Press Release - Chicago Stories: 40 Dramatic Fictions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Curbside Splendor Publishing announces the release of Chicago Stories by Michael Czyzniejewski

If you're looking to go inside Chicago for a deeper look, Chicago Stories will take you there.

Chicago, IL, January 2012 -- Chicago-based publisher Curbside Splendor announces its next release, Chicago Stories: 40 Dramatic Fictions by Michael Czyzniejewski, due out April 2012.

Chicago Stories is a collection of edgy, satirical fictions each told in the persona of a famous Chicagoan. Characters range from Barack Obama to Mrs. O’Leary.

“I was immediately drawn to Mr. Czyzniejewski’s wildly imaginative depiction of personalities known not just in Chicago, but around the world,” says Victor David Giron, President, Curbside Splendor. “It’s a grand celebration of Chicago. But even more, it’s a celebration of popular culture that will appeal broadly.”

Chicago Stories is illustrated by legendary Chicago artist Rob Funderburk and is Mr. Czyzniejewski’s second book following the highly acclaimed Elephants in Our Bedroom, released by Dzanc Books in 2009.

“Chicago's metro area has over nine million people, and to say there would be that many stories would be a gross understatement,” says Michael Czyzniejewski. “This book tells forty of the stories—both real and imagined—that may never have been told.”

Chicago Stories can be pre-ordered directly from the publisher at the Curbside Store.

Praise for Chicago Stories:

“An absurdist Chi-town Spoon River Anthology on crack, Mike Czyzniejewski's Chicago Stories is an explosion of imagination, a relentless churn of intellect and wit. In true Chicago style, this book tells it straight to your face and pulls no punches. Chicago Stories is easily the most fun I've had reading in quite some time.”

— Alan Heathcock, author of VOLT

“Mike Czyzniejewski's Chicago Stories reads at once as a scatting celebration of the moral landscape that stretches across the country's midsection, and as a travelogue. Czyzniejewski's sharp wit and peering eye trek along that crooked road between the dead president & crony highways and the murky river, crossing tracks where trains haven't run in two score – before boring down past the jukejoints sidled against public houses, and corner hustlers hawking whores to blue pickpockets and last migrants on the run, down where they all keep score in shadow votes. The author brings it home early and often here as, along with so much more, he is a sojourner.”

— Bayo Ojikutu, author of Free Burning

“In Chicago Stories, Michael Czyzniejewski channels Studs Terkel's Division Street, the voices so singular and complete that in the end you feel as though you've listened to each story rather than read them. Rob Funderburk's illustrations are a snapshot of movement; in their messy, deliberate lines each voice comes alive. Chicago buffs: if you like architecture, that is, if you like outside, the riverboat tour will do. But if you're looking to go inside for a deeper look, Czyzniejewski's book will take you there.”

—Lindsay Hunter, author of Daddy's

“Michael Czyzniejewski encapsulates all of Chicago’s past, present and future with his big-shouldered prose, channeling Cub hall-of-famer Ron Santo, former mayor Jane Byrne and even the venerable Watertower herself in voices both wise and funny. Chicago Stories will make even non-natives nostalgic for the Windy City—go Cubs!”

—Allison Amend, author of Stations West

"Carl Sandburg wrote of Chicago, “Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.” Michael Czyzniejewski offers up his own glorious, fabulist interpretation of this alive and coarse and strong and cunning city on the make in his wonderful Chicago Stories. Czyzniejewski is a pointillist, serving up one intriguing, isolated moment in Chicago’s history after another, but when you finish this book and take a step back, you see the whole bustling city for what it is: absurd, heartbreaking, tough, and vibrant. It’s really quite an accomplishment."

—John McNally, author of The Book of Ralph and Ghosts of Chicago

"In the surreal, comic world of Michael Czyzniejewski's CHICAGO STORIES, where Twitter leads to crack babies and Dennis Rodman has directly influenced every sorority girl's drunkenly obtained tattoo, somehow the very real Chicago--with its highways, skyline, stadiums and scandalous celebrities--lovingly infuses every line."

—Gina Frangello, author of Slut Lullabies and My Sister's Continent

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Book Cover:

About the Author:

Michael Czyzniejewski was born in Chicago and grew up in its south suburbs. He teaches at Bowling Green State University and serves as Editor of Mid-American Review. He is the author of the story collection Elephants in Our Bedroom (Dzanc Books, 2009), a collection of short stories, and has been published in over fifty literary journals, including ACM, Ninth Letter, Gulf Coast, The Southern Review, and StoryQuarterly. In 2010, he was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship for his fiction. During summers, he lives in Chicago, where he has worked over twenty seasons at Wrigley Field as a beer vendor. Find him at www.michaelczyzniejewski.com.

About the Illustrator:

Rob Funderburk’s work ranges from sensitive ink drawings and illustrations to immersive wall art and experiential projects, including a long list of collaborative partnerships with Chicago-area arts groups and indie media. Rob hails from Elkhart, Indiana, is a graduate of Indiana University and is currently based in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood. Visit him at www.robfunderburk.com.

About the Publisher:

Curbside Splendor publishes work online and in print, sells books by Chicago presses and authors on a periodic basis at a farmers market, and presents literary events at various venues throughout Chicago. Chicago Stories marks its fifth publication. Staff include Curbside Splendor President Victor David Giron as Publisher, Curbside Splendor Sr. Managing Editor Jacob S. Knabb as Editor, Curbside Splendor Sr. Managing Editor Ben Tanzer as Operations Officer, and Curbside Splendor Managing Editors Lauryn Allison Lewis and Leah Tallon. Visit Curbside Splendor on the Web at www.curbsidesplendor.com. For additional information, contact Victor David Giron at info@curbsidesplendor.com or at (312) 342-5935.

Publication Details

Publication date: April 30, 2012

Edition: 1

Imprint: Curbside Splendor Publishing

Trade Paperback

168 pages; 5.0″ x 8.0″; $14.99 USD

ISBN: 978-0-9834228-5-3

Publisher: Victor David Giron

Author: Michael Czyzniejewski

Editor: Jacob S. Knabb

Designer: Rob Funderburk

Website: http://www.curbsidesplendor.com/curbside/books/chicago-stories