…takes place the last Sunday of every month at the Black Rock Bar at 7 pm. And–even though it coincided with the finale of Breaking Bad—last night’s reading was packed, as you can see from the crowd around series co-organizer Natalia Nebel as she introduced the first reader, Valerie Laken…

…and around co-organizer Christine Sneed…

…as she introduced me:

Miles Harvey read, too, from his introduction to How Long Will I Cry?: Voices of Youth Violence, the debut book from Big Shoulders Books, and it was so riveting that I forgot to take a picture. Samantha Irby rounded out the evening with an essay called “I Want to Write Your Mom’s Match.com Profile” from her debut collection Meaty:

Thanks to Natalia, Christine, and Alexandra Sheckler for all their hard work in running such a fantastic series. If you’re in or near Chicago, save the date for the next installment, November 17!