For the last episode of 2021, Adam Morgan and Sara Cutaia talk about all things Chicago literature, past and present, plus, for some reason, You Got Mail. Partial list of books and authors mentioned: The Wrong Way to Save Your Life by Megan Steilstra The Upstairs House by Julia Fine Mitchell S. Jackson Electric Arches by Eve L Ewing The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai The Coast of Chicago by Stuart Dybek Selected Poems by Gwendolyn Brooks The Jungle by Upton Sinclair The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros Native Son by Richard Wright The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser Building Stories by Chris Ware Chicago: City on the Make by Nelson Algren Carl Sandberg's Chicago Poems The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger The South Side by Natalie Y. Moore 1919 by Eve L. Ewing Chicago Renaissance by Lisa Olson chicagoliteraryarchive.org Adam Morgan Twitter @AdamM0rgan Sara Cutaia Twitter @sncutaia StoryStudio and Stories Matter StoryStudioChicago.org

In this episode, Kenyatta Rogers discusses the puzzle of poetry, doing the work, finding inspiration, seeking out places to send work, the difference between poetry and narrative, playing with constraints, reading work out loud, patience, starting with couplets, and writing at the supermarket. ChicagoWritersPodcast.com Find us on Twitter at @chiwripodcast Stories Matter Foundation StoryStudioChicago.Org

Joseph Scapellato, author, on placing a novel in Chicago, following a work's intentions, making a sentence do more than one thing, emotional grounding and escalation, finding humor outside dialogue, and having your mom fill in the blanks. You can find Joe online at https://www.josephscapellato.com/ and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Joe_Scapellato Stories Matter Foundation https://www.storystudiochicago.org/ Chicago Writers Podcast can be found at https://chicagowriterspodcast.libsyn.com/ and at https://twitter.com/ChiWriPodcast

In this episode, Melissa Febos talks about creative non-fiction, learning to love memoir, following curiosity, the most common fear among non-fiction writers, listening to your own standards as a reader, protecting yourself when publishing, letting your art take its own time, and to learning trust your psyche. Check out Melissa Febos at https://www.melissafebos.com/ and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/melissafebos Find us at https://chicagowriterspodcast.libsyn.com/ and Stories Matter Foundation at https://www.storystudiochicago.org/

In this episode, Ines Bellina, author and storyteller, discusses all things networking, including how to be a human being, where to start, being a good literary citizen, conferences, and not being weird on social media. Check out Ines' newsletter at https://crankyguide.substack.com/ and find her on Twitter @ibwrites Find us at https://chicagowriterspodcast.libsyn.com/ https://www.storystudiochicago.org/

Sheree L. Greer, author, discusses writing mom an apology poem, MFA programs, becoming a writer, Chicago winters, building a community, the personal essay, journaling, going outside your comfort zone, writing for art instead of function, and starting out with submissions. You can find Sheree online at https://www.shereelgreer.com/ and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/shereelgreer Follow us at ChicagoWritersPodcast.com and at https://www.storystudiochicago.org/

Megan Stielstra, Author, discusses finding courage with oral storytelling, discovering a theme, inviting people to your practice, exercises for generating personal essay material, asking books specific questions, and disregarding MLA style. You can find Megan Stielstra online at https://www.meganstielstra.com/ and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/meganstielstra Follow us at ChicagoWritersPodcast.com and at https://www.storystudiochicago.org/

In this episode, Sahar Mustafah discusses her journey to becoming an author, being a pandemic debut, the querying process, writing at 4am, novel vs short story revisions, advice for authors leading workshops for the first time, working on mutliple projects, and taking risks like a teenager. saharmustafah.com Story Studio Summer Youth Programs at https://www.storystudiochicago.org/youth-creative-writing-summer-camps/ ChicagoWritersPodcast.com Twitter @ChiWriPodcast

In this episode, Jill Pollack, founder of the Stories Matter Foundation, talks about the creation of StoryStudio Chicago, how to build your own writing community, balancing business and creativity, teaching writing, and keeping your own counsel. Jill Pollack can be found online at https://instorymode.com/ https://www.storystudiochicago.org/ and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jill_pollack Find the Chicago Writers Podcast online at chicagowriterspodcast.com and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/chiwripodcast

In this episode of the Chicago Writers Podcast, Julie Halpern, author, and Matthew Cordell, author and illustrator, discuss meeting via zines, creating great picture books, writing a novel through letters, seeking inspiration from childhood, and winning a Caldecott. Find Julie Halpern and Matthew Cordell online at: https://www.juliehalpern.com/ https://www.matthewcordell.com/ Find the Chicago Writers Podcast on Twitter at @chiwripodcast and online at chicagowriterspodcast.com