Narrative 4 Co-Founders Colum McCann and Luis Alberto Urrea to Appear at the 29th Annual Chicago Tribune Printers Row Lit Fest, Joined by N4 Honorary Committee Member, Sting...

Grammy award-winning musician and Narrative 4 Honorary Committee member Sting is scheduled to join authors Colum McCann and Luis Alberto Urrea at Chicago Tribuneā€™s Printers Row Lit Fest ā€“ the largest free outdoor literary event in the Midwest - on Saturday, June 8. The three will participate in a discussion about the launch of Narrative 4 and the "How to Be a Man" initiative, which will be featured in the June/July "How to be a Man" issue of Esquire magazine, on newsstands May 28.

Narrative 4, co-founded by McCann and Urrea, along with Executive Director Lisa Consiglio, is comprised of a group of writers, musicians, educators, students, artists and activists dedicated to creating global social change through storytelling. To help launch this initiative, some of the worldā€™s greatest writers were asked by N4 and Esquire to submit an original story around the theme of "How to Be a Man." Sting, McCann and Urrea will all be on-hand to share their own "How to Be a Man" stories during the Printers Row Lit Fest program.

"I am delighted that Sting will join us onstage in Chicago to help promote the local programs and global alliances that Narrative 4 is creating alongside Esquire magazine, Luis Urrea and hundreds of authors, activists, artists, and educators," said McCann. "There's no better artist - and no better city - to make music through storytelling."

Sting, McCann and Urrea will appear at noon on Saturday, June 8, at the Harold Washington Library Center. The event is free but tickets are required. Tickets will be available to members of the Printers Row literary program on May 20 and to the general public on May 27. The full Printers Row Lit Fest schedule, with ticketing information, has just been released at printersrowlitfest.org.

Other headliners at this year's two-day literary festival include 2013 Chicago Tribune Young Adult Literary Prize winner Judy Blume, acclaimed young adult author Blue Balliett, graphic artist Art Spiegelman, chefs Art Smith and Rick Bayless and many more. Held in the historic Printers Row neighborhood between Dearborn and Polk Streets, the festival runs June 8 from 10am ā€“ 10pm and June 9 from 10am ā€“ 6pm.

Sting has earned 16 Grammy Awards throughout his solo career and during his time with The Police. He has authored two books including the New York Times best-selling memoir, Broken Music and is a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Colum McCann is the author of the newly released TransAtlantic, as well as five other novels and two collections of stories. He is the recipient of many international honors, including the National Book Award, several European awards, the 2010 Best Foreign Novel Award in China, and an Oscar nomination. McCann is best known for his novel Let the Great World Spin.

Best-selling author Luis Alberto Urrea is known for using his life experiences to explore themes of love, loss and triumph. The acclaimed writer of 13 books has won numerous awards for his poetry, fiction and essays, including The Hummingbirdā€™s Daughter. Urrea was a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for his non-fiction piece The Devilā€™s Highway.

For more information on N4 and the "How to Be a Man" project, visit narrative4.com on or after May 28. An excerpt -on the collection of stories will be published in the June/July issue of Esquire, due to be released on the same day.

About Printers Row Lit Fest
More than 150 booksellers from across the country display and sell new, used and antiquarian books during the two-day Chicago Tribune Printers Row Lit Fest. All events are free, but tickets must be reserved in advance for select programs.

Visit printersrowlitfest.org for more information. CSPAN2's Book TV is scheduled to broadcast live on location during both days of the festival.

About Chicago Tribune Media Group
Chicago Tribune Media Group publishes the Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago Tribune as well as related print and interactive media serving Chicagoland such as RedEye, Hoy, Triblocal, The Mash, chicagotribune.com, triblocal.com and metromix.com.