Programs are held on the second Tuesday of the months of October to November and January to April. All programs are open to the public and reservations are not necessary.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Topic: Chicago Writers Making History
Chicago authors Arnie Bernstein, Richard C. Lindberg and Dominic Pacyga will talk about the craft of researching and writing history books.

Bernstein's most recent book is "Bath Massacre: America's First School Bombing" (University of Michigan Press). Lindberg's most recent book is "The Gambler King of Clark Street: Michael C. McDonald and the Rise of Chicago's Democratic Machine" (Southern Illinois University Press). Pacyga's new book, "Chicago: A Biography," will be published in October by the University of Chicago Press.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Topic: Authors Weigh in on Burnham's Plan of Chicago
As Chicago celebrates the centennial of Daniel Burnham's Plan of Chicago, four local authors will weigh in with their thoughts on the plan's legacy.

The panel will include:

• Aric Lasher and Sam Roche, co-authors of "Plans of Chicago," to be published in November by the University of Chicago Press. Lasher and Roche are members of the Architects Research Foundation.
• Janice Metzger, author of "What Would Jane Say? City-Building Women and a Tale of Two Chicagos," recently published by Lake Claremont Press.
• Donald Whitfield, director of higher education for the Great Books Foundation, which just released a new version of Burnham’s Plan of Chicago. Whitfield also teaches a class on the plan at the Newberry Library.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Topic: Sakey and Caldwell discuss crime fiction
Chicago novelists Marcus Sakey and Laura Caldwell will discuss the craft of writing crime fiction. Both are members of "The Outfit," a collective of Chicago crime writers who blog at www.theoutfitcollective.blogspot.com.

Sakey has won critical acclaim for his novels "The Blade Itself," "At the City's Edge" and "Good People." He says: "To research my books, I've shadowed homicide detectives, toured the morgue, gone shooting with Special Forces soldiers, ridden with gang cops, and learned to pick a deadbolt." His Web site is www.marcussakey.com.

Caldwell, a lawyer-turned-novelist, has focused on writing mysteries and thrillers since 2005, including "Look Closely," "The Rome Affair" and the Izzy McNeil trilogy ("Red Hot Lies," "Red Blooded Murder" and "Red, White & Dead"). Booklist called her "one of the most talented and inventive...writers around." Her Web site is www.lauracaldwell.com.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Topic: The state of the independent bookstore
Three independent bookstore owners will talk about their business. The panel discussion will feature Leslie McLean of The Bookstall at Chestnut Court in Winnetka, Augie Aleksy of Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore in Forest Park and Allison Platt of Bookie's Paperbacks & More on Chicago's southwest side.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Topic: Angela Jackson discusses "Where I Must Go"
Chicago poet, novelist and playwright Angela Jackson will discuss her recent book, "Where I Must Go."

The South Side writer has been profiled by The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and Chicago Public Radio. Jackson's debut novel, "Where I Must Go" (TriQuarterly/Northwestern University), is the story of an African-American working-class girl from a big city attending an elite university in the late '60s. Jackson won the 1994 Carl Sandburg Award for poetry, and Booklist praised her novel's “lyrical writing and finely drawn characters."

Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Topic: Celebrating Poetry Month
Continuing an annual tradition, the Society of Midland Authors will host a poetry reading. Details will be announced later about the poets participating in the event.