Mark Turcotte, Mathilda Zeller, & Theodore C. Van Alst, Jr.

Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. is the author of Chicago-set award-winning story collections Sacred Smokes, Sacred City, and Sacred Folks as well as Pour One for the Devil. He is the co-editor of the award-winning, bestselling Never Whistle at Night series from Vintage/Penguin Random House. His debut novel, The El, one of the Chicago Public Library's Favorite Books of 2025, was shortlisted for the Pattis Family Foundation Book Award as well as the Chicago Reader’s Best New Book of 2025 and won the 2025 Chicago Review of Books Fiction of the Year. His work has appeared in Southwest Review, Chicago Review, The Journal of Working-Class Studies, Red Earth Review, Massachusetts Review, Indian Country Today, Reactor, and elsewhere. More at theodorevanalst.com.

Writer Mark Turcotte (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe) has been an active member of Chicago’s thriving poetry scene since first arriving in the early 90s. He is author of four collections, including The Feathered Heart and Exploding Chippewas.  His poetry and prose has appeared in many American and International…