 Messinger was also the editor of "THISisGRAND", a web magazine chronicling true stories on Chicago's public transit.He has toured extensively in Canada and the United States, and is the creator and host of "The Dollar Store Reading Series", a successful monthly show where he hands out items purchased for a dollar to writers and comedians, who then use the item as inspiration for stories.Messinger's first published collection of short stories, "Hiding Out", was released in 2007 through Featherproof books, an independent publisher which he cofounded in 2005 in combination with fellow writer Zach Dodson.