Join us at the Printers Row Lit Fest for four Chicago Public Media panels on Saturday, September 10!
Printers Row Lit Fest, the largest free outdoor literary showcase in the Midwest, is a community-based celebration for book lovers. The following panels will give you the opportunity to hear from Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ experts on a variety of subjects in an intimate and conversational setting.
You are welcome to register for all or select panels that pique your interest.
11:30 am - Romance Roundtable
With Greta Johnsen, Sarah Maclean and Adriana Herrera.
If you love romance novels, this panel is for you! WBEZ’s Nerdette podcast host, Greta Johnsen, leads a panel discussion with some of the genre’s leading authors. The panel will include NY Times Bestseller and author of Heartbreaker: A Hell’s Belles Novel, Sarah Maclean and the prolific Adriana Herrera, author of A Caribbean Heiress in Paris. Fall head over heels for these acclaimed authors in a conversation that is sure to make you swoon.
12:30 pm - Shine Bright
With Natalie Moore and Danyel Smith.
Shine Bright, the newest title from author Danyel Smith, is an overdue paean to musical masters whose true stories and genius have been hidden in plain sight.
From Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved woman who sang her poems, to the stories of Mahalia Jackson, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Mariah Carey and more, WBEZ’s Natalie Moore leads a conversion about the history of Black women in music as the foundational story of American pop.
1:30 pm - The Environmental Justice Exchange: A tribute to Hazel Johnson, the Mother of Environmental Justice
With Brett Chase, Cheryl Johnson, Tarnynon Onumonu and Luis Carranza.
Hazel M. Johnson, environmental activist and founder of People for Community Recovery, started an environmental justice movement in 1979 when she publicized that low-income households and people of color were disproportionately affected by pollution, toxins and poor living conditions on Chicago’s South Side.
Sun-Times environmental justice reporter Brett Chase will be joined by Cheryl Johnson, Hazel’s daughter and executive director of People for Community Recovery; Tarnynon Onumonu, poet and author of Greetings from the Moon, the Sacrificial Side; and Luis Carranza, poet and author of Viva la Resistencia, to pay homage to Hazel Johnson’s life and legacy.
2:30 pm - Social Justice in Chicago: The Mexican community’s fight to stay in the city
With Elvia Malagón and Mike Amezcua.
Latinos, in particular Mexican and Mexican American communities, fought for decades against federal immigration and municipal policies to make Chicago their home. Mike Amezcua’s “Making Mexican Chicago: From Postwar Settlement to the Age of Gentrification,” chronicles the plight of these communities on the city’s Southwest Side, detailing how Mexican residents built communities and homes despite policies intended to push them out of the city.
Sun-Times social justice and wage gap reporter, Elvia Malagón and author Mike Amezcua will discuss the evolution of Chicago’s Mexican community.
All programming is free and open to the public, rain or shine! Seats are available on a first-come first-served basis. Registration is highly encouraged.
