Auction Items for November 5th Lit Reading Announced!

We are pleased to announce the generous gifts that have been donated to 10,000 Tons of Black Ink by Northlight Theatre, Infuse Yoga Spa, Old Town School of Folk Music and Fine Wine Brokers to support our next "Best Of" print edition.

Several LWN members also donated their gently used books to be auctioned off during our Special Literary Engagement featuring five great readings from five of our talented members, Friday, November 5, 7pm at The Book Cellar in Chicago.

Auction item #1: Two tickets to a preview performance of any of our remaining 2010-11 Season productions.

Chose from:
A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration by Paula Vogel
Eclipsed by Danai Gurira
Sense & Sensibility by Jon Jory, adapted from the novel by Jane Austen
The Outgoing Tide by Bruce Graham

Northlight Theatre • 9501 Skokie Boulevard Skokie, IL 60077

Item Value: $110
Bidding starts at $10

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Auction item #2: a Complimentary New One-Year Household Membership to the Old Town School of Folk Music—for New Members Only!

· Membership benefits for one household
· Member price for Group & Private Lessons
· Advance Concert Ticket Purchases
· Member price for Concert Tickets
· 10% off most merchandise in the School's Music Store
· Discounts on Smithsonian Folkways CDs
· Multiple class discount
· Gift Certificate for an Old Town School t-shirt or hat
· $20 Savings on 16-week classes

Old Town School of Folk Music • 4544 N. Lincoln & 909 W. Armitage, Chicago, IL

Item Value: $125
Bidding starts at $5


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Auction Item #3: a Spa Tea Party for six at Infuse Yoga Spa in Lincoln Park

How would you like to have clear skin, a radiant complexion and a new daily luxury ritual? Gather your friends and learn a simple but effective do-it-yourself facial you can re-create at home using botanically based premium skin care products. Vegan. Free of chemical dyes, fragrances and parabens... you and your friends will learn what to look for when reading labels and how to create your own at-home spa ritual. All guests receive special pricing on any product purchases the day of the party.

Infuse Yoga Spa • 713 W. Wrightwood Ave., Chicago, IL

Spa Tea Party Value: $300
Bidding starts at $10

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Auction Item #4: a 4-Class Package for Yoga Classes at Infuse Yoga Spa in Lincoln Park

Do you need to relieve tension, get rid of aches & pains, build strength and flexibility, clear your mind, or simply relax? Our boutique Lincoln Park studio is the antidote to the stress of your busy urban life.

Infuse Yoga Spa offers customized yoga experiences designed to assist you in attaining greater peace of well being in a warm, welcoming environment. Class package may also be used for Pilates Mat, Cardio Boot Camp, and Belly Dance and can be shared with a friend.

The class package may also be used for the brand new Late Night Yoga Lounge Friday November 12th or Friday December 10th @ 10pm. An alternative to the same old Friday night social scene. Lounge music, great yoga, candlelight, organic wine sampling.

Infuse Yoga Spa • 713 W. Wrightwood Ave., Chicago, IL

Yoga Class Package Value: $68
Bidding stats at $5

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Auction Item #5: 2 Tickets to Fine Wine Brokers Spirits and Sparklers Event, November 16, 7:30pm

Check out Lincoln Square's Annual Grand Tasting of Champagnes, Whiskeys, Dessert Wines and more…over fifty items will be available for tasting including selections of Scotch, Bourbon, Cognac, Port, Sherry, Madeira, Cava, Prosecco and many other rare treats.

Fine Wine Brokers • 4621 N Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL
November 16, 7:30pm

Item Value: $80
Bidding stats at $5

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Auction Item 6: A Basket of Several Gently Used Books

Give yourself the perfect excuse to take a break and relax with this wonderful selection of great books…

Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami
Turkey Hash - Craig Nova
Foreign Land - Jonathan Rabin
Secret Lives of the First Ladies - Cormac O'Brien
Hot, Flat and Crowded - Thomas Friedman
Long Story Short - Flash Fiction Collection
Ishmael - Daniel Quinn
Botany of Desire - Michael Pollan
The Perfect Storm - Sebastian Junger
Mumbo Jumbo - Ishmael Reed
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
On the Road - Jack Kerouac
Another Roadside Attraction - Tom Robbins
Our "Best Of" 2009 print edition of 10,000 Tons of Black Ink

Item Value: PRICELESS
Bidding starts at $3

Seeking New Members for Chicago Writing Group

Literary Writers Network is now accepting new members to join our Chicago writing group in September. For consideration, please submit your manuscript by September 7, 2009, following the guidelines below:

1) Submissions should be no more than 4,000 words.
2) Story submissions must be complete stories or a novel excerpt that stands alone as a complete story.
3) Please submit your story in electronic form with “writing group submission” in the subject line to chicago@literarywritersnetwork.org by September 7, 2009, with a brief statement sharing any related experience and writing background. Upon receipt, we will send you the group guidelines and questionnaire for membership consideration.
4) Manuscripts should include your name and contact information, including a phone number where you can be reached.

We meet the second and fourth Tuesday evening from 7-9:30pm of every month in Chicago.

LWN is a writing community for intermediate to advance writers to share their work and receive critical feedback in a supportive and nurturing environment and to provide motivation to keep members writing with the goal of getting published.

Special Literary Engagement

First-ever LWN Members only Prose Show

Tuesday, September 30, 2008
7:00 p.m.

Mercury Café
1505 W. Chicago Avenue
Chicago

We’re pleased to present our first reading dedicated to LWN writing group members who will share their original fiction, including:

Stephen Markley, chapter excerpt from his novel "Publish This Book."

Diane Gillette, short story “Unmatched.”

Denis Underwood, short story “Fractured Memories of Hope,” published in the spring 2008 issue of The First Line.

Caela Carter, short story “Carrots or Celery?”

Alex Slagg, short story “Hello, My Name is: PDG.”

April Galarza, chapter excerpt from her novel "La Manda."

Chad Peterson, short story “Groovy.”

Seating is limited, so we encourage you to RSVP for priority seating by e-mailing us at rsvp@literarywritersnetwork.org with the number of literary enthusiasts in your group. A $3 donation is suggested.

Be sure to come a few minutes early to visit Mercury Café’s coffee bar, serving a full array of coffee drinks, beverages, salads, and sandwiches.

Visit the “Readings” section at www.LiteraryWritersNetwork.org to learn more about Prose Show.

Writers Spotlight

Ah, the summer. The sun is here, the veggie dogs are on the barbecue, the pools are gleaming and Tom Benz is making a splash! Tom, one of the Chicago writing group’s longest-standing members, graduated with a B.A. in English from the University of Notre Dame. In the last several years, he has had 11 stories published in magazines, including the Timber Creek Review, the Beacon Street Review, the Paumanok Review, Words of Wisdom, Wilmington Blues, Carve, the William and Mary Review, and Pangolin Papers. His story “Satellite View” was recently accepted for the Spring issue of Willard and Maple out of Champlain College in Vermont.

Tom has attended weekend writing workshops at the University of Iowa, University of Wisconsin, and Indiana University. His biggest literary influences are John Cheever, Richard Ford, John Updike, Richard Russo, Michael Chabon and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. His aim is to write fiction that balances serious conflicts with strong doses of irony and humor, in order to represent a proper balance of sadness and joy, and the interplay between them.

Tom lives with his wife and son in Evanston, Illinois and occasionally, on the sublime shore of Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin. He has recently finished a novel called Wiler’s Fall about a guy who is forced to look at life from a different angle when his wife has an internet affair, and he loses his copywriting job and becomes a part time reporter for a local column called “Spy on the Town.” Tom is currently seeking representation for this novel. We all wish Tom good luck in finding it the perfect home.

Writer Spotlight

May was made for Chicago writing group member Robyn Detterline! Robyn has been a writer since before she could write. In kindergarten her book about Snickers the Clown won a prize in the Indiana Young Authors contest. Other selected titles by Robyn from this era include “The Magic Necklace” and “Halloween on 66th Street.” In her teen years her focus switched to poetry and music, and she thought she’d grow up to be a viola teacher or a rock star; however, during her sophomore year her short story “She” won third place in the Project XL contest for high school students. She won 1,000 bucks and the wheels in her brain started turning. In her senior year she completed her first novel, which one day she may actually get back to and turn into a fine young adult book.

Robyn attended Loyola University Chicago and earned her degree in English, with her concentration in creative writing. While at Loyola her fiction and poetry were featured in Loyola’s literary publications. She also “completed” her second novel while in college, which she is still revising, six years later. During her senior year she received honorable mention in the Union League Civic and Arts Foundation’s young adult short story competition, and she also received an honorable mention in the Lorien Hemingway short story competition.

Since her time at Loyola, Robyn cofounded Literary Writers Network. She is an active LWN writing group member, is the managing editor for 10,000 Tons of Black Ink, and has read her stories at various Prose Shows. This month, Robyn’s short story “Other Fish” is featured in elimae magazine.

Congratulations to Robyn for her many accomplishments!

Writer Spotlight

LWN is buzzing about writing group member Denis J. Underwood. Denis has been with the group since September 2007, and his dedication and enthusiasm have brought immeasurable value to LWN. This month, Denis' story, "Fractured Memories of Hope," is featured in the spring issue of The First Line, which is available for purchase online and at Quimby's Bookstore in Chicago.

Denis was born in Houston, Texas and raised in the United States and France. The product of a father born in Southern Ohio and a mother hailing from French-Algeria, he grew up spending summers in the wilds of Ohio as well as abroad. Some of his earliest memories are of candlelit dinners in France where master storytellers delivered family chronicles of North Africa.

Denis has written short stories, a screenplay, and he is currently working on completing his first novel. His full-length feature film "Grave Matters" (featured on the Sundance Channel's "24 Frames News") has been in post-production for a few years too many. When he and his childhood friends reunited to make the film, they had no idea how difficult it would be to complete. Whenever possible, Denis enjoys going fly-fishing and experiencing the beautiful places the sport takes him.

Denis’ fiction has appeared in The Paumanok Review, 55 Words, and La Fenêtre, and his chapbook, "Carolina," was published by Wind River Press. LWN is proud to have Denis as a member, and we congratulate him for his many successes.

Accepting New Writing Group Members

LWN is now accepting new members to join our Chicago writing group in March. For consideration, please submit your manuscript by January 31, 2008, following the guidelines below:

1) Submissions should be between 1,000 and 4,000 words.
2) Story submissions must be complete stories or a novel excerpt that stands alone as a complete story.
3) Please submit your story in electronic form with “writing group submission” in the subject line to chicago@literarywritersnetwork.org by January 31, 2008 with a brief cover letter sharing any related experience and writing background.
4) Manuscripts should include your name and contact information, including a phone number where you can be reached.