One of the most repeated pieces of advice we hear from writers is “If you want to be a writer, you must write. Every single day.” Right. Many recommend dedicating a certain amount of time each day for writing or setting a word count goal. Your writing will get better the more you practice the craft, but it will improve significantly with some mentored guidance and prompts. We love that some of the events at this weekend’s Printers Row Lit Fest are free writing workshops. Yesterday was the last day to reserve tickets to these events, but if you show up early to the events themselves, it’s likely you can still replace the spot of a no-show. more ›

Here’s a panel jam-packed with really smart people for you: Cathy J. Cohen, who wrote Democracy Remixed : Black Youth and the Future of American Politics, will speaking with Natalie Moore and Lance Williams, co-authors of The Almighty Black P Stone Nation: The Rise, Fall, and Resurgence of an American Gang on a panel moderated by Tracye Matthews, associate director of the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture at the University of Chicago. more ›

Printers Row Lit Fest is this weekend. As usual, there’s not a second of free time in this weekend’s schedule. No one person can see and do it all, so it just depends on what you’re interested in. If you’re planning on attending this weekend, you’ve probably already reserved tickets for events you’re interested in. But if you’re looking for some direction, we’ll be serving up some suggestions throughout the week. A lot of events are full, but there’s still some good stuff. Up first: Pitchapalooza more ›

A few things happening around town that piqued our literary interest. more ›

Did you hear? This weekend the Printers Row Lit Fest is taking over Dearborn from Congress to Polk streets. Chicago’s annual literary festival includes panel discussions, booths, author discussions and signings, events for kids, cooking demonstrations, and tons of other programming. Kind of surprisingly, a slew of other literary events are happening this weekend and aren’t happening at the Lit Fest. Here are our recommended picks: more ›

We cracked open our Sunday Trib yesterday to see a column by Julia Keller titled “As Lit Fest nears, a query: What's the future of books?” And we realized that the Printers Row Lit Fest just snuck up on us. For months, we’ve been hearing about the mind-blowing number of authors, booksellers, publishers, literacy organizations and even chefs who will be squeezed into five Printers Row neighborhood blocks on June 12 and 13. Most authors we’ve highlighted in the Chicagoist Chicago Author Spotlight series will be present. Actually, almost everyone we’ve spoken to in regards to writing, publishing and reading in Chicago will have a booth or an event. more ›

This year's Printers Row Fest happened this past weekend and offered attendees a chance to hear and meet a bevy of excellent writers and other figures in the publishing industry. It also offered lots and lots of books. more ›

Bookworms, unite! The Printers Row Lit Fest, the self-billed largest literary event in the Midwest, descends on the South Loop this weekend with world-class authors, quirky booksellers, wine tastings, kiddie events, and beyond. more ›