Balancing Act: At Lit Fest, conversations about love, healing and surviving horrific violence

I'm about to come face-to-face with a whole lot of courage, and I hope you can join me.

Next weekend, June 9-10, is the 34th annual Chicago Tribune Printers Row Lit Fest, a celebration of words and the people who make a living from them. I'll be in conversation with three authors: David Levithan, who is receiving the Tribune's Young Adult Literary Award, Michelle Knight, author of "Life After Darkness," and Winnie M Li, author of "Dark Chapter."

Levithan, a champion for diversity in teen literature,