Sue Burke
@sueburke
Writer.
Every year, this maple tree in the park next door decides summer is over at the start of August. The tree is healthy. It just has an opinion about working overtime.
Last Fridays Poetry open mic Friday, July 31, 7 p.m., at Esquina event space, 4602 N. Western Ave., Chicago. Supportive, all are welcome.
I’ll be reading at the Last Fridays Poetry open mic on Friday, May 29, 8 p.m., at Esquina event space, 4602 N. Western Ave., Chicago. It’s a supportive environment, and all are welcome.
I’m interviewed about Goal-Based Sci-Fi Research by Beth Barany for her podcast. We talk about research can help generate conflict in your stories and avoid clichés. writersfunzone.com/blog/2026/05...
I’ll be reading my translation of the short story “Francine (Draft for the September Lecture)” by Maria Antònia Martí Escayol at the Deep Dish reading on Thursday. If you can’t make it, a link to the story is in the comments.
Last Fridays Poetry open mic, Friday, April 24, 8 p.m., at Esquina, 4602 N. Western Ave., Chicago. I'll be there.
Last Fridays Poetry open mic 8 p.m. Friday, February 27, at Esquina, 4602 N. Western Ave., Chicago. I’ll be there!
Last Fridays poetry open mic tonight, January 30, 8 p.m. at Esquina event space, 4602 N. Western Ave., Chicago. See you there!
The Speculative Literature Foundation will host a Deep Dish reading at the store at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, January 3, 1373 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Come, enjoy the performances, and buy a book. I’ll be one of the readers.
Last Fridays Poetry open mic Friday, November 28, 8 p.m., at Esquina, 4602 N. Western Ave., Chicago. You’re invited! It’s a relaxed, supportive atmosphere. I’ll be reading from “Liquid Sand/Arena líquida,” a book of poetry by Jorge Valés Diáz Vélez, which I helped translate.
Protesting, canvassing, patrolling schools, delivering groceries... are just some of the ways we can help our communities be safer places for everyone in Chicago.
Deep Dish Reading at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, at After-Words Bookstore, 23 E. Illinois St., Chicago, organized by the Speculative Literature Foundation. Featuring Devi Bhaduri, Tina Jens, Philip Janowski, Brendan Detzner, Harold Holt, Katherine Ervin, Winifred Burton, and Sue Burke.
I’ll be one of the readers at this month’s Gumbo Fiction Salon, 7 p.m. Monday, October 13, upstairs at the Galway Arms Irish Bar and Restaurant, 2442 N. Clark Street, Chicago. Free Admission. This edition is a special goodbye to Tina Jens, founder of the event, who is moving to New Orleans.
Poetry open mic 8 p.m. Friday, September 26, at Esquina, 4602 N. Western Ave., Chicago. I’ll be there.
Last Fridays Poetry, August 29, 8 p.m., at Esquina Event Space, 4602 N. Western Ave., Chicago (corner of Western and Wilson Avenues). This is a small, very supportive event, and you’re welcome to come and enjoy or to read, even if you’ve never read in public before.
Open mic! Come read your poems or just come to listen. Small, supportive, welcoming to all. Last Fridays Poetry, 8 p.m. July 25, La Esquina event space, 4602 N. Western Ave., Chicago.
Last Fridays Poetry open mic Friday, May 30, 8 p.m. at Esquina Event Space, 4602 N. Western Ave., Chicago. Friendly, supportive atmosphere. See you there!
Reminder: the ebook edition of my novel USURPATION is on sale until April 6, for only $2.99, at all retailers. Usurpation is the third book in the Semiosis trilogy. @torbooks.bsky.social
The ebook edition of my novel USURPATION is on sale all this week, March 31 to April 6, for only $2.99, at all retailers. Usurpation is the third book in the Semiosis trilogy. @torbooks.bsky.social
I’ll be at the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Book Club at Linda Sokol Francis Public Library in Brookfield, Illinois, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, February 5. We’ll discuss the novel Dual Memory. New participants are welcome.
Tomorrow, Volumes Bookcafé, 1373 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Halloween costumes and book cosplay welcome!
Tonight! Deep Dish speculative fiction reading on Thursday, October 3, at 6:30 p.m. at Volumes Bookcafe, 1373 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, sponsored by the Speculative Literature Foundation. I’ll be one of the rapid-fire readers.
This book isn't available in the US yet, but a fan of Adrian Tchaikovsky in Great Britain knew I was also a fan, and he liked the book so much he arranged to have it smuggled to me.
If you come to C2E2 this Friday in Chicago, say hi! I'll also be at the Science Fiction Outreach Project, Booths 1033 and 1132, where we give away gently used and well-loved science fiction and fantasy books.