Author Spotlight: Ben Tanzer

Father, writer, and blogger Ben Tanzer is, as CCLaP editor Jason Pettus refers to him, arguably the hardest working man in Chicago. He is the author of the novels Lucky Man (2007), Most Likely You'll Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine (2008), You Can Make Him Like You (2011), and My Father's House (2011), the story collection Repetition Patterns (2008), the standalone story Cool, Not Removed (2010), and the collection of essays on running and writing called 99 Problems (2010).

In addition to a slew of excellent, well-recieved books under his belt, he's responsible for This Blog Will Change Your Life, the centerpiece of what he calls a "vast media empire" that encompasses book reviews (This Book Will Change Your Life), posted short fiction (This Zine Will Change Your Life) and regularly-held semi-drunken impromptu interviews with authors (This Podcast Will Change Your Life). He can also be found at a variety of reading series throughout Chicago and elsewhere, including past appearances at the very popular Orange Alert Reading Series, Reading Under the Influence, Quickies!, and So You Think You Have Nerves of Steel?

But as if all of this weren't enough for any non-superhero, Ben is also a devoted father and husband to his family, who figure prominently in his written work. His love for them, and their influence on his personality, bleeds through particularly in his newest books My Father's House and You Can Make Him Like You. He is an avid runner, and when I say "avid" I mean, "borderline obsessive", if, that is, his fascinating commentary about running and writing 99 Problems is to be believed. Given what's already on his plate, we can only presume he runs from 2:30-4:30 AM while the rest of us are just entering REM sleep. Incredibly, and this is an achievement that even he modestly plays down, he also just won an Emmy award for co-writing an award-winning public service announcement to help prevent child abuse.