Our Deep Dish Reading Series Is Back

We first started the Deep Dish reading series in the October of 2017, with SFWA and the CNSC, (Chicago Nerds Social Club), hosting it primarily at Volumes bookstore and cafe. Our mission with this speculative reading series was, and still is, to build up and unite Chicago’s scattered sci-fi and fantasy community.

We didn’t know but the series would be put on hiatus since October 2019 due to the start of the Covid pandemic. Many vaccinations and boosters later, we scheduled our first Deep Dish in over two years. And it was great! In August, we ended up shoving a small crowd into the cozy Book Cellar book store and cafe to hear from some amazing writers. The readings ranged from the more sci-fi heavy elements of Darius Vinesar, Kendrick Lee, and Mary Anne’s excerpts, theatrical pieces of Olivia Lilley and Reina Hardy, the poetry of Robert Kloss and Daniel Boyd, to the more intimate stories of KenZirrelli Kensey and Meghan Lamb. 

Photos from Deep Dish August and October 2022

We Met Again in October...

…Marking a full three years since our final pre-pandemic reading, at City Lit Books, a comfy bookstore on the North end of Chicago. City Lit is the perfect place both buy and read books, with armchairs, a fireplace, and warm bookstore coffee. This time we had amazing local writers Anne Yoder and G.E. Woods as our featured readers. Yoder read form her new book set in a techno pharmaceutical society, The Enhancers. Woods read from from their story Beaded Is the Water Upon My Wings from Moonflowers and Nightshade, an anthology of Sapphic horror.

From our rapid fire readers we had all sorts of fun: there was Claire Levin’s heavenly wish processing factories, Michelle go-un Lee’s compelling exploration of a mother and daughter relationship, Tina Jenkins Bell’s dystopian future of toxic atmospheres and crowded living spaces, Jai Caldwell’s disturbing domestic tale, Kendrick Lee’s creepy undead merchants, Isabella Lopez Procassini’s surreal depiction of hunting for our longings, and Meghan Lamb’s chilling reading of a shadowy, rotting figure coming closer… If you want to find out more about each reader, make sure you check out the Deep Dish page, where we list all of our reading events.

And what’s that? The audio from our October event is so much better than our August one? Well, thanks to our fabulous members and donors, we were finally able to purchase the audio recorder featured in each of the October clips! The support of our community allows us to grow and afford little improvements like this, so thank you!”

Check out the video playlist of each reader

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