Deck the Hall

The Chicago Writers Association invites you to join us Thursday, Jan. 7, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., at Sheffield's, 3258 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago, for a post-holiday celebration to benefit the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. 

We'll have special guest authors, readings, a silent auction and a raffle. Tickets are $25 for members, $30 for non-members. Your ticket gets you unlimited specialty beer selections (Founders, Chimay and Hofbrau) and hearty appetizers (hot wings, grilled cheese bites, hot spinach and cheese dips, and a vegetable tray). An appetizer-only, cash bar option is also available at a discounted ticket price of $15 for members  and $20 for non-members.

We encourage you to buy tickets in advance. All tickets are $5 more if purchased at the door. 

Money raised will help to build the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. The funds will go to pay: basic infrastructure cost such as Web site development and maintenance; planning and production of the first induction ceremony; acquisition of literary artifacts for the traveling exhibit; and marketing. The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame is a project of the Chicago Writers Association, a federally-registered 501(c)(3) voluntary, not-for-profit organization. Visit the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Web site for more information.

Update on Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 9:56PM by Chicago Writers Association

We are thrilled to announce that award-winning author Bayo Ojikutu will appear as a special guest of honor at our Sheffield's fundraiser.  Ojikutu's first novel, 47th Street Black (Random House/Crown, 2003), received both the Washington Prize for Fiction and the Great American Book Award. Ojikutu's second novel, Free Burning (Crown, 2006), short fiction has appeared in several publications, including the 2005 Akashic Press anthology Chicago Noir. His short, "Yayi and Those Who Walk on Water: A Fable" received a nomination from the Pushcart Prize for outstanding fiction published in small literary presses in 2009. By then, Crown Books had released his second novel, Free Burning (2006), to considerable critical acclaim.

Ojikutu has taught creative writing with DePaul University and in the Division of the Humanities at the University of Chicago.

Update on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 at 9:24PM by Chicago Writers Association

It just keeps getting better. We've just confirmed that celebrated crime fiction writer Marcus Sakey will be attending as a special guest.  Don't miss your chance to meet this budding literary superstar whose first three works have all been optioned for film (Ben Affleck's production company is developing a movie based on Sakey's first novel, The Blade Itself, and Tobey Maguire has picked up the rights to his third book, Good People).

Update on Monday, December 21, 2009 at 11:54AM by Chicago Writers Association

And better. Acclaimed author Don De Grazia has been added to the honored guest list.  De Grazia's powerful Chicago epic American Skin has been hailed worldwide as an American classic .