Claire Zulkey's lineup for tomorrow's Funny Ha-Ha at Hideout is particularly strong. more ›

It's looking to be a heavy week for literary events in Chicago. So strap on your reading glasses and peruse the events on our radar that we think it worthwhile to check out. more ›

Get in touch with what's going on in the Chicago literary scene this week. more ›

Hideout, 1354 W Wabansia Ave, 6:30 p.m., $5 donation more ›

Writer Claire Zulkey is bringing the funny back to the Hideout for another round of her excellent Funny Ha Ha series. Funny Ha-Ha rounds up Zulkey’s funny friends for a reading of pieces they’re particularly proud of and a few performance pieces. Low-key literature plus a dash of multimedia from Zulkey’s husband, Steve Delahoyde, equals big laughs at the Hideout next Wednesday. more ›

What do you get when you cross an A.V. Club head writer, a short, liberal, Irish-Catholic from Joliet, an ape, and a slam poet? Funny Ha-Ha. more ›

We interviewed local filmmaker Joe Swanberg recently and so we figured that was a pretty good excuse to talk to his sometime-partner-in-crime Andrew Bujalski. The two have been fountainheads of enthusiasm for the recent explosion in microbudget filmmaking. Bujalski has two features under his belt, Funny Ha Ha and Mutual Appreciation. Both are painfully hilarious (or hilariously painful) and startlingly lifelike: it's impossible to tell where the screenplays ends and improv begins. Pretentious comparisons to John Cassavetes and Richard Linklatter are hard to avoid, and like the latter, his honest handling of the foibles of youth are a billion miles away from Hollywood. more ›

Funny Ha Ha, an occasional reading series hosted by local writer (and friend) Claire Zulkey, is staging a Ladies' Night Wednesday at the Hideout. The show will include high-larious readings from such funny Chicago women as Amy Shearn, Wendy McClure, Mimi Smartypants, Megan Stielstra, Cameron Esposito, and, uh...me, plus a short film from the surprisingly-ladylike Steve Delahoyde. more ›

Funny Ha-Ha is a guaranteed good time. Tonight's edition at The Hideout features a host of writers, but seems to be "headlined" by Eric Zorn. We love Zorn, but find it kind of funny his credit is "Chicago Tribune Columnist & Blogger" while Claire Zulkey's is "Blogger & TV Critic for The Onion & Los Angeles Times." more ›

Here’s what we missed while we were watching loud, fast planes and asthmatic midgets: Bailiwick Rep is working to expand their audience with Hogwash, a family friendly improv show, playing Saturday afternoons through November 17, and a special “Naked Night” performance of Barenaked Lads September 7 where performers and audience alike will bare it all. And it’s for a good cause. (link is NSFW, more or less) As foundation work commences for the Chicago Spire,... more ›

Stop by the Hideout at 8pm tonight where Claire Zulkey and NPR's John Green will be hosting Funny Ha Ha II, a second night of Chicago's funniest performers and writers. more ›