Come See Me Do Stuff & Things in April & May

I'm speaking on a panel called "Self-Publishing Unmasked" at C2E2 (Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo) on Fri, April 24th. I'll be with the charming Clayton Smith, Isaac Tobin & Jill Welsh on a panel about independent publishing, moderated by the hilarious Ben Tanzer. Since I work in a bookstore where we sell a lot of the types of books the other folks on the panel publish, it gives me an additional perspective of seeing what sells well, and the angle of this panel is about how to self-publish your work and have it be successful, which, when we talk about successful, there are different ways to talk about what "successful" means. Sells well? People like it? People like it but it doesn't sell well? It sells well but people don't actually like it? It sells just enough to pay for the printing? Or like, it sells enough for you to quit your day job? It sells well but only because you're not writing what you want to be writing? That's I suppose, the angle I bring to it. I'm the zinester on the panel whereas the other folks are more about books, so we'll be a nice mix.

But the REAL MATTER IS THAT SOMEHOW I WILL FIND TIME THAT DAY TO FIND JEWEL STAITE at C2E2 and have her autograph my Kaylee Firefly parasol!!!!! Shiny!

Then on Monday, May 4th I'll be performing in 2 out of the 3 bands playing as part of Blue Mondays: The Blue Ribbon Glee Club residency (the first Monday of every month at Cafe Mustache at 2313 N Milwaukee in Logan Square). So I'll be singing in BRGC (acapella punk and new wave covers) and also with Spears & Gears (Britney Spears cabaret covers). We'll be performing with the awesome band Love Raid, who have a hilarious video for their song Interview. It's really clever.

I made this flyer courtesy of books I bought at Circus World:
a torn up used kid's book
about Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey
and a Dover book of Circus fonts

Wahoooo!

Chicago Zine Fest 2014 Panel Transcript

For transcript of the panel, see http://bit.ly/1qA1qOj

I moderated a panel at the 2014 Chicago Zine Fest called “In it for the Long Haul: A Discussion on Longevity in Zines with Cindy Crabb, Tomas Moniz, and Alex Wrekk. Moderated by Quimby’s Bookstore’s Liz Mason.” Alex does Brainscan zine, Tomas Moniz does Rad Dad zine, and Cindy Crabb does Doris zine. Of course, they do so much more as well, but that’s just a quick overview. The transcript was done via Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART). So speakers’ names are not noted in the transcripts, and there are a parts missing if the sound wasn’t picked up clearly. Also, there are full on technology translation mistakes. But in spite of all this, I think the transcript is enlightening and entertaining because these folks have a lot to say. I had fun doing the panel and loved talking to these thoughtful, creative artists. Click here to read the transcript.