Hello Chicagoland!

Our regular monthly meetings are held online the fourth Wednesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. Central Time. The November and December meetings are combined into a single meeting due to the holidays.

Meetings are open to EFA members in good standing, guests of members, or those with a guest membership—but registration is both required and limited.

Hyperlocal meetups and events are held in person throughout the year. If you’re interested in being an organizer of or attending a meetup in your neighborhood, suburb, or city, check out scheduled meetups below or email us to find out more.

We look forward to meeting you!

Sincerely,

Kandy Hopkins and Susan Barnes
EFA Chicagoland Chapter Co-coordinators

JOIN US

Want to join the Chicagoland Chapter? It’s easy! And you don’t have to live in Illinois; we have members from across North America. To join, either sign up for our e-newsletter via the archive (and read past issues) or email us to let us know you want to be added to our mailing list. Please note that the e-newsletter is open to non-EFA members.

SAVE THE DATE(S)

Future meeting dates and times:

• MAR 23 | in person | North Side Chicago meetup in Lincoln Park
  Saturday, March 23, 1 p.m. CT [RSVP for details]
• MAR 27 | online | Burnout, Overwhelm, & Sustainability for Long-Term Success, with Becca Syme
  Wednesday, March 27, 5:30–7 p.m. CT [register here]
• APR 24 | online | Nuts & Bolts of Legal Issues for Writers/Illinois Freelance Worker Protection Act, with Steve Baron
  Wednesday, April 24, 5:30–7 p.m. CT [register here]
• MAY 22 | online | Networking Meeting
  Wednesday, May 22, 5:30–7 p.m. CT
• JUN 26 | online | Making Selling Easy—Without Getting Sleazy, with Annie Ruggles
  Wednesday, June 26, 5:30–7 p.m. CT
• JUL 24 | online | Networking Meeting
  Wednesday, July 24, 5:30–7 p.m. CT
• AUG 28 | online | How to Actually Finish Your Entire To-Do List THIS WEEK, with Jennie Mustafa-Julock
  Wednesday, Aug. 28, 5:30–7 p.m. CT

Do you have a suggestion for a speaker or topic? Let us know!

Past events:

2024

• FEB | in person | North Side Chicago meetup in Lincoln Park
• FEB | online | Networking meeting
• JAN | in person | North Side Chicago meetup in Lincoln Park
• JAN | online | All About Contracts

2023

• DEC | in person | North Side Chicago meetup in Lincoln Park
• NOV | online| Networking & Brainstorming Meeting
• NOV | in person| North Side Chicago meetup in Lincoln Park
• OCT | online| Is This Thing On? Podcasting 101 for Freelance Editors
• SEP | in person | North Side Chicago meetup in Lincoln Park
• SEP | online | Getting Editorial Work From Book Publishers
• SEP | booth | Printers Row Lit Fest
• AUG | in person | North Side Chicago meetup
• JUL | in person | North Side Chicago meetup
• JUL | online | Antisemitism in Fiction & Fantasy: Help Clients Avoid Unintentional Harm
• JUN | in person | North Side Chicago meetup
• MAY | in person | North Side Chicago meetup
• MAY | in person | N & NW Suburbs meetup
• MAY | online | Networking and General Discussion
• APR | in person | North Side Chicago meetup
  
• APR | in person | W & S Sides Chicago meetup
• MAR | online | Networking and General Discussion
• MAR | in person | North Side Chicago meetup
• MAR | in person | N & NW Suburbs meetup
• FEB | in person | North Side Chicago meetup
• FEB | online | The Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How of Indexing as a Freelancer
• JAN | online | Editors as Writers: How Blogs and Books Fit into a Freelance Editing Business

2022

• NOV | November Networking & 2023 Brainstorming Session
• SEP | in person (booth) | Printers Row Lit Fest
• AUG | Pay Yourself First
• JUL | Networking and General Discussion
• JUN | in person (informal chat) | A Conversation With Carol Saller
• MAY | Workshop: How to Write a Social Media Bio
• APR | Website Peer Review
• MAR | in person (tour) | Field Trip to the Hemingway Birthplace Museum
• FEB | The Challenges and Joys in Working With First-Time Authors
• JAN | Trivia Night

2021

• NOV | Reframing the Way We Network
• OCT | The Where, What, and How of Building Your Freelance Business Website
• SEP | in person (booth) | Printers Row Lit Fest
• AUG | Networking and General Discussion
• JUL | Networking and General Discussion
• JUN | PRO Act Update
• MAY | Red Flag Clients
• APR | The Six Ps of LinkedIn Success
• MAR | Brainstorming session
• FEB | Getting the Most From Your EFA Membership
• JAN | Welcome to the EFA Chicagoland Chapter, First Virtual Meeting