Columbia College Chicago

Louder Than A Bomb - Final Bout! Sunday, March 9, 2008 @ 6:00 p.m. The annual Louder Than A Bomb teen poetry slam engages schools and community organizations from all over the Chicago area. This friendly competition gathers the best and brightest young writers (age 13-19) from throughout the region ... (more)with the winners going on to represent Chicago at the national level. Louder Than A Bomb is a safe space that emphasizes community building, education, and youth empowerment. By carrying on the rich tradition of oral storytelling and the spoken word, this competition historically engages more than 350 youth participants representing over 40 schools and community centers to share stories, break stereotypes, and speak the truth, challenging themselves and their audience. The competition begins Thursday, February 28 with the first round of preliminary bouts, and continues through Sunday, March 2 at Columbia College. The semi-final round will be held Monday, March 3 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the final round of competition will be Sunday, March 9 beginning at 6:00 p.m., at The Vic Theatre. Come out and support these talented young writers! For more information, contact YCA Performance Manager Robbie Q. Telfer at 773-486-4331 or robbieq@youngchicagoauthors.org. ===from chicagopublicradio.org

2nd Story, a performance series incorporating storytelling, sound effects, and music, featuring storytellers Bobby Biedrzycki, Sheree Greer, J. Adams Oakes, Megan Stielstra, and music by DJ White Russian. Tickets: Free

Part-time Fiction Writing Department Faculty Reading & Open Mic featuring Gina Frangello, Lila Jokanovic, and Devon Polderman. Tickets: Free

Shorty Reading: Full-time Fiction Writing Department Faculty Open Mic; host: Betty Shiflett Tickets: Free

Fiction Writing Department Undergrad Reading Open Mic. Host: Fiction Writing Department Student Board Members. Tickets: Free

Editorial consultant Marcela Landres talks with writers about launching their careers. Landres was an editor at Simon & Schuster for seven years and edits the career advice newsletter Latinidad. Tickets: Free

Beyond the Bookstore Tour: A Look at Guerrilla Marketing for Authors with Jonathan Messinger, books editor; Hillary Carlip, performance artist and publisher; Eric Kirsammer, owner, Quimby's Books; Shawn Shiflett, author; and Johnny Temple, publisher, Akashic Books Tickets: Free

Full-time Faculty Reading with Don De Grazia, American Skin; Alexis J. Pride, Where the River Ends; and Betty Shiflett, award-winning short story writer. Host: Eric May Tickets: Free

: Publishing from Start to Finish panel with Ian Jack, columnist, The Guardian, and former editor, Granta; Donna Seaman, author, Writers on the Air: Conversations about Books, associate editor, Booklist; Marcela Landres, publisher, Latinidad; Gina Frangello, author, My Sister's Continent and publisher, ... (more)OV Books; Robert Weil, executive editor, W.W. Norton Tickets: Free

Staged Scenes from Playwriting students. Hosts: Tom Mula and Lisa Schlesinger. Tickets: Free

Columbia College Story Week Festival of Writers 2008: Stories Without Borders: Literary Rock & Roll Readings by Junot Diaz, The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao; ZZ Packer, from her novel-in-progress, The Thousands; Colin Channer, The Girl with the Golden Shoes; performance artist Hillary Carlip, ... (more)author, A la Cart: The Secret Lives of Grocery Shoppers. Music by Mucca Pazza, a 30-piece "circus punk" marching band. Book signings to follow; all ages welcome.

The Fiction Writing Department celebrates its award-winning anthology Hair Trigger with readings and refreshments. Tickets: Free