Who: Another Chicago Magazine (ACM)
What: Release Party for ACM49
Where: Stop Smiling HQ at 1371 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
When: Thursday, October 15, 7pm–12am
Admission: $5 – RSVP at rsvp@stopsmilingonline.com

Halloween is on a Saturday this year, but lordy knows one day a year isn’t enough to don the horns and tail you keep boxed up in the back of your closet. Why not get started this Thursday? Dress up like an animal – any animal! – and pick up a free copy of the latest installment of Another Chicago Magazine, a publication that “publishes work by writers from varied backgrounds and with varied experiences”. ACM49 is “animal-themed”, and the release party will feature performances of Erika Mikkalo’s “The Animals” by: the author herself, Brian Costello, Fred Sasaki, Jacob S. Knabb, Paul Genesius Durica, Kathleen Rooney, Marvin Tate, Tina Howell, Donna Vitucci, Mario Smith, Zach Dodson, and Aaron Burch.

Who: Women & Children First (W&CF)
What: 30th Anniversary Celebration & Benefit for W&CF
When: Saturday, October 3 - Cocktails & Appetizers: 5:30–7 pm; Buffet Dinner & Dance: 7–10 pm
Where: The Breakers at Edgewater Beach, 5333 N. Sheridan Rd., Chicago, IL 60660 (Valet parking available); after party at Big Chicks, 5024 N. Sheridan Rd.

Independent feminist bookstore Women & Children First has thrived for 30 years in Chicago! That’s something to boast about considering the current economic climate and the big box retail chains sinking their teeth into the market. But W&CF has proven they have their own faithful audience. To celebrate, they’re throwing a benefit and anniversary party this Saturday, and they want you to come hobnob with Dorothy Allison, Alison Bechdel, and “dozens” of other writers, not to mention a schmancy wine tasting with Master Sommelier Alpana Singh. Tickets prices begin at $60 and are available through the W&CF website (limited income tickets may also still be available at $30). Proceeds from this event will go to the Women’s Voices Fund.

Who: Gothic Funk Nation
What: Tuesday Funk monthly reading series
Where: Flourish Bakery in Edgewater – 1138 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.
When: 7:00 pm, Tuesday, September 1

No, this isn’t a dance party. This is a reading series dedicated to supporting Chicago writers and local publishers. The monthly Tuesday Funk reading series has been in production for a year and a half now, boasting names like Parneshia Jones, winner of the Gwendolyn Brooks poetry award, and William Allegrezza, poet and editor of Cracked Slab Books, amongst other heavy hitters on their roster. The upcoming September reading doesn’t fail to impress, either. It will feature Robyn Detterline, writer, champion of the Chicago arts community, and co-founder of Another New Calligraphy Press, and hotshot writer Billy Lombardo from the Chicago based OV Books. What? You haven’t seen a reading by Billy Lombardo yet? I demand that you scribble this one on your calendar now, literary fan. Grab a slice of Derby Pie at Flourish and sit your tush down for a reading that’s sure to cure whatever funk ails you.

Who: Reading Under the Influence (RUI)
What: FREE event featuring Patrick Somerville and Jonathan Messinger
Where: Sheffield’s, 3258 N. Sheffield Ave.
When: Wednesday, July 1, 7:30 pm

Which U.S. president had little formal education though he loved to read (and reportedly was willing to walk miles to borrow a book)? Brush up on your presidential trivia – RUI’s theme for this month is Abraham Lincoln. This FREE July installment of RUI features Patrick Somerville, author of The Cradle;  Featherproof Books founder, author, and book review editor for Time Out Chicago, Jonathan Messinger; as well as RUI’s own Jesse Jordan and Rob Duffer. New to RUI? Watch a video or read a Gapers Block description about this 4-year old alcohol-soaked Chicago reading series. I’m betting the contents of this book get a mention at least once in between shots.

Who: Mahbod Seraji, author of Rooftops of Tehran
What: A reading by the author, silly.
Where: The Book Cellar, 4736 N. Lincoln Ave.
When: Thursday, June 11, 7 pm

Scanning through Goodreads and Amazon for reviews on Seraji’s debut novel, 5-stars crop up one after another. All speak of the novel’s universal themes, strong characters that stay with you even after you finish reading, and beautiful, haunting prose.

Seraji originally intended for Rooftops of Tehran to be autobiographical, short vignettes detailing his own experience growing up in Tehran, but once he began writing, he developed characters he couldn’t abandon. However, many events that take place in the novel are directly based on Seraji’s experience and his intimate ties to centuries-old Persian culture.

After he was laid off from his job in 2000, he decided to dedicate his time to writing, always a long-term passion. Rooftops of Tehran is the by-product of this dedication, written within three years. (Get to it, people!) Reportedly an excellent, sought-after speaker, this reading on Thursday will be a treat. Yell it from the rooftops.

Who: Reconstruction Room
What: Don’t Call Me Mother, curated by Ellen Placey Wadey
When: Wednesday, June 3, 8:00 p.m.
Where: Black Rock bar, 3614 N. Damen Ave. – FREE

When Morley Safer interviewed Helen Mirren on 60 Minutes, he asked, “Do you ever regret not having children?” She answered, “No. Absolutely not.” Did Safer ever ask that question of a male interviewee?

In typical Rec Room fashion, the upcoming event on Wednesday challenges our dominant culture – this time questioning why our society doesn’t like to think about women who choose not to have (or didn’t get around to having) children, and are as happy as a dry baby’s butt with their decision.

“We’ve got the virgin narrative, the thank-god-I-found-a-partner-before-I-got-too-old-to-have-babies narrative, the infertility narrative, the single-by-choice mother narrative, the all-became-right-with-me-and-the-world-when-I-had-my-child narrative and the adoption narrative all firmly established with a spot on our how-to and even literary bookshelves.”

Statistics show the numbers of women not having kids are significant and rising, but it’s still hard to find books on the subject. Props to the Rec Room brains for birthing this topic into light. Readings by Lisa Alvarado, Carl Marcum, Allison Gruber, Miki Howald, Kelly Kleiman, Sadie Pfannkuche, and Ellen Placey Wadey – all unafraid to stand up and be counted as childless and guilt-free, proudly reporting, “We’re not broken. We’re not selfish. Don’t call us mother. We’re fine with it.”

What: Wayne Koestenbaum reading 
When: Thursday, May 7, 2009
Time: 7–9 pm
Where: Hokin Auditorium, Rm. 109, 623 S. Wabash, Columbia College Chicago – FREE ADMISSION

Opera divas, porn films, hotels, cats, fear of inadequacy, and middle age are all subjects I wish I could address with the same dazzling impact, humor, and brilliant usage of literary forms as New York writer Wayne Koestenbaum. Whether it’s a book-length poem in ottava riva found in Model Homes, or the experimental hybrid of nonfiction and fiction in his most recent book Hotel Theory, Koestenbaum is certainly not precious about his chosen forms, having referred to them as “arbitrary modules”. The poet, novelist, essayist, Warhol biographer, and queer theorist contributed to Hotel Amerika’s special TransGenre issue, and its publication will be celebrated (and available) at this reading.