Come out to celebrate the Chicago release of Dasha Kelly's Almost Crimson at The Book Cellar. Featuring readings by Cyn Vargas, Quryash Ali Lansona, and Megan Stielstra.

Dasha Kelly is a nationally-respected writer, artist and social entrepreneur. As a spoken word artist, Dasha has performed throughout the U.S., in Canada and appeared on the final season of HBO presents Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam. Dasha holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University. She is an alum of the iconic Squaw Valley Writers Community, the former writer-in-residence for the historic Pfister Hotel, and founder of Still Waters Collective, an arts education and community-building initiative. In 2014, Dasha was selected as a U.S. Embassy Arts Envoy to teach and perform in Botswana, Africa.

She is the author of one chapbook Hither and three books: All Fall Down, Hershey Eats Peanuts, and Call It Forth. She lives in Milwaukee, WI.

Megan Stielstra is the author of Everyone Remain Calm and the Literary Director of the 2nd Story storytelling series. She’s told stories for all sorts of theaters, festivals, and bars including The Goodman, The Steppenwolf, and The Museum of Contemporary Art. Her writing has appeared in Best American Essays 2013,The Rumpus, The Nervous Breakdown, and elsewhere. She teaches creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.

Cyn Vargas holds an MFA from Columbia College Chicago, and  is the recipient of a Ragdale Fellowship and the 2013 Guild Literary Complex Prose Award in Fiction. Cyn was named one of Guild's Literary Complex's 25 Writers to Watch in 2014 and  received two top citations in Glimmer Train's Short Story Award for New Writers contests. She is a company member of the award-winning storytelling organization 2nd Story. Her work has appeared in Split Lip Magazine, Word Riot, Literary Orphans, and elsewhere. She teaches creative writing workshops around Chicago and online, and can be found online at cynvargas.com.