Since I’m surrounded by crime fiction writers, I guess the moment is right to reveal that a piece of my own crime fiction, the short story, “Untitled,” was the second runner-up in Time Out Chicago’s “Chicago Crime Writers Competition.” The first round was judged by Random House/Vintage Books editorial staff, and Michael Harvey (The Fifth Floor, 2008) selected the finalists with help from TOC’s books editor, Jonathan Messinger.

Check out the first runner-up, “Still Life,” by Lori Rader-Day, and the winner, “The Cutting,” by Chad Sanborn.

It’s downright heartening when a general-interest magazine takes a specific interest in fiction–here’s hoping it’s the start of a broader trend!

There are a lot of crap book trailers out there, but this one works really well. Yes, I may be partial because it’s set in Chicago, but no, I don’t know the author, even though I’ve just discovered that I’ll be reading with him at the Book Cellar on Wednesday, September 17.

I had mixed feelings about his first book (awkward!), but Thomas Gaughan gave this one a star.

(Via Galleycat.)

Well, this is cool. I’m pleased to find myself in very good company–alongside Booklist associate editor Donna Seaman and Booklist reviewer Mark Eleveld, to name two–in the NewCity Lit 50, published to coincide with the Chicago Tribune Printers Row Book Fair.

And speaking of Printers Row, if you’re in Chicago and you’re planning to attend, you can catch me on Sunday, June 8th on the “Thrill of Mystery” panel at the University Center’s Park/Fountain rooms. I’ll be appearing with Joseph Weisberg (An Ordinary Spy), Raymond Benson (Sweetie’s Diamonds), Jonathan Santlofer (The Murder Notebook), and Ellis Goodman (Bear Any Burden). Bill Savage will be the moderator.

If you’d like to see Donna Seaman (Writers on the Air), she’ll be conversing with Julia Bachrach and Jo Ann Nathan (Inspired by Nature) and Peggy Macnamara (Architecture by Birds and Insects) at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the University Center’s River Room. You can also catch her discussing “The Art of Book Reviewing” with David Ulin (The Myth of Solid Ground) and Elizabeth Taylor (American Pharaoh) at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday in the University Center’s Loop Room.

You could also have watched her having a conversation with Richard Preston (The Wild Trees) at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday in the Harold Washington Library Center multi-purpose room, but Donna just received word that Preston is unwell and won’t be making the trip–the event has been canceled. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Tax Increment Financing sounds like a guaranteed sleep aid–but once most taxpayers learn what it is, they’re likely to be awake all night, burning with rage at both ends. (It’s a particularly contentious topic here in Chicago.) In an interview on Fresh Air, Free Lunch author David Cay Johnson explains “How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill).”

Say hello to The Long Goodbye, Chicago (”Crime thriller ‘The Long Goodbye’ selected for ‘One Book, One Chicago,’ by Deanese Williams-Harris, Chicago Tribune):

“The Long Goodbye” by crime-genre master Raymond Chandler is the 14th and latest book selected for the Chicago Public Library’s “One Book, One Chicago” program. Twice a year, in the spring and fall, the library selects a new title for the program in an effort to promote reading and discussion among all city residents.

The radio show of Booklist’s own Donna Seaman, Open Books, is now airing on Chicago’s NPR affiliate, WBEZ, on select Sunday nights. Be sure to tune in this Sunday, February 17, at 9 p.m. (Central) as she talks with author Nancy Goldstein about her book Jackie Ormes: The First African American Woman Cartoonist–just reviewed in our February 1 Black History Spotlight–and also cartoonist Tim Jackson (visit his site for the “Pioneering Cartoonists of Color” list).

(If you’re in Chicagoland, dial in 91.5. If you’re not, you can get streaming audio on the WBEZ site.)

When we read in public, we give passersby a glimpse into our souls. (Knowing that, of course, many among us choose their public reading accordingly–don’t tell me you’re enduring the wrist strain of reading Russian classics on the 144 bus because you never read anything lighter.) But for those of us who don’t always choose our own reading, the glimpse may not be an accurate one.

I’ve written about this before, of course. And, this morning, crawling down Lake Shore Drive in a packed bus in a blizzard, I was opening my book so narrowly that it was a little like trying to read the contents of an envelope, trying to ignore the frown of a gray-haired commuter to my left. ”Gimme a break, lady,” I wanted to say, ”I’m working!”

What was I reading? Snuff, by Chuck Palahniuk. It’s about an aging porn legend who, as the flap copy puts it, ”intends to cap her legendary career by breaking the world’s record for serial fornication on camera with six hundred men.” (Note how they cleverly avoided the more common word for the act.)

To quote the back-flap further (and doesn’t “back-flap” sound like a good reason to try diet and exercise?):

This wild, lethally funny, and thoroughly researched novel brings the huge yet underacknowledged presence of pornography in contemporary life into the realm of literary fiction at last. Who else but Chuck Palahniuk would dare do such a thing?

Well, Robert Coover would, for one. But I agree completely that it’s a worthy project. I’ve heard all sorts of stunning figures (financial figures; the other kind you have to see) about the size of the porn industry, about how it’s been the driving force in many technological advances, etc. etc. Vast numbers of people are buying and “consuming” porn, but its effect on society has yet to be reflected in the arts in a proportional way. I applaud Palahniuk for his bravery; clearly he has a keen sense of intellectuals’ responsibility to explore our society as a whole, no matter how uncomfortable that journey might make us.

Either that or he wanted to have fun making up fake movie titles like “On Golden Blonde” and “A Separate Piece.”

Check out the critical conversation in the new Time Out Chicago (”Critical Condition,” by Kris Vire), featuring Booklist’s very own “books critic,” Donna Seaman (the accidental title makes it seem as if we also have food, TV, and automotive critics). An excerpt:

Kris Vire: Is passion more important than education?

Donna Seaman: Initially, but passion must lead to discipline and immersion. Expertise is gained from sustained attention.

Don Hall: I think passion and education go hand in hand. If you’re passionate about theater, you’ll likely educate yourself about it.

Anne Holub: You have to have a passion for it; otherwise, you’re simply not going to bother.

Chuck Sudo: Expertise is gained from sating your curiosity, then realizing there’s still more to learn.

Donna Seaman: Yes. One must also have the urge to share one’s enthusiasms. To advocate. To be clear about what it is that matters in a work of art.

Sam Jones: Formal education is probably not more important than passion, but knowledge of the medium you’re criticizing is.

Anne Holub: Right, and since most subjects are constantly changing and growing, it’s likely going to be a lifelong pursuit.

Jim DeRogatis: In as (allegedly) democratic an art form as rock & roll, it is true that literally everyone is a critic. The difference between a good critic and a bad critic is the ability to put into words the reasoning behind those opinions. And there education can be helpful, but it can be as informal as simply being a voracious reader.

Chuck Sudo: Or, if you’re talking about food and drink, as simple as going to that one hole-in-the-wall restaurant you’ve long avoided because of preconceived notions.

Mike Sula: Or just being aware of your preconceived notions.

Don Hall: In order to appropriately criticize, a dollop of self-awareness is necessary - knowing your own prejudices, etc.

Sam Jones: Critics are like statistics - what they say is almost meaningless without the underlying story.

Donna Seaman: Ongoing self-education is essential.

Jim DeRogatis: And education is another word for journalism: If you have a perceptive young reader, you can send him or her out to critique something without having a deep knowledge in the subject, so long as he or she does the journalistic homework beforehand. You need not have gone to Juilliard to critique the Rolling Stones, or to have heard all of their 40 or so albums. But you’d better get the facts right when you come back and write up your emotional reaction to the show.

Donna Seaman: Everyone who reads a book, listens to a piece of music, and so on, experiences a slightly different work of art. A critic has to be able to imagine many responses, and see the experience in a greater context.

Jim DeRogatis: Why is that important? Do you really want to know how an 11-year-old experienced Hannah Montana?

Donna Seaman: Writing is always about exposing the workings of a mind, even a tween with bad taste.

Anne Holub: I want to know how the 11-year-old’s parents experienced paying for those tickets!

Sam Jones: We come to trust critics by reading them - that’s how we have traditionally gotten the story.

Believe me, Donna does not look like her icon. She actually looks like this.

Hey, TOC gave yours truly a mention, too! (Chest thump.) Respect.

Conrad Black (aka Lord Black of Crossharbour, aka “The Robber Baron”), author of Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom (2003) and Richard M. Nixon: A Life in Full (2007), has been sentenced to 78 months in prison (”Judge cuts Conrad Black a break,” by Abdon M. Pallasch, Chicago Sun-Times). He doesn’t look happy.

If he had stuck to writing ponderous biographies–and left massive fraud to others–he’d still be winging his way to Bora Bora on the corporate jet. But such are the travails of the writing life.

What you’ll miss if you don’t read to the end:

Black’s attorney, Jeffrey Steinback, asked St. Eve to look at testimonial letters from celebrities including Elton John, George Will, William F. Buckley and former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney, as well as "a lifetime of extraordinary accomplishment."

"I ask the court to consider all of the work he has done for so many," Steinback said.

A prosecutor said the celebrities don’t have any better handle on Black’s character than the jurors.

"Does Elton John really know Conrad Black?" prosecutor Eric Sussman said.

Now the bad news. The Chicago Sun-Times is taking the axe to its book section. From Critical Mass:

Just when it seemed the cutbacks in newspaper book sections had struck bone, they’ve gone deeper yet this month. Starting on December 30th the Chicago Sun-Times’ book section – formerly run by Cheryl L. Reed, now by Teresa Budasi — is being reduced by half, and moved from the Controvesy section of the newspaper to the Show section. All reviews are being reduced by half, as well, to 250 to 300 words.

I like to think this had nothing to do with the fact that I was recently profiled in said publication. If I’m wrong, I’d like to apologize for not selling more papers. (Hey, I bought as many as I could carry!)