A Brief History
I can trace my love for storytelling to when I was 11. Having by then lived in Ukraine, Austria, Italy, NY and Chicago, I had amassed a fair amount of pen pals; 13 to be exact. Every day I would race home after school to see if I had gotten a new letter and then would spend hours writing long essays back to each one.
I went on to study journalism at Indiana University to pursue this love of writing and began my career in radio for WNDZ Chicago writing news copy, headlines and eventually anchoring a show I helped to create called, "The Russia Hour." From there, I went on to write for newspapers and magazines. As a columnist for the Daily Herald, for several years I penned and photographed "Lake County Life." I then went on to write for Pioneer Press, first under the Chicago Sun-Times and then the Chicago Tribune umbrellas.
As a dining columnist, over the past 15 years I've reviewed, photographed and tasted my way through the cuisines of more than 300 Chicago area restaurants for my column Table Hopping, and I told readers all about the good deeds accomplished by philanthropic organizations across the city in my column, Social Studies. I also began writing and photographing for 22nd Century Media's Going Out In Style sections, Better Magazine and JWC Media’s Sheridan Road, Forest & Bluff, Hinsdale Living and Country magazines.
In 2002 I founded Dreamation Studios and CINEME International Animation Festival, making Chicago the first city in the US to play host to a 100% animation festival.
And these days I use my voice as my calling card...
Lee Litas
