Pilcrow Lit Fest will be offering events throughout the week, and will focus on panel discussions and workshops during the daytime hours on Saturday, May 23rd in three locations as listed below. All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

Location One: Matilda's/Baby Atlas

10:00-10:45
Recession Blues:
Writers and publishers discuss promoting their work with more creativity than capital.
Moderator: TBA
Panelists: David Barringer, Gina Frangello, Leah Jones, Nick Ostdick, Ben Tanzer

11:00-11:45
The Social Media Workshop:
Ideas and strategy tailored for authors and publishers with focus on easily-accessible sites like Twitter and Facebook.
Led by Leah Jones, owner/founder of Natiiv Arts Media.

12:00-1:00
Break

1:00-1:45
The Design Panel:
Designers discuss book production and design elements.
Moderator: Zach Dodson
Panelists: Sally Alatalo, David Barringer, Ezra Claytan Daniels, Doug Fogelson, Jon Resh

2:00-2:45
Breaking Form: Writing and performance.
Moderator: Shifra Werch
Panelists: Charles Blackstone, Hank Boland, Mary Fons-Misetic, Khanisha Foster, Billy Lombardo, Megan Stielstra

3:00-3:45
Giving Good Read:
Reading series curators and instructors discuss what makes a good reading great, and an okay reading bad.
Moderator: June Blazek
Panelists: Kyle Beachy, Bobby Biedrzycki, Amy Guth, Lindsay Hunter, Jesse Jordan, Jacob Knabb, Jill Pollack

4:00-4:45
The State of Small Press & Independent Publishing Mega-Panel, Vol. 2:
The economy, the recession, acquisitions freezes, closed shops and other signs of the times.
Moderator: TBA
Panelists: Gina Frangello, Brandi Homan, Jacob Knabb, Dave Reidy, James Stegall, Todd Zuniga

5:00-5:45
Niches, Tech Writing and Event Coverage:
Panelists offer industry insight as they discuss various approaches to event coverage, niche blogging, and technical writing.
Moderator: Andrew Huff
Panelists: David Barringer, Theresa Carter, Cinnamon Cooper, Lynn Haller, Tim Jahn, Kate Zimmer

Location Two: Downstairs @ Matilda's/Baby Atlas

{12p}
Young Chicago Authors Student Discussion Event Event:
Most young people would rather log in to facebook.com or twitter for quick news and entertainment than spend Sunday morning reading the local newspaper. Is that a good thing? While the Internet has brought new styles and opportunities to media makers and future journalists, has it forced traditional writing and reporting standards to vanish (or at least go into hiding)? Student Editors of Say What magazine, a publication written by teens for teens, will discuss their opinions and give their diagnosis of the future of journalism and print.
Moderator: Ronnie Reese
Panelists: LaCreshia Birts, Courtney Clark, Lynda Lopez, Lori Moody, Jesse Ratliff

{2p}
Discussion: Life In Perpetual Beta
Melissa Pierce is passionate about learning how technology has changed the way we think of ourselves both as a society and as individuals. She's interested in understanding why it has enabled us to live more spontaneous less planned lives, and is bootstrapping the documentary film and accompanying book Life In Perpetual Beta to explore these issues. Join Pierce for an encore of her hit SXSWi discussion, with moderator Leah Jones.

{4p}
This Podcast Will Change Your Life
Join Chicago author Ben Tanzer for a Pilcrow Lit Fest edition of his podcast series, This Podcast Will Change Your Life, featuring special Pilcrow guests.

Location Three: Upstairs @ Trader Todd's

10:00-10:45
Social & Political Writing Panel
Panelists discuss the role of social and political writing in contemporary writing/blogging.
Moderator: Tim Hall
Panelists: Mark R. Brand, Ramsin Canon, Savannah Schroll Guz, Brandi Homan, Conor McCarthy, Amy Sayre-Roberts

11:00-11:45
The Graphic Novels Panel
Moderator: Evelyn Rodriguez
Panelists: Alvern Ball, Ezra Claytan Daniels, Terry Gant, others TBA

12:00-12:45
The Publisher's Role In Community
Moderator: Gabriel Levinson
Panelists: Sarah Dodson, Will Petty, Carolina Picard, Dan Sinker, James Stegall, David Wolinsky, Sharon Woodhouse, Todd Zuniga

1:00-1:45
Airtight Stances, A Teaching Artists Panel:
Teaching-artists from a variety of disciplines converge to define and discuss what they do.
Moderator: Larry O. Dean
Panelists: Bobby Biedrzycki, Robert Duffer, Mary Duncan, Eric Elshtain, Savannah Schroll Guz, Billy Lombardo, Pat Mohr, Carol Ng-He, Jill Pollack, Joanne Vena

2:00-2:45
The Young Adult Panel
Moderator: Linda Jones
Panelists: Gwendolyn Glover, Jane Hertenstein, Jessica Hopper, James Kennedy, Stephanie Kuehnert, Daniel Kraus

3:00-3:45
The Collaboration Panel:
Writers and publishers discuss strategies, mistakes, and successes in collaborative literary efforts
Moderator: David Barringer
Panelists: Amanda Delheimer, Tim Hall, Jason Pettus, Megan Stielstra, Ben Tanzer, Lindsay Tigue, Todd Zuniga

4:00-4:45
Queer As Words:
A discussion exploring how queer identity informs storytelling.
Moderator: Stacy Jill Jacobs
Panelists: Kathie Bergquist, Jill Craig, Drew Ferguson, Deb R. Lewis, J. Adams Oakes, Jill Scott

5:00-5:45
Stain the Sheets:
Writers discuss different choices regarding how and when they write sex in their work.
Moderator: Deb R. Lewis
Panelists: Bobby Biedrzycki, Mark R. Brand, Drew Ferguson, Gina Frangello, Lindsay Hunter, Lenny Kleinfeld, Joanna Beth Tweedy