More About Write Club Chicago Launches its 17th Season of ‘Live Lit’ at GMan Tavern, October 20
Write Club Chicago, announces its combatants competing in its 17th season launch Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at GMan Tavern, in Chicago’s Lakeview East neighborhood, 3740 N. Clark St.
Write Club Chicago returns to Chicago Tuesday, Oct. 20 with its infamous “bout” format, in which three rounds of combatant writer-performers face off with original, seven-minute essays on competing topics to win prize money and claim the cherished Loving Cup of Deathless F***ing Glory. The October 20 list of combatants are Breon Arzell, Christopher Bigelow, Elizabeth Gomez, Archy Jamjun, Jean Marie Koon and Binkey Tolefree. Winners are decided by the audience following each “bout.”
Write Club Chicago, initially founded by Ian Belknap and Lindsay Muscato, is the world's foremost competitive reading series, featuring the most audacious and fearsome of writers and performers. The evening offers quick, crafted performed essays: an immediate art form that takes audiences on a seven-minute ride they will not forget. Belknap first described the show as “Live Lit,” a turn of phrase which then became widely applied to the variety of storytelling shows produced throughout the city.
Tickets are a suggested donation of $25 and are available at the door the night of the event, doors open at 7 p.m. More information available at WriteClubNation.com.
Image: Combatant Loretta Perkins with the Write Club Chicago audience, photo by Sarah Elizabeth Larson
Write Club Chicago returns to Chicago Tuesday, Oct. 20 with its infamous “bout” format, in which three rounds of combatant writer-performers face off with original, seven-minute essays on competing topics to win prize money and claim the cherished Loving Cup of Deathless F***ing Glory. The October 20 list of combatants are Breon Arzell, Christopher Bigelow, Elizabeth Gomez, Archy Jamjun, Jean Marie Koon and Binkey Tolefree. Winners are decided by the audience following each “bout.”
Write Club Chicago, initially founded by Ian Belknap and Lindsay Muscato, is the world's foremost competitive reading series, featuring the most audacious and fearsome of writers and performers. The evening offers quick, crafted performed essays: an immediate art form that takes audiences on a seven-minute ride they will not forget. Belknap first described the show as “Live Lit,” a turn of phrase which then became widely applied to the variety of storytelling shows produced throughout the city.
Tickets are a suggested donation of $25 and are available at the door the night of the event, doors open at 7 p.m. More information available at WriteClubNation.com.
Image: Combatant Loretta Perkins with the Write Club Chicago audience, photo by Sarah Elizabeth Larson
Date & Time
October 20, 2026
7:30pm - 10:30pm
Location
GMan Tavern
3740 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60613
Communities
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