Printers Row Lit Fest

Four years ago I started lobbying to get the Chicago Writers Association to be represented at the Chicago Tribune's Printers Row Book Fair (now called the Printers Row Lit Fest), the Midwest's largest free outdoor literary event, covering five Chicago city blocks (on Dearborn, from Congress to Polk). I applied for a tent on behalf of CWA and our application was shot down. But I persisted. The next year I applied for a tent again and they gave us a table. Last year I applied for a tent and they gave us two tables. This year I applied for a tent, and, lo and behold, they gave us a tent.

Persistence pays off. I'm also sure that it doesn't hurt that CWA is now a federally-registered nonprofit organization. When I first applied for space at Printers Row CWA was a Yahoo! group, a loose affiliation of writers that 'met' mostly by email.

CWA has come a long way in a short time. It's a good feeling seeing something that you've helped to guide grow in a positive way.

This week the respected Chicago ezine Gapers Block cited CWA in its Guide to the Printers Row Lit Fest. It included CWA in its list of booksellers, publishers and organizations "that have become essential to the promotion of Chicago's literary scene." 

How cool is that?

I'll be at the book fair, er lit fest, all weekend, just like I have been each of the last two years. This year I'll be under tent (GG on the Printers Row Lit Fest map), on Polk Street near the Kids Corner Stage. On Saturday morning from 10 a.m. to noon I'll be signing copies of "Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting Till Next Year," a book that I contributed to as a writer, editor and publisher, a book that was born from a relationship formed through CWA. 

If you are a fan of the written word, there's no better place to spend a weekend. Additional information about the Printers Row Lit Fest is available at its website

Chicago Writers Association's Spring Fling

I rarely find my way back to this blog any more and only do when there is something that means a lot to me. Well, this is one of those times. For the past couple of years I've been involved in remaking the Chicago Writers Association, from a loose affiliation that 'met' by email to a nonprofit organization. It was a seed planted more than two years ago and I didn't know if it would ever grow.  

It did. I think it's something worth celebrating. So that's what we're dong on April 25, 5 to 8 pm, at Mad River Bar & Grille, 2909 N Sheffield. Ave., Chicago. Come see what that seed has blossomed into. 

Cubbie Blues

If you guessed that the title of this entry was about how the Cubs' 2008 season ended, well, you'd be wrong. And you'd be right.

It's not just about one season; it's about a whole lot of seasons. One hundred to be exact.

It's the title of a new book, Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting Till Next Year, edited by my good friend and now business partner Donald G. Evans.

It's a book that I contributed to in a big way. I have two essays in the book, served as an auxiliary editor, and I am a partner in the publishing venture. I am even depicted on the cover, as is Tyler, though you'll probably have trouble identifying either of us. Oh, and my mom designed the inside pages.

The book is an anthology of essays, poems, short stories, photos, artwork and Cubs trivia by Cubs fans who are trying to make sense of why they continue to support a team that hasn't won a World Series in a century.

It is the perfect book for anyone who, like me, suffers from the affliction of being a Cubs fan or as the perfect Christmas gift for someone who is.

The book will have a limited edition hard cover release on December 9. The first edition will be limited to 2,500 copies, just 1,500 of those available to the general public. These books will be available ONLY through our Web site (www.cantmisspress.com) and direct sales at events we have planned during the holiday shopping season.

We'll be celebrating its release with a party at Sheffield's in Wrigleyville on Sunday, December 14, from 7-10 p.m. I'll be on hand to sign books, as will many others who contributed to the book.

You can pre-order the book any time before Dec. 9 and you'll get this collectible first edition hard cover book for $19.95 (including shipping by USPS First Class, handling and taxes), 40 percent of the regular list price of $24.95.

Acclaimed authors such as Scott Simon, James Finn Garner, and Don De Grazia take their place beside acclaimed fans like Lin Brehmer, Mike Murphy, and Pat Brickhouse. The unique blend of voices, ranging from best-selling authors to long-time beer vendors, explores the relationship these fans have to their dubious team.

If you have any diehard Cubs fans on your Christmas list - I'm sure they will understand the motivation behind the book, even if normal people may not.

I could tell you it's a great book, which I truly believe it is, but I'll let others tell you what they think.

"For every fan who's waited a hundred years, here's elegant and passionate proof that you aren't alone," says Marcus Sakey, award-winning author of The Blade Itself, At the City's Edge and Good People.

Judy Royko, widow of legendary columnist Mike Royko, recommends keeping the book near while waiting for next year. "This anthology is full of great stories and wonderful anecdotes about the trades, plays and bad luck that make up the fiber of a true Cub fans' being."

And Royko's friend and legendary owner of the Billy Goat Tavern, Sam Sianis, says, "My advice to the great fans of Chicago? Tell them to read this baseball book with their double cheeseburger from the Billy Goat...It's good for the digestion."

Update on Friday, November 28, 2008 at 04:14PM by Randy Richardson

Don Evans, the editor of "Cubbie Blues," wrote up a nice profile of me for the book's website. Read it here.

Two-for-one special

Okay, I know I'm delinquent in updating this blog. I've been busy. Really. But I can't tell you what I've been busy doing. Not just yet. More on that to come. But let me tell you, it's pretty big news. Not earth-shattering. But pretty big. Or at least pretty darned cool.

Now that I've teased you, I feel I've got to give you something. So I'm giving you a two-for-one, a double platter of news. Two little ones that add up to...I don't know...one mid-sized piece of news, I guess.

One, I've got an essay, "Recharging an Old Battery," in the just released "Humor for a Boomer's Heart" (Howard Publishing).

Two, I've got an essay-poem, "The Spirit of Christmas, in the just released "The Big Book of Christmas Joy" (Howard Publishing), which is a title misnomer, since it's really a little book, about half the size of an ordinary book.

For those who are keeping track, that now makes four essays I've had published in anthologies this year. I'll have two more published in an anthology that is due out before the end of the year. But that's the big news that I still can't tell you about.

Touching Base

Boy, has it really been more than two months since my last entry on this blog? I suppose it's about time that I touch base. Appropriately enough, I'm announcing my latest essay to be posted to the Lovable Losers Literary Revue, which is titled "Touching base with the last Cubs' champions." Read it and weep for me and my sad, pathetic life.

Speaking of the Cubs, I'd be remiss if I didn't put out a formal invite ot the last Lovable Lovable Losers Literary Revue of this inaugural 2008 season. It is this coming Monday, Sept. 8, u:30 p.m., at our regular stomping ground, El Jardin Restaurant, 3335 N. Clark St., Chicago.

After six straight losses, one can't help but fear that the Cubs have fallen victim to the September Swoon and that damned bearded goat. So who you gonna call? Curse Busters, of course.

It's hard to believe but we started this thing way back in April and now five months later, the Cubs are clinging to first like the withering September vines to the red bricks. It's our last chance to save the Cubs from themselves, and whatever mystical forces that are out there haunting them. So to end the Lovable Losers Literary Revue series, we're going to get to the heart of the Cubs Curse and, hopefully, put a stake in it and help to turn this 100^th anniversary into the Next Year we've been waiting for. We'll pray, munch on goat cheese, and even summon the spirits using a Ouija board.

My contribution to the night is Scapegoats, a short essay written in the voice of an angry goat, which will be read by a professional actor (only because we couldn't bring a live goat into El Jardin).

Hope to see you there.

Randy (aka Goat Boy)

Event: Lovable Losers Literary Revue: Curse Busters

Date: Monday, Sept. 8, 2008

Time: 7:30 PM

Location: El Jardin Restaurant, 3335 N. Clark St., at Buckingham Place (773)528-6775). El: Red, Brown, Purple (rush hrs) to Belmont. Bus: 22 (24 hrs), 77, 152.

Cost: FREE

Description: Authors Rick Kogan ("A Chicago Tavern: A Goat, A Curse, and The American Dream), James Finn Garner ("Politically Correct Bedtime Stories: Modern Tales of Our Lives and Times") and Stuart Shea ("Wrigley Field: The Unauthorized Biography") and Lin Brehmer, morning disc jockey on Chicago's progressive music station WXRT, take on the Cubs Curse, from the bearded goat to the black cat to Bartman, in the Sept. 8 Lovable Losers Literary Revue. Joining them in this epic battle against the September Swoon will be poet Sid Yiddish on the Ouija board, crooner Dave Impey and actor Joseph Tokarz. The curse-busting festivities begin at 7:30 p.m. El Jardin serves up free nachos and $3 beer specials.

The Lovable Losers Literary Revue, a hootenanny of Chicago writers, musicians, film makers, actors and bums, will celebrate and mourn the Cubs’ long losing streak. The evening will begin with a toast and end with a prayer, and in between there will be literary readings, historical reenactments, trivia contests, singing, sacrifices and general rooting. Our home base is the back room of El Jardin Restaurant, 3335 N. Clark St., three blocks south of Wrigley Field. For more information, including a complete schedule, visit www.lovablelosersliteraryrevue.com

Update on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 at 01:44PM by Randy Richardson

When the news is bad about the Cubs, you know it's got to be good for those who write about the team. So it should come as no surprise that the news wire service Reuters picked up my essay "Touching base with the Cubs' last champtions".