Literary Festivals: Good News, Bad News

First, the bad:

The Midwest Literary Festival, which for five years had drawn famous authors and lovers of literature to Aurora, is ending.

City officials cited low income and feeble attendance for ending the two-day festival. In its place, they will host a literary series that will bring in authors one at a time throughout the year.

Fortunately, on the good side, Columbia College Chicago's Story Week is still going strong and kicks off next Sunday.

But then a funny thing happened. Columbia's cute little festival, which drew a handful of people over three days that first year, hung in there. And it expanded. Each year, the crowds increased - those 300 or so people in 1996 had, by 2007, multiplied to more than 5,000 - and the names on the marquee got bigger and bigger, including writers such as Salman Rushdie, Studs Terkel and Dave Eggers. Readings in lecture halls often were transformed into performance art in bars and nightclubs, complete with bands, and lively panel discussions, with a heavy emphasis on the interaction between the audience and the speakers.

If my workload at the office somehow slackens next Wednesday (March 19), I'd absolutely love to sneak off to this event:

11:00 AM
Panel: Beyond the Bookstore Tour, A Look at Guerrilla Marketing for Authors
with Jonathan Messinger, books editor, TimeOut Chicago, publisher, Featherproof Books, and author, Hiding Out; Hillary Carlip, publisher, FreshYarn.com, performance artist, and author, A la Cart: The Secret Lives of Grocery Shoppers; Eric Kirsammer, owner, Chicago Comics and Quimby's Bookstore; Shawn Shiflett, author, Hidden Place; Johnny Temple, publisher, Akashic Books
Host: Sam Weller, The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury
Columbia College Chicago
Film Row Cinema, 8th Floor
1104 S. Wabash, Chicago

Unfortunately, given the hellish pace of my office during the past few weeks, I'm not optimistic I'll be able to attend. Which is a shame, as I'd particularly enjoy the chance to meet Johnny Temple, whose Akashic Books is doing fantastic work these days. I've absolutely loved the last three books of theirs I've read - Chicago Noir, Aaron Patrovich's The Session, and Chris Abani's Song For Night.