There is new piece - Just Say No at THE2NDHAND.

Quite pleased we are to let you know that a new piece of ours, Just Say No, is now up at the always awesome THE2NDHAND. This piece was originally written for the most recent QUICKIES! fundraiser and is an homage to the writing of the always lovely QUICKIES! co-host Lindsay Hunter. We would add that Just Say No is not necessarily appropriate for family consumption and so our ability to provide an excerpt is limited, but here you go. Enjoy.

"Hey everybody, my name is Ben and I want to totally welcome you back for the new school year and our first meeting of the Vestal High School Circle of the Purity Ring and Just Say No to Pre-marital Sex Club.

Before we get started, a few housekeeping items.

First, a big purity ring thank you and moment of silent non-sexual appreciation for the Jonas Brothers and Taylor Swift, who are helping us keep it real, and cool, to just say no despite the best efforts of that pole-dancing Miley Cyrus."

This Podcast Will Change Your Life, Episode Seven - Salsa Music and Smoke. Redux. And Re-Release.

Do you love salsa music? Of course you do. What about smoke? Sometimes, sure. How about the always delightful Mary Hamilton and Lindsay Hunter. Totally. And endlessly. Right? Right, so how about some Episode Seven. There you go.

Holy frijoles. Wow. Crazy. Awesome. Nuts. The QUICKIES! annual fundraiser is this Tuesday. Jemc. Picard. Gray. Dodson. Burch. Butler. And Tanzer?

We are quite geeked to let you know that TBWCYL, Inc, spokesperson Ben Tanzer will be reading this coming Tuesday as part of a way stellar line-up at the annual QUICKIES! fundraiser extravaganza. There will be Jac Jemc, podcasted here, Elizabeth Wylder, Kate Duva, Caroline Picard, podcasted here, Aaron Plesak, Amelia Gray, Casey Bye, Zach Dodson, Richard Thomas, Aaron Burch and Blake Butler. And while this may go without saying, we really think you want to come. No really, because, one, it's going to be crazy good, and two, we feel pretty certain it will change your life. A lot.

New City Lit 50.

The New City annual Lit 50 list is out, with the theme this year being "Who really books in Chicago." They decided not to focus on any straight-up writers or poets this year, which is probably good for our egos here at headquarters, and they sort of ignored the whole blogosphere, for example the fine team at Pete Lit, one of our first podcasts, or the crew at Orange Alert, not to mention the ladies of QUICKIES! and Pilcrow, podcasted here and here respectively, but they still listed a number of friends and supporters of ours who we would argue do not get nearly enough attention otherwise. These include, Oprah (#1), well okay, not Oprah, and no we haven't podcasted with her, yet, but does include among others Suzy T. from the Book Cellar (#34), Gina Frangello from Other Voices' Books (#37) and Caroline Picard from the Green Lantern Press (#45) the latter of whom we did podcast with way back when. Overall, its an interesting list, and mostly comprehensive, and frankly, anyone who wants to take the time to list literary anything is pretty awesome as far as we are concerned, so big props to New City for the support and attention.

Fiction at Work, not to mention a 55-word dollop of Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine hype and YouTube video love at the QUICKIES! Chicago.

It's true, way back on a balmy October night TBWCYL, Inc. spokesperson Ben Tanzer was invited to a QUICKIES! Chicago fundraiser and presented with the seemingly insurmountable challenge of reading a piece of no longer than 55 words. He not only embraced this challenge, but embraced his contractual obligation to hype Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine at any all times and the result has now been published in the new issue of Fiction at Work along with the work of many fine local writers including but not limited to This Blog Will Change Your Life favorites Mary Hamilton, Spencer Dew and the Amy Guth. Feel free to take a look, and if you are so inclined and/or have hankering for some visual stimulation, please feel free to watch the below video of Ben reading the piece live as well. We would argue that it is beyond scintillating, but you of course can be the judge of that yourself.

This Podcast Will Change Your Life, Episode Eleven - Teenage Heart Throb.

Are you sitting? No, really, because we are way geeked to present with you Episode Eleven of This Podcast Will Change Your Life - Teenage Heart Throb, which stars the lovely and quite gracious Jac Jemc, she of the mad writing skills and kick-ass blog The Rejection Collection. We of course cover a series of topics sure to change your life, if only briefly, so please listen if you will, suck down some of Jac's fine work, peruse her blog and then keep on being the best you, you can be, because as far as we're concerned no one else does it quite like you do. For reals.

Orange Alert has a new home and if we may be so bold its quite lovely. What's also lovely is this recent interview with Mary Hamilton.

It's true, so totally true, Orange Alert has a new home, which you should so check-out. It will have all of the old Orange Alert awesomeness of course, but also a consignment shop, face painting and all sorts of crazy awesome new stuff. And speaking of the old Orange Alert awesomeness, we were quite pleased to see a recent interview on the site with TBWCYL, Inc. favorite Mary Hamilton, co-doyenne of the QUICKIES! reading series, who has not only podcasted with us (along with QUICKES! co-host Lindsay Hunter), but who also penned our quite rocking inaugeration day joint over at This Zine Will Change Your Life. Nice, huh? Way.

Time Out Chicago's Best of 2008 and one faux corporation's completely misguided yet undeniably rampant narcissism.

Time Out Chicago has come out with its Best of 2008 lists and we here at TBWCYL, Inc. couldn't help but notice an interesting trend on its Books list, which please note is subtitled "We offer up the books, trends and people that made this Chicago's year." Under the subheading "Clearest sign the apocalypse has been postponed: StepSister Press," Time Out describes the renaissance of small presses popping up here in Chicago and references not just Orange Alert Press, but the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography as well. If that isn't enough, the list goes on to cite its choice for "Best reading series," and names the quite wonderful Quickies! Now we here at headquarters in no way want to imply that any of this attention has any thing to do with us or our connection to said denizens of Time Out's Best of list, but we would like to suggest that if you want to enhance your chances of being named to the list in 2009 you might just want to consider publishing our work or inviting us to read at your reading series. Can we make any promises? No, according to our legal department we cannot. And are we being terrifically narcissistic, albeit horribly misguided here? Yes, totally, but that was always one of the chief reasons we started this blog in the first place. Well, that and changing lives of course.

Watch us as we try to hype Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine in 55 words at the QUICKIES! Chicago fundraiser. For real.

If you were wondering what it might look like if TBWCYL, Inc. spokesperson Ben Tanzer were to try and hype "Go Your Way..." in a mere 55 words at the QUICKIES! Chicago fundraiser Tuesday night you now have your chance. Enjoy.

We might as well face it, we are addicted to QUICKIES!

It's true, one week from tonight we will be returning to QUICKIES! Chicago the for their 55 word quickfire bonanza. Won't you come as well? Please? Come on. Cool.

Meet the Author - The Orange Alert Press interview.

Our most generous publisher and good friend Orange Alert Press has reached out to interview "Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine" author and TBWCYL, Inc. spokesperson Ben Tanzer about the new book, the Chicago literary scene and what the future holds for said spokesperson. We think you may find this interview interesting and we think you may even find yourself name-dropped, especially, though not only, if you happen to be named Elizabeth Crane. Of course we think a lot of things. That said, if you are so inclined you are invited to take a look at the interview on the Orange Alert Press blog. Will it change your life? It might. Either way though, we hope you enjoy it.

So not quick, or how not to rock QUICKIES! Chicago.

We so didn't rock the QUICKIES! Chicago last night. We really wanted to and when we read "Daddie Dreariest" during lunch yesterday it only seemed to take about five minutes, the time limit for all QUICKIES! readers. Apparently though we horribly miscalculated because with one page still to go we were viciously whistled off of the stage by our otherwise awesome QUICKIES! co-hosts Mary Hamilton and Lindsay Hunter. While it was quite embarrassing to say the least, we persevered with the support and love of a number of friends populating the reading, including but not limited to Nick Ostdick, who read his excellent THE2NDHAND horoscope piece, Horoscope for the Morning After, Amy Guth, Spencer Dew and Jill Summers. Having recovered we went on to record the latest episode of This Podcast Will Change Your Life, Salsa Music and Smoke, with Mary and Lindsay, who way rocked it to say the least. And then late night we hit the Beachwood with La Guth and Dr. Ostdick to talk Lucky Man with new best friend Kelly, a.k.a Salsa Switchblade, who stumbled onto a copy of the book there and had some questions. Overall, it was quite a good night, right? Way right.

QUICKIES Chicago. Can you dig it?

A quick reminder that TBWCYL, Inc. spokesperson Ben Tanzer will be reading as part of the QUICKIES Chicago reading series on June 10th at The Innertown Pub here in Chicago. He will be part of a group including the illustrious, and lustrous, Nick Ostdick, and while none of us are allowed to read for more than five minutes, we think you ought to come out anyway, because who knows, it just might change your life.