Guests
Samira Ahmed
Young Adult Novelist
Author of This Book Won’t Burn
Keith Ammann
Gaming Writer
Author of How to Defend Your Lair
Marie Arana
Literary Critic and Writer
Author of LatinoLand: A Portrait of America’s Largest and Least Understood Minority
Jabari Asim
Multidisciplinary Writer and Professor
Author of Yonder
Derek Tyler Attico
Science Fiction Author and Essayist
Author of The Autobiography of Benjamin Sisko
Xio Axelrod
Romance Writer
Author of Girls with Bad Reputations
Heather Booth
Librarian
Audiobooks Editor for Booklist
Mark Bowden
Journalist
Co-author of The Steal: The Attempt to Overturn the 2020 Election and the People Who Stopped It
Kevin Boyle
Historian and Professor
Author of The Shattering: America in the 1960s
Charisse Burden-Stelly
Scholar and Author
Author of Black Scare/Red Scare: Theorizing Capitalist Racism in the United States
CM Burroughs
Poet and Professor
Author of Master Suffering: Poems
Nicole Chung
Memoirist and Writer
Author of A Living Remedy
Anna Claussen
Policy and Outreach Coordinator - Libraries
IL Secretary of State
Shawn Cohen
Journalist
Author of College Girl, Missing: The True Story of How a Young Woman Disappeared in Plain Sight
DJ Corchin
Children's Book Author and Illustrator
Author of A Thousand NO’s
Peter Coviello
Writer and Professor
Author of Is There God After Prince?: Dispatches from an Age of Last Things
Mary V. Dearborn
Biographer
Author of Carson McCullers: A Life
Philip Eil
Journalist
Author of Prescription for Pain: How A Once-Promising Doctor Became the “Pill Mill Killer”
Clothilde Ewing
Children's Author
Author of Stella and the Mystery of the Missing Tooth
Rosemary Feurer
Historian and Professor
Author of Against Labor: How U.S. Employers Organized to Defeat Union Activism
Amanda Flower
Historical Fiction Writer
Author of To Slip the Bonds of Earth
George Getschow
Author and Writing Instructor
Editor of Pastures of the Empty Page: Fellow Writers on the Life and Legacy of Larry McMurtry
Nestor Gomez
Storyteller
Creator of 80 Minutes Around the World
David Hammond
Food Writer
Dining and Drinking Editor for Newcity/Chicago
Jas Hammonds
Novelist
Author of Thirsty
Donna Hemans
Writer
Author of The House of Plain Truth
Heather Hendershot
Writer, Professor, Media Historian
Author of When the News Broke: Chicago 1968 and the Polarizing of America
Paul Hendrickson
Author and HIstorian
Author of Fighting the Night: Iwo Jima, World War II, and a Flyer’s Life
Harold Holzer
Author and Historian
Author of Brought Forth on This Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration
Chelsea Hood
Comedian
Stand up comic
Keisha Howard
Gaming and E-Sports Influencer
Creator of Sugar Gamers
Jane Hseu
Professor and Community Organizer
Banyan: Asian American Writers Collective
Swan Huntley
Writer and Illustrator
Author of I Want You More
Sarah James
Novelist
Author of Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen
Richard D. Johnson
Musician
Richard D. Johnson Trio
Andrew W. Kahrl
Author and Historian
Author of The Black Tax: 150 Years of Theft, Exploitation, and Dispossession in America
Pamala Knight
Historical Fiction and Romance Writer
Chicago-North Romance Writers
Carly A. Kocurek
Cultural Historian and Game Writer
Author of Coin-Operated Americans: Rebooting Boyhood at the Video Game Arcade
Brianna Labuskes
Historical Fiction and Thriller Writer
Author of The Lost Book of Bonn
Claire Legrand
Novelist
Author of A Crown of Ivy and Glass
Darcie Little Badger
Fantasy Novelist
Author of Sheine Lende
Jamie Loftus
Author and Comedian
Author of Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs
Brianna Madia
Memoirist
Author of Never Leave the Dogs Behind
Juan Martinez
Writer and Professor
Author of Extended Stay
Adrian Matejka
Graphic Novelist and Poet
Author of Last On His Feet: Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century
Lydia Millet
Novelist and Memoirist
Author of We Loved It All: A Memory of Life
Lani T. Montreal
Writer, Educator, Performer, Activist
Writer of Anaknitapia: The Lost Mother
Evan F. Moore
Journalist and Professor
Co-author of Game Misconduct: Hockey’s Toxic Culture and How to Fix It
Natalie Y. Moore
Journalist and Playwright
Author of The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation
Dipika Mukherjee
Novelist and Essayist
Author of Writer’s Postcards
Arionne Nettles
Lecturer and Journalist
Host of Is That True? A Kids Podcast About Facts
Malcolm Newsome
Children's Book Author
Author of Sydney’s Big Speech
Diana Khoi Nguyen
Poet and Multimedia Artist
Author of Root Fractures
Ugochi Nwaogwugwu
Multidisciplinary Creative
Author of Seasons of Separation
Jean O'Brien
Indigenous History Scholar and Writer
Co-author of Monumental Mobility: The Memory Work of Massasoit
Cindy Juyoung Ok
Poet and Professor
Author of Ward Toward
Samantha Ortiz
Video Game Writer
Narrative Designer at Bad Robot Games
Sara Paretsky
Mystery Writer
Author of Pay Dirt
Gregory Royal Pratt
Journalist
Author of The City is Up for Grabs: How Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Led and Lost a City in Crisis
Donna Seaman
Editor, Author, and Literary Critic
Author of Identity Unknown: Rediscovering Seven American Women Artists
Jessica Shattuck
Novelist
Author of Last House
Rebecca Siegel
Young Adult and Children's Book Author
Author of Loch Ness Uncovered
Elizabeth Taylor
Book Critic
Literary Editor at Large of the Chicago Tribune
Matthew Teague
Journalist
Co-author of The Steal: The Attempt to Overturn the 2020 Election and the People Who Stopped It
Yukiko Tominaga
Novelist and Short Story Writer
Author of See: Loss. See Also: Love.
Michi Trota
Writer, Editor, Community Organizer
Winner of five Hugo Awards
Larry Tye
Author and Journalist
Author of The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America
Srividhya Venkat
Children's Book Author
Author of Dancing in Thatha’s Footsteps
Jennifer Wagh
Children's Book Author
Author of Eggasaurus
Suzanne Walker
Writer and Editor
Co-creator of Mooncakes
Steve Watkins
Author and Journalist
Author of The Mine Wars: The Blood Fight for Workers’ Rights in the West Virginia Coalfields
Renée Watson
Young Adult Writer and Novelist
Author of skin & bones
Monika Zgustova
Writer and Translator
Author of A Revolver to Carry at Night