Aleksander Hemon and Jacob Weisberg at the Chicago Cultural Center

June 1, 12:06 PMChicago Literary Scene ExaminerRobert Duffer

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Stained glass Tiffany Dome, Preston Bradley Hall

The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs Publishing Initiative presents Aleksander Hemon and Jacob Weisberg in The Future of the Book, a discussion on the art of writing and publishing to be moderated by Writers on the Record's Victoria Lautman at 6pm on Tuesday, June 2.

The star-studded discussion is part of the wide-ranging initiative by the Dept. of Cultural Affairs to raise the literary profile and promote the vitality of Chicago as a literary mecca. This isn't the first event of the initiative but it may be the highest profile.

"Aleksandar Hemon, author of The Question of Bruno and Nowhere Man, is a MacArthur fellow and winner of the 2008 National Book Award for his novel, The Lazarus Project. His newly- released collection, Love and Obstacles, brings together short stories that have appeared in The New Yorker and The Best American Short Stories. A native of Bosnia and a former journalist, Hemon has lived in Chicago since 1992, when Sarajevo came under siege. In 1995, he began writing in English, crafting the riveting stories that have won him worldwide acclaim. Whether writing about his war-torn hometown or his adopted Chicago neighborhood of Uptown, Hemon is a masterful storyteller and linguistic innovator who is changing the way that fiction is written.

"Jacob Weisberg, chairman and editor-in-chief of The Slate Group, a family of Internet-based publications, is a pioneer in online publishing. A native of Chicago, he has been a writer and editor at The New Republic and has covered politics for New York Magazine. As chief political correspondent for Slate, Weisberg covered the 1996 and 2000 presidential campaigns before becoming Slate’s editor from 2002 to 2008. He has also been a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, a contributing editor of Vanity Fair, a reporter for Newsweek in London and Washington, and a weekly editorial-page columnist for the Financial Times. He is the author of several books, including the 2008 bestseller The Bush Tragedy."

In addition to promoting Chicago as a "dynamic place to write and publish," the DCA last year unveiled the Chicago Publishers Gallery located in the first floor on either side of the grand staircase. You can browse the collection of books, periodicals, lit mags and other literature in comfy chairs in a building steeped in history and the public necessity of art. It's a nice place to go whenever you're unsure of what is going on literarily in Chicago, and illuminates the range and depth of the Chicago literary scene. The DCA is working on other projects, including launching a one-stop resource for everything you need to know about living and working as a writer in Chicago, from health insurance to calls for submissions, as part of the Chicago Artists Resource(CAR). Though the publishing arm of CAR won't launch until 2010, it's nice to know that these endeavors represent the kind of support and infrastructure we need as writers in Chicago, in addition to events like The Future of the Book on Tuesday night.

It will be held in the awesome and intricately detailed Preston Bradley Hall, which boasts the world's largest stained glass Tiffany Dome. Though it is a FREE event, reservations are required by calling 312-742-0821.