Mystery, Thriller, Romantic Suspense and Dark Fiction Conference. The Coolest Crime Scene Happens Every February in Chicago - Plead Guilty and Be There. For writers - February in Chicago is the hottest time of the year! Agents, publishers, Master Classes, forensic professionals, weapons experts, essential panels, presentations, and elbows to rub--the perfect antidote for whatever ails writers at every level. Love is Murder--be freezin' for a reason and come ready to advance your career and …

Anyone willing to give a thoughtful, honest, yet respectful, critique is welcome.  Many topics, genres and forms are welcome (Ex. chapter of a novel, short story, play, poem, article, essay, etc.).  While publishing is a worthy goal, the focus of this group is helping writers fine tune works, which either have literary value or are otherwise substantive (i.e. scholarly).  All such works are welcome. Those concerned with poverty, and / or human and animal rights and welfare, and similar issues (i …

The Author! Author! networking group brings together traditional and self-published authors to share ideas about marketing themselves and their books through promotions, public relations, publicity, advertising and other marketing techniques. The group welcomes: first-time authors of all genres as well as those who already have a few published books under their belts marketing and PR professionals those who are interested in the book publishing business and/or want to learn more about it. The fo …

A group of writers, whether published or not, who support all kinds of heroes including the brave members of our armed forces to those on the front lines in hospitals, fire stations, police departments, schools, and so much more. Our support ranges from donating books, supporting literacy efforts, and helping those who face danger and difficult challenges to explore their experiences through the power of telling their story.

The  Chicago Business Blogging Academy - is where small business owners, local business SEOs, internet marketers, Social Media players, entrepreneurs, start uppers, bloggers and writers gather...online and in person to learn and do things right. Ask your self these questions - How much would you pay for 1. A website evaluation from an SEO, traffic and business blogging expert? Read what people pay me for website evaluations. (The earlier you get in the higher the likelihood of getting an evaluat …

ADHD is as prevalent among grown-ups as children - and it's just as essential to manage the condition with a range of behavioral, organizational and other techniques. This is a support group for adults with ADD/ADHD and people who suspect they might have ADHD due to issues with procrastination, organization and time management. We usually meet 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month to discuss challenges and share information and experiences in a supportive environment. …

Our mission is to encourage, support, and cultivate a writers’ culture in Milwaukee. We are a diverse group of writers. We share writing, publishing, and marketing tips with each other; as a result members gain a variety of different perspectives. There are many opportunities to network with other writers published and non-published from all genres. Milwaukee Writer’s Circle has an outstanding editing team and critique group to help members improve their writing skills. At meetings we offer opp …

The River North Fiction Book Club is a community of christian fiction lovers coming together to read great fiction, share personal insights, grow in faith, and inform the publishing process. River North Fiction is an imprint of Moody Publishers. Benefits include: * Free books in exchange for online reviews * A voice in the fiction publishing process - help us choose covers, rate manuscripts, help select titles for future projects, give content & marketing ideas. * Future studio attendence …

Chicago's first nonprofit literacy bookstore! We accept donated books (50,000+ in stock) and sell them to support our literacy programs. Authors, storytimes, book discussions! Please join this group to stay informed on what's coming up in the Open Books store!

I'm a 27 year-old New York transplant (born here, nice to be back) looking for some cool comrades of any age to share/workshop with in a relaxed setting (my apt. has killer views!) with the record player turning and the libations flowing. I'm a published poet working on my second chapbook and I'm heavily influenced by Patti Smith, old-school punk rock, the beauty in the gritty and vinyls. If you like that kind of stuff--awesome. If not--awesome. I'd also like to do a poetry "book club," where we …

Join us at the Chicago Self-Publishing Meetup Group as we explore the dynamic world of self-publishing and indie publishing. We meet every month and we welcome anyone interested in learning about self-publishing: self-published authors who want to learn more or share their experiences writers looking for information on how to self-publish professionals who are not writers but want to publish material related to their work book designers, graphic designers, and ebook formatters publishing indust …

Celebrate your freedom to read! BANNED! is the perfect book club for anyone who enjoys reading and thinks that literary censorship has gone a little too far. We will be working through the Banned and Challenged Book list from the Radcliff Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century as well as the NCTE Banned and Challenged Book list and will be discussing not only the book, but why it has been banned or challenged in the US and if we agree that it should be banned from our libraries and …

Have a book that's ready to publish? Want to learn more about how self-publishing works? Have you discovered great tactics for marketing your books, and want to share with other authors who have done the same? Then this group is for you! We do NOT focus on the writing process; rather, the purpose of this group is to connect with other authors who have finished their books and are now hard at work with the self-publishing process.

What is Off Campus Writers’ Workshop? Ever since 1946, OCWW has encouraged and inspired Chicago-area writers in developing their writing avocations. OCWW meets every Thursday morning from September to May. A variety of speakers will elevate your writing technique with a diversity of topics, amongst which can be genre fiction, nonfiction, children’s lit, contemporary simmerings of romance fiction, poetry, publishing and the implication of ebooks. Here, you will achieve your individual writing goa …

The Cream City Illustrators is an informal group of (mostly) children's book illustrators who meet monthly to discuss trends in the children's book industry, share tips on getting discovered by art directors, review each other's work and demonstrate techniques.