Chicago Author Dennis Foley, Evergreen Park's John Roche to Sign New Books Sunday Afternoon at Open Outcry

There’s a kind of Chicago grit under Beverly author Dennis Foley’s fingernails that soils his keyboard and transfers to the pages of his books.

The celebrated local writer of The Drunkard’s Son and The Streets and San Man’s Guide to Chicago Eats renews his love affair with Chicago characters, their flaws, strengths and eccentricities.

Sleeping Bears – A Modern Christmas Carol – will tap the emotions of even the hardcore Southsider who seeks books that find humor in the macabre, require a leap of faith and walk heroes and heroines through hell fire to reach an ending.

Foley will sign his latest soft cover book at Open Outcry Sunday afternoon, Nov. 8, 2026 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The former standout athlete and coach chose a day in which the other Bears from Chicago are scheduled for a Sunday night contest.

Open Outcry will host its popular Sunday brunch and then set up for the book signing with the bar and kitchen open for patrons. Foley will pop for the first 20 pizzas out of the ovens.

“Book signings on the South side are better than wakes because you can see so many friends from the old parishes and neighborhoods, but nobody died,” Foley said. “And everyone goes home happy. In this case to watch those other Bears.”

As the house fills up Foley will do a reading in his own rich Chicagoese – a linguist’s dream sample from “da neighborhood.”

While the reading selections will give away some of the plot, the book’s storyline unfolds in a mysterious manner through a tight-lipped Irishman from the Ol’ Sod, his daughter who took up boxing to toughen up her beloved brother and other main characters who remain in the shadows of yesteryear until their unveilings.

Along the ride, old Irish Jack, the single parent, is visited by ghosts in his Canaryville home, a modest bungalow with creaking stairs and living room furniture accommodating the night owl who falls asleep on any given night in a chair or big old sofa, where dream weavers seek prey.

Foley’s nod to Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol is a less dark take than the light-of-day reality of Jack’s life.The reader is introduced to such ghastly and ghostly characters as Mayor Richard J. Daley, dressed to the nines and dancing a jig as if played by Jimmy Cagney. Upstaging King Richard, Honest Abe Lincoln makes an appearance at 3 a.m.

The final spirit, from which all Jack’s decisions evolve, brings the reader closer to the family’s deepest secrets.

Special Guest John Roche with his book "Boots"

Foley will also have a special guest on hand. He and his cousin Kevin Roche dutifully gathered an oral history on tape from war veteran John Roche, 80, who shared his memories of Vietnam.

A Leo graduate, Roche and his son taped hours of conversation over a six-year period, packaged as a memoir:

• BOOTS, A Vietnam Vet Muses on the War and Life as told to Kevin Roche and Dennis Foley. One of Roche’s sons is scheduled to read a passage Sunday afternoon.

"I enjoyed working with my uncle on his memoir,” Foley said “He's a great storyteller and I'm happy to see him have his day in the sun. He deserves it."

Beverly author Dennis Foley will sign his latest book, Sleeping Bears, at Open Outcry Sunday afternoon, Nov. 8, 2026 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Open Outcry is located at 10934 South Western Avenue in Chicago.