“Girls” creator Lena Dunham booked for Chicago Humanities Festival

The Chicago Humanities Festival (CHF) will be harnessing “Girls” power for the kickoff event of its 2014 Fall Festival season.

Lena Dunham, the creator, writer and star of the hugely popular HBO television series, “Girls,” will be the focus of an event titled “Lena Dunham: Not That Kind of Girl,” during which she will discuss her upcoming book of essays with the show’s executive producer, Jenni Konner. The program is scheduled for Oct. 6 at 6 p.m. at the Thorne Auditorium, Northwestern University School of Law, 375 E. Chicago.

Tickets ($35, including a signed copy of Dunham’s book, “Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s ‘Learned’,” set for a Sept. 30 release), are now on sale to CHF members, and are on sale now. They can be purchased online at www.chicagohumanities.org or by calling the CHF box office at (312) 494-9509.

For those who think they can open for her, check out her book tour site at lenaunham.com and submit a video for the opportunity.

At the age of 23, Dunham, a graduate of Oberlin College, wrote, directed and starred in the multi-award-winning film, “Tiny Furniture” (2010). She quickly went on to become the creator, executive producer, writer, and star of “Girls.”

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Producer and writer Konner, who began her career with the celebrated Fox television series, “Undeclared,” and is currently co-executive producer of “Girls,” and, along with Dunham, co-founder of the production company, A Casual Romance, is currently at work on a documentary about the illustrator Hillary Knight. In addition, Konner and Dunham are developing a project based on the life and work of Bergdorf Goodman personal shopper and icon, Betty Halbreich.

As previously announced, the CHF season will include a special public event with New York Times columnist and author David Brooks (Oct. 21), as part of the CHF Gala Benefit. And the 25th anniversary Festival, which will explore the theme of Journeys ( Oct. 25–Nov. 9), will feature such presenters as: Author and editor Roxane Gay; jazz composer-pianist Vijay Iyer; filmmaker Guy Maddin; jazz vocalist René Marie; comedian and “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” panelist Paula Poundstone; Top Chef Masters winner Marcus Samuelsson; graphic novelist Marjane Satrapi; TV/film actress Victoria Tennant; and author/playwright Colm Tóibín.

A complete Fall Festival schedule will be released in August at chicagohumanities.org/journeys. Tickets to the 25th anniversary Chicago Humanities Festival go on sale to CHF members on Sept. 2 and to the general public on Sept. 8.