Jonathan Messinger is a writer, book critic, and the editor of Public Spend Forum, a public sector

procurement Procurement is the method of discovering and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, Service (economics), services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. When a government agenc ...

blog that is part of Spend Matters Group. He is also the writer and producer of the Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian, a children's science fiction podcast. He was formerly Time Out Chicago's books editor and Web editor for Time Out Chicago Kids. Jonathan was born in Boston, Massachusetts and lives in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, USA. He has contributed his fiction writing to the journal

McSweeney's McSweeney's Publishing is an American non-profit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco. Initially publishing the literary journal'' Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', the company has moved to n ...

, among many other major and alternative publications. While at

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...

he was the editor of the student magazine ''The Wheatbread''. Messinger was also the editor of ''THISisGRAND'', a web magazine chronicling true stories on Chicago's public transit. He has toured extensively in Canada and the United States, and is the creator and host of ''The Dollar Store Reading Series'', a successful monthly show where he hands out items purchased for a dollar to writers and comedians, who then use the item as inspiration for stories. Messinger's first published collection of short stories, ''Hiding Out'', was released in 2007 through

Featherproof books Featherproof Books is a small, independent publisher based in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 2005 by Jonathan Messinger and Zach Dodson. They publish perfect bound novels, short story collections and other works, and offer "mini-books" of s ...

, an independent publisher which he cofounded in 2005 in combination with fellow writer Zach Dodson. The general critical response was positive. Mark Eleveld in

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

, Donna Seaman in

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

and Kevin Sampsell in

The Portland Mercury ''Portland Mercury'' is an alternative bi-weekly newspaper and media company founded in 2000 in Portland, Oregon. It has a sibling publication in Seattle, Washington, called '' The Stranger''. Contributors and staff Editor-in-chief: Wm. Steven ...

were impressed, whereas a more mixed review was published in

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

. He has written four books based on his Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian podcast, which is also being adapted as a TV movie. Jonathan is on adjunct staff at

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

Novels

* ''Hiding Out'' -

2007

External links

an interview (everydayyeah.com)

Featherproof books

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Messinger, Jonathan Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American non-fiction writers Writers from Chicago Clark University alumni