Independent Writers of Chicago
Printers Row Lit Fest 2026 drew one of the largest crowds in recent years. The Lit Fest was held on the weekend of September 12-13. IWOC again attended under the Illinois Woman’s Press Association (IWPA) tent on Dearborn Street in the South Loop. The warm and relatively dry weather afforded a strong attendance on both days.
For this year's Lit Fest, IWOC pitched our Roundtable Meeting (held September 15) to passersby. On Saturday, we attempted to use QR codes to sign up attendees, but the conversion rate from QR scans to meeting signups was minimal. On Sunday, we switched back to the trusted pen and paper system and collected nearly 60 names -- just short of what we typically collected in two days in prior years.
In total, from all outreach, we had nearly 16 nonmembers register for the Roundtable and around 11 joined the virtual one-hour meeting.
Once again, volunteers made the the effort successful.A big thank you to the folks who joined us in promoting IWOC at Lit Fest: George Becht, Jeff Steele, Tim Pareti, Donna Pareti, Janet Skrzypek, and Karen Ford.
Two IWOC authors displayed books and made sales. Tim Pareti sold 25 books in two days at the IWOC table.
We hope to build on the success of Lit Fest 2026 with a new membership drive in the coming months. As the nonmember recruitment for the Roundtable Meeting suggests, the IWOC brand has name appeal to Chicago's independent writers!
--- Joe Wycoff
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