BHH Hosts A Conversation With Acclaimed Chicago Author Rebecca Makkai And Chicago Reader Publisher Tracy Baim

On June 4, 2020 BHH hosted a live virtual discussion with acclaimed author Rebecca Makkai about her novel The Great Believers, a powerful story about the AIDS epidemic in Chicago told through the lives of fictional art lovers, journalists and the members of their families and community who suffered together. Chicago Reader publisher Tracy Baim led the discussion, revealing details about the inspiration for the novel, Makkai’s research process and how the story resonates in the midst of the current pandemic. Makkai credited Baim and Owen Keehen who have “done much of the heavy lifting in recording Chicago’s gay history.” Makkai “found their journalism and books incredibly helpful” and describes “the online archives and oral histories available through the Windy City Times” for which Baim largely responsible “a treasure.”  Makkai is also the author of The Hundred-Year House, and The Borrower, as well as the short story collection Music for Wartime. The Great Believers was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, and received the ALA Carnegie Medal and the LA Times Book Prize, among other honors. Rebecca is on the MFA faculties of Sierra Nevada College and Northwestern University, and she is Artistic Director of StoryStudio Chicago. Baim is also  the cofounder and owner of The Windy City Times, Chicago’s oldest and only LGBTQ newspaper. She has written several books and is the Executive Producer of two films. The discussion was an engaging respite in these challenging times. BHH extends heartfelt gratitude to Rebecca Makkai, Tracy Baim and the many friends of the firm who attending the event.