I’m thinking about…

I'm thinking about starting a SLF reading series for F/SF works in Chicago, along the lines of Writers with Drinks (that Charlie Anders does in S.F.), and the NYRSF series in New York. It's a little nuts, I think, that Chicago doesn't have such a thing already; I would think writers with new books would be thrilled to come to Chicago and do a reading with a core group of SF/F readers in the audience.

I can provide a guest room for authors who are willing, so I think we'd mostly need to raise funds for airfare. And of course, we can mix local writers with visiting ones, but surprisingly, Chicago doesn't actually have that many SF/F writers settled here, as far as I know.

There are various local groups who I'm hoping will be able to help out -- Think Galactic, WindyCon's folks, Twilight Tales. But any other thoughts people have on how best to go about this would be really helpful.

• should I partner it with a bookstore? An independent a little ways out, or one of the chains in downtown? (Does Barbara's count as a chain?)
• would a bar be better?
• any writers with books coming out who think their publishers would pay for airfare in the next year?
• any other thoughts?