Printers Row is a historic neighborhood on the south side of Chicago’s Loop. It is also now the name of a marvelous book fair, which is held early in June each year. Last Saturday Owen Youngman, VP at the Chicago Tribune, hosted both John Wilson, of Books and Culture, probably the most widely read person I know, and me at a public forum on Finding Faith.

Then we had a little book signing.
Kris and I left home about 9am for what turned out to be a glorious weather day in the City. We found a parking spot under Millennium Park, wended our way down to the book fair, and then browsed through the books. At 11am I was scheduled to be in the green room on the 3d floor of University Center (on State Street), where I met up with John and Owen and Owen’s wife. We chatted about things “Covenant,” since both Owen and John attend Covenant churches and I teach at North Park. By noon we had found our way over to Grace Place, and our one-hour session began.
Owen asked great questions, and it was fun for me to hear John wax eloquent about the rise of religious, apocalyptic themes in novels — none of which I had read. I got to do a little chatting about Jesus Creed and The Real Mary.
Any day in the City of Chicago, talking about faith and books, is a good day. A highlight for us was that Valencia Wiggins, a colleague of Kris’ at the Wheaton College Counseling Center, made it down to the event and we had a nice, chatty lunch with her. (Well, Kris and Valencia did; I was listening.)