learn more and purchase tickets here. 

At the risk of favoritism, I have to mention two other Evanston events in May. On Wednesday, May 21 at 12 p.m., stop by the Kaplan Institute Seminar Room at Northwestern’s Kresge Call (1880 Campus Dr., Evanston) for “More Than Two Things I Want to Say: Khatibi, Translation, and ‘Being’ a ‘Translator’ with Matt Reeck.” I’m so grateful to the translators who have allowed me to read books from across the world, so if you attend, please give Mr. Reeck my thanks and appreciation. Learn more about the event and read registration information here. And later that same day on Wednesday, May 21 at 6:30 p.m., visit Bookends and Beginnings (1620 Orrington Ave., Evanston) for a conversation with James Stewart III about his debut novel Defiant Acts. Learn more and access the registration link here. (If you can’t catch Stewart III in Evanston, visit Pilsen Community Books (1102 W 18th St.) on Tuesday, May 20th at 7 p.m. for the Defiant Acts book launch. Learn more here.)

Poetry slams are part of Chicago’s rich literary history. Stop by the beautiful Poetry Foundation  (61 W Superior St.) on Thursday, May 22 at 6 p.m. to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Tia Chucha Press anthology Power Lines, a collection of poetry and slam poetry from Chicago. This is a night of poetry legends: Hear from Third World Press founder Haki Madhubuti (Fuller Award, 2015); freshly-appointed Illinois Poet Laureate Mark Turcotte; multi-genre writer and scholar Ana Castillo (Fuller Award, 2022); critic/translator/poet(/former undergraduate thesis advisor to yours truly) Reginald Gibbons (Fuller Award, 2021); and too many poets to list here. If you’re confident your brain will not explode from exposure to this immensely talented group, you should learn more about Power Lines 25th Anniversary Celebration and reserve tickets here. 

Last month, I was grateful to attend the celebration of Elise Paschen’s new poetry collection and honorary membership to the Cliff Dwellers, Chicago’s social club for supporters and devotees of the arts. I’m glad there is another opportunity for members of the public to see the beautiful view from the Cliff Dwellers location, as the club is hosting the celebration for the 2025 Society for Midland Authors Award Winners and Honorees. The Society for Midland Authors supports Midwestern writers, and this year’s list of honorees features several Chicago-area authors. I’m particularly happy to see that Chicagoan Miles Harvey is taking the award for Best Adult Fiction this year. Not only is it great to see a Chicago author on the list, but his winning book, The Registry of Forgotten Objects, is a damn fine short story collection. Other honored Chicagoland writers include Barbara Gregorich, Charles Cosgrove, and Cathy Jean Maloney. Celebrate the whole crew at the Cliff Dwellers (200 S Michigan Ave., 22nd floor) on Tuesday, May 13 at 6 p.m. Learn more about the honorees and the event here, and purchase a ticket here. 

On Sunday, May 4 at 2 p.m. at the Oak Brook Village Hall (1200 Oak Brook Rd, Oak Brook), learn more about “The Freedom Seekers and the Underground Railroad in DuPage and Beyond.” Two accomplished historians, Dr. Larry McClellan and Dr. Glennette Tilley Turner, will lead the talk about the Underground Railroad’s impact on DuPage County and its broader significance in American history. If you weren’t able to hear Dr. Turner at the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame book event in February, now is your chance. Learn more here.

When you’re a kid, you don’t really know the names of many writers or journalists. At least, I didn’t. But somehow, when I was young, I knew Dave Barry’s name. His humor – which is both seriously witty and foolishly goofy – has graced American journalism for decades. On Thursday, May 15 at 6 p.m., hear Dave Barry discuss his new book Class Clown at the Chicago Hope Academy (2156 W Ogden Ave.). Learn more here, and get tickets here. (Here's a tip: use the code CLHOFMember for 15% off your order!)

Speaking of journalism – Pulitzer-Prize winning Chicago journalist Yohance Lacour joins fashion pioneer Dave Jeff in their event “How Sneaker Culture Revolutionized Modern Fashion.” Maggie Gillette will lead the fashion legends in a conversation on Thursday, May 8 at 6:30 p.m. at The Emily Hotel (311 N Morgan St.). It gave me great joy to see the event description refer to sneakers as “gym shoes!” Learn more about the event and buy tickets here.

Chicago-based essayist Megan Stielstra joins memoirist and short-story writer Carmen Maria Machado in the latest iteration of StoryStudio’s Writers on Writing series, which runs in partnership with the Newberry Library. The two acclaimed short-form masters will be in conversation on Thursday, May 22 at 6 p.m. You can see them in-person at the Newberry Library (60 W Walton St.), or watch via Zoom. Learn more here. 

Theatre and poetry lovers rejoice: Ruben Quesada will be sharing his experience and thoughts about a poem he wrote in response to The Goodman’s forthcoming production of The Antiquities. Tickets for “Play on Words: Conversations with the Poet Ruben Quesada” are $5 and include wine from Doña Amalia. The event is Wednesday, May 21 at 6 p.m. in the Goodman’s Alice Center for Education and Engagement (170 N Dearborn St.). Learn more here. (The play itself runs through June 1; learn more and get your tickets here.)

While I wish I could write about all new book releases by Chicago-area authors, I can only highlight a couple more this month:

Stop by “An Evening With Kennedy Ryan: Can't Get Enough” on Tuesday, May 13 at 7 p.m. at the Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture (2936 N Southport Ave.). Kennedy Ryan’s bestselling Skyland series continues with Ryan’s third book Can’t Get Enough, which will be published later this month. Ryan will be in conversation with bestselling author Luvvie Ajayi Jones. Learn more and purchase tickets here.

Celebrate the paperback release of the 2024 short story collection The Body Farm by Abby Geni. The collection was recently long-listed for the Story Prize (and I just so happen to have written a review of the book at Third Coast Review). Geni will be in conversation with fellow local writer Eiren Caffall. Join the fun on Tuesday, May 15 at 6:30 p.m. at Volumes Bookcafe (1373 N Milwaukee Ave.) Learn more here.

Thanks for reading – see you next month! 

Allison Manley writes short stories and book reviews, and works at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has been published in The Chicago Reader, Third Coast Review, the Southern Review of Books, Oyez Review, Not Deer Magazine, and The Gateway Review. She is an Associate Board member of the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. 

If you know of any literary events you’d like us to feature for May or future months, please send a note to newswire@chicagoliteraryhof.org.