Bridge Books Announces New Experimental Memoir Title: Nat Baldwin’s “Antithesis”

ANTITHESIS WILL BE RELEASED SPRING/SUMMER 2025 WITH EVENTS TO BE ANNOUNCED

Bridge Books, publisher of the Bridge Journal, a division of Bridge Art Nfp, the registered Illinois 501 (c) 3 not for profit organization that also publishes the weekly online Bridge magazine at bridge-chicago.org, today announces publication of a new experimental memoir title, “Antithesis” by Nat Baldwin. Acquired for the press by Bridge Journal Fiction Section Editor Meghan Lamb, the memoir will be released by Bridge Books in Spring/Summer 2025.

Bridge Books Announces New Literary Fiction Title: Robert Kloss’s The Genocide House

THE GENOCIDE HOUSE WILL BE RELEASED FALL/WINTER 2024 WITH EVENTS TO BE ANNOUNCED

Bridge Books, publisher of the Bridge Journal, a division of Bridge Art Nfp, the registered Illinois 501 (c) 3 not for profit organization that also publishes the weekly online Bridge magazine at bridge-chicago.org, today announces publication of its next literary fiction title, The Genocide House by Robert Kloss. Acquired for the press by Bridge Journal Fiction Section Editor Meghan Lamb, the novel will be released by Bridge Books in Fall/Winter 2024.

Bridge Editor-in-Chief Michael Workman was recently interviewed for the new Contemporary Literary Publishing Lab at the University of Chicago, a new resource of the creative writing department offering “news of upcoming CLP events, interviews with people in the publishing industry, our research on publishing trends, and a database of literary journals.”

Bridge welcomes new Poetry section Editor Spencer Hutchinson (@spencer.hutchinson.714). Spencer Hutchinson is a 2009 BFA Graduate from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a 2020 MFA graduate from the University of Illinois at Chicago where he majored in New Media Art Studies and studied Art and Art History as a Continuing Studies Student through The Graham School at The University of Chicago. Hutchinson specializes in painting, drawing, poetry and sound based/new media works as well as critical writing on art.

BRIDGE ANNOUNCES A FESTIVAL OF HOLES, with events at:

Art in Odd Places: DRESS, New York FRI-SUN, OCT 13-15

The Bridge Film & Video Festival at SITE/less Chicago THU, OCT 27

The Neubauer Collegium for Society and Culture at the University of Chicago FRI, NOV 3

Bridge Books Announces First Title in New Literary Fiction Line: Stacy Hardy’s “An Archaeology of Holes”

AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF HOLES WILL BE RELEASED NOV. 3, 2023 WITH EVENTS TO BE ANNOUNCED

Bridge Books, publisher of the Bridge Journal, a division of Bridge Art Nfp, the registered Illinois 501 (c) 3 not for profit organization that also publishes the weekly online Bridge magazine at bridge-chicago.org, today announces publication of its first literary fiction title. Acquired and edited for the press by Bridge Journal Fiction Section Editor Meghan Lamb, the title will be released by Bridge Books Nov. 3, 2023.

Bridge today announces a programming partnership program with the Evanston Experimental Film Festival, offering an additional screening opportunity for select shorts through the Bridge Video streaming service. 

Johannes DeYoung’s “Headshots,” Soyeon Jung’s “White Noise” and Walter Smits’ “in which they were not yet hermit crabs” will be presented as part of a Bridge Video lineup within their larger program, with the showcase screened outdoors on the wall of the Evanston Art Center on September 22, 2023, and on a video screen inside the Evanston Art Center from September 22 -October 20, 2023.

Please follow the Side/Lot curatorial program on Instagram here and on the Evanston Art Center site here for updates on the 5th annual selection of short experimental video works in the Evanston Experimental Video Showcase! Screening outdoors at the Evanston Art Center on Friday, September 22 at 8pm. Bridge members will join the screening to discuss their Bridge video platform.

Bridge Video today announces the initial lineup for its inaugural Bridge Film & Video Festival. In addition, the lineup expands to include a second date for the festival, now Friday, Oct. 27 & the originally announced Saturday, Oct. 28 screening dates.

Most films will also be available for viewing anytime through subscription to Bridge Video for $25/every six months. With a few exceptions, film and video works selected for the inaugural Bridge Film and Video Festival will not be premiered on Bridge Video until after the festival closes. Please note that this list is subject to change.

Bridge Video Announces its Weekly Fall 2023 / Spring 2024 Lineup of Featured Films; Programs Begin Sept. 1

With the death by "sunsetting" of its New Arts Journalism program as originally reported by the school’s F Newsmagazine, another few-of-its-kind arts writing program disappears from the curriculum at School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Bridge Video Partners with Image Union Fall 2023

Bridge Video, a division of Bridge Art NFP, the registered Illinois 501 (c) 3 not for profit organization that publishes the Bridge Journal, and the weekly online Bridge magazine at bridge-chicago.org, today announces a partnership with Image Union for starting this fall 2023. Bridge Video will showcase segments from the beloved WTTW program as part of its Featured Films lineup launching at the end of August.

StepSister Press / Bridge Books Announces the Publication “Making Way: Sailing Into The Revolutionary Storm”, a collaborative book project, by Dick Farkas author, M.A. Papanek-Miller artist, and Jessica Larva, designer.

MAKING WAY: SAILING INTO THE REVOLUTIONARY STORM

Written by Dick Farkas with drawings by M.A. Papanek-Miller and designed by Jessica Larva, Making Way: Sailing Into The Revolutionary Storm is an adventure story that takes place on the waterways of colonial America, on a schooner (sailing ship) named Commerce. The story embraces a group of unlikely teenagers who find each other, an experienced sailor and a dog who collectively embark on a life changing journey during the political upheaval that surrounded the start of a new country. The teens face uncertainty living in a society not yet crystallized and not yet framed by a clear value system, which creates questions and presents dilemmas as their lives unfold. The main characters are challenged to reflect on and measure their own simple logic and their moral instinct against the mores and discrimination of the society around them. With every chapter, the drawings are in conversation with the written story, and they provide a visual context for the revolutionary era time period. The story, drawings, and book design evolved as a creative collaborative project which gave rise to this book as an object to hold, read, see, and experience.

TREATMENTS: CLOSING RECEPTION & READINGS

On Tuesday, May 16th from 6-8pm Material, Chicago will host a closing reception for Treatments 2019 / 2023 and readings by Rachel J. Webster and Josh Honn of poetry included in the book of the same name. Published to accompany the exhibition, Webster's The Well: Grief Poems and Honn’s A Slow Archive, each included in the Bridge Books release of Treatments, offer poetic responses to the early loss of their spouses to illness. Both readings will be video recorded live and entered into the Readings Archive after the event.

The first Chicago exhibition for Bridge artistic collective member Ryan Tynan, this survey of the artist’s early work will delve into his work in video art, set design and model-making, and breakthrough work in cinepoetics. 

Join Bridge and the Chicago Public Library in a daylong celebration of poetry. Bridge will be tabling with the other poetry publishers. The schedule of events is as follows:

Poetry Fest Events

Saturday, April 29th - Harold Washington Library

9:30am - Poetry Vendors Area Opens:

James Gordan - Independent Publisher

Bridge Art NFP

After Hours Press

Free Spirit Media

Columbia College

Poetry Center

10am - Poems While You Wait (Lobby Activity)

10am - Haiku Fest with Regina Harris

10am - Song of Myself Poetry Display

11am - Business of Poetry Panel with Mariah Scott, Eros The Prince of Poetry & Jennifer Brown-Banks

11am - Writing the Everyday with Mina Kahn

11:30 - Poetry Book Tasting with Jeff

12pm - Gwendolyn Brooks' "Blacks" Workshop with Tara Betts

12pm - After Hours Press Reading

1pm - Poetry and Social Justice Panel with David Masciotra, avery r. young, H. Melt & Janine Harrison

1pm - 40 Love Poems Workshop

1pm - Rengay Poetry Workshop with Poets and Patrons

2pm - Chicago Poet Laureate Keynote Address

3pm - 24th Annual Poetry Fest Open Mic with Caroline Watson

Bridge Video Announces “Multiple Bodies” Video Art Exhibition in Partnership with Indiana University, Bloomington

Bridge Video, a division of Bridge Art NFP, the registered Illinois 501 (c) 3 not for profit organization that publishes the Bridge Journal, the weekly online Bridge magazine at bridge-chicago.org, today announces a partnership with Indiana University Bloomington’s Sidney and Lois Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design. Together, we will produce “Multiple Bodies,” a special programming category of our upcoming Bridge Video streaming service showcasing digital art area student works.

TREATMENTS: CATALOG AND ARTIST’S BOOK

Bridge Books, a division of Bridge Art NFP, the registered Illinois 501 (c) 3 not for profit organization that publishes the Bridge Journal, and the weekly online Bridge magazine at bridge-chicago.org, today announces its contract agreement to publish the catalog and essays of the "Treatments" photographic series by artist Mat Rappaport, made to accompany the exhibition at Material, Chicago, April 16 - May 14, 2023. Essay by Michael Workman. Poetry by Rachel J. Webster with an essay by Lauren Weibe.

In Partnership with Open Books, Bridge Launches “Open Readings” Live Lit Series and Open Mic

The first edition of the new Bridge Open Readings series and Open Mic will take place at the Open Books Pilsen store, 905 W. 19th St. on Saturday, February 18th from 2-4pm. Readings and open mics will be recorded and archived in the Bridge Live Readings Archive (free account required to access).

NEWS: Bridge Books to Co-Present “From Healing to Action” with Chicago Torture Justice Memorials

Bridge is a proud "co-presenting partner" of the Illinois Humanities Council @ilhumanities program “From Healing to Action” on January 26th at the Chicago Torture Justice Center to present an evening of art, storytelling, and community presented by Illinois Humanities, Chicago Torture Justice Memorials (CTJM), and the Chicago Torture Justice Center in Woodlawn. Learn about the history of police torture in Chicago and the movement for healing and reparations from those at its forefront with a short screening of CTJM’s Narrating the Struggle for Justice for Police Torture Survivors, a healing exercise led by artist and educator Patrica Nguyen, and a reception with screen printing provided by PO Box Collective, collaborative quilt-making with artist and activist Dorothy Burge, and food by Celebrations by Us.

NEWS: Bridge Books Announces Acquisition of StepSister Press

Bridge Books, a division of Bridge Art NFP, the registered Illinois 501 (c) 3 not for profit organization that publishes the Bridge Journal, the weekly online Bridge magazine at bridge-chicago.org, and that recently announced the launch of its Bridge Books Division, today announces the acquisition of the Chicago-based StepSister Press. Founded by artist-turned-translator Annie Heckman, the press will continue to exist and operate as a stand-alone imprint within the newly founded Bridge Books division, and continue to fulfill orders for its full slate of titles. A new homepage for the press has been launched at bridge-books.org.

Bridge Books will manage all StepSister existing titles, ensuring that current titles will enjoy full continuity for orders and fulfillment. In addition, a number of new and legacy projects already slated for publication will move ahead, including publication of the annual journal of the Museum and Exhibition Studies graduate program under the leadership of professor Therese Quinn.