Dear Friends of Women & Children First, |
We have a full calendar of Pride events for all ages and all kinds of readers! Of course, for us, this is not unique to the month of June. As brutal legislation and hateful book bans rip across the country, Women & Children First remains unwavering in its mission to center and amplify LGBTQIA+ books, authors, and events all year-round.
The warm weather has us propping open the front door and preparing for MIDSOMMARFEST! Andersonville's annual summer street festival runs June 9 through 11 this year. So whether you're a person who likes to avoid crowds, or the kind who loves to join them, mark your calendars!
Help us get books to our new neighbors! We're working with a coalition of groups in Albany Park to collect Spanish-language kids' books for asylum seekers arriving in Chicago. Buy a book from their WISHLIST or stop by the bookstore to donate!
With love & gratitude,
W&CF
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Happy (belated) Teacher Appreciation Week! Last year, thanks to our community we were able to give 10 teachers six books each for their classroom libraries. (See the books so happy in their new home!!)
Help us do it again this year! We are collecting contributions HERE to fulfill teachers' classroom library wish lists. We have received many nominations and want to get as many books as possible to Chicago schools! |
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WOW! Thank you to everyone who took our masking survey. We were overwhelmed by the number of thoughtful responses. We're continuing to work toward staff consensus —this is hard, y'all—and will keep you updated! In the meantime, please consider donating a box of masks the next time you're in the store. You can also contribute to the Women's Voices Fund to help support our effort to supply free masks to event attendees.
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Wednesday, June 7 at 10:30 a.m.
Monthly Story Time with Miss Linda!
Join us for in-person story time with Miss Linda! This ongoing program is held the first Wednesday of every month. Doors open at 10:15 am. Stories start at 10:30 a.m.
Story time is designed for 2-to-5-year-olds who are ready to sit, listen, and participate, but children of all ages are welcome. W&CF Co-Founder Linda Bubon reads and performs 5 or more stories along with songs and finger plays. Story time is free, but cash donations are appreciated.
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Fri, Jun 2, 2023 6:00 PM CST
In-Store: DYKETTE by Jenny Fran Davis
Women & Children First,
Chicago
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Join us for an in-person event celebrating Dykette by Jenny Fran Davis. For this event, Jenny will be in conversation with Rivka Yeker!
An addictive, absurd, and darkly hilarious debut novel about a young woman who embarks on a ten-day getaway with her partner and another queer couple.
Sasha and Jesse are professionally creative, erotically adventurous, and passionately dysfunctional twentysomethings making a life together in Brooklyn. When a pair of older, richer lesbians—prominent news host Jules Todd and her psychotherapist partner, Miranda—invites Sasha and Jesse to their country home for the holidays, they’re quick to accept.
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Mon, Jun 5, 2023 7:00 PM CST
Off-Site: RAW DOG: THE NAKED TRUTH ABOUT HOT DOGS by Jamie Loftus
Haymarket House,
Chicago
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Please join us at Haymarket House for an in-person event celebrating the release of Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs by Jamie Loftus! Just announced, Loftus will be in conversation with Jill Hopkins!
Part travelogue, part culinary history, all capitalist critique—comedian Jamie Loftus's debut, Raw Dog, will take you on a cross-country road trip in the summer of 2021 and reveal what the creation, culture, and class influence of hot dogs says about America now.
Hot dogs. Poor people created them. Rich people found a way to charge fifteen dollars for them. They’re high culture, they’re low culture, they’re sports food, they’re kids' food, they’re hangover food, and they’re deeply American, despite having no basis whatsoever in America's Indigenous traditions. You can love them, you can hate them, but you can’t avoid the great American hot dog.
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Wed, Jun 7, 2023 7:00 PM CST
In-Store: SAME TIME NEXT SUMMER by Annabel Monaghan
Women & Children First,
Chicago
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Please join us for an in-store event celebrating the release of Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan! For this event, Annabel will be joined in conversation by Katie of @beachreadsandbubbly.
The ultimate summer nostalgia read, about an engaged woman who comes face to face with her first love who she hasn't seen in fourteen years, but who she spent every summer with from age five to seventeen when he broke her heart, calling into question everything she thought she knew about their love story, and herself.
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Thu, Jun 8, 2023 7:00 PM CST
In-Store: I AM ACE Panel
Women & Children First,
Chicago
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Please join us for this exciting in-person event! The I Am Ace panel will feature Cody Daigle-Orians, Ashabi Owagboriaye, Bruce Owens Grimm, and moderation by Adam Rhodes.
How do I know if I'm actually sexual? How do I come out as asexual? What kinds of relationship can I have as an ace person?
If you are looking for answers to these questions, Cody and crew are here to help. Within these pages lie all the advice you need as a questioning ace teen.
Tackling everything from what asexuality is; the asexual spectrum and tips on coming out; to intimacy, relationships, acephobia and finding joy; this guide will help you better understand your asexual identity. Whether you are ace, demi, gray-ace, or not sure yet, this book will give you the courage and confidence to embrace your authentic self and live your best ace life.
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Mon, Jun 12, 2023 7:00 PM CST
In-Store: MADDALENA AND THE DARK by Julia Fine
Women & Children First,
Chicago
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Please join us for an in-person event celebrating the release of Maddalena and the Dark by Julia Fine! For this event, Julia will be in conversation with Jessamine Chan.
Venice, 1717. Fifteen-year-old Luisa has only wanted one thing: to be the best at violin. As a student at the prestigious Ospedale della Pietà, she hopes to join the highest ranks of its illustrious girls’ orchestra and become a protégé of the great Antonio Vivaldi. Luisa is drawn to Maddalena and a dangerous wager. Perfect for readers of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and Mexican Gothic! “A sumptuous feast of a novel, rich and strange and heady. Julia Fine is an extraordinary writer.” —Kelly Link, bestselling author of Get In Trouble
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Tue, Jun 13, 2023 7:00 PM CST
In-Store: RAINBOW PARENTING by Lindz Amer
Women & Children First,
Chicago
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Please join us for an in-person event to celebrate the release of Rainbow Parenting: Your Guide To Raising Queer Kids and Their Allies by Lindz Amer! For this event, Lindz will be joined in conversation by Andy Passichier.
An essential guide for parents and caregivers to raising queer-friendly children in a gender-affirming space.
In the face of so many injustices across society for LGBTQ+ people, it can be easy for parents of young children to feel helpless and hopeless. While they may not be able to address every problem across the country, there's a simple place to start: right at home.
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Wed, Jun 14, 2023 10:30 AM CST
Queer Kids Storytime with Lindz Amer!
Women & Children First,
Chicago
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Join Lindz Amer, the award-winning LGBTQ+ activist, author of Rainbow Parenting, and co-host of their beloved indie web series, Queer Kid Stuff, for songs and stories that celebrate the LGBTQ+ community for pride all year round.
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Wed, Jun 14, 2023 7:00 PM CST
In-Store Storytelling Show: YOU'RE BEING RIDICULOUS: PRIDE
Women & Children First,
Chicago
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This month the expertly curated storytelling show You’re Being Ridiculous celebrates Queer Pride at Women & Children First! These funny, true stories will represent a diverse range of folks, who stand proudly on different points on the LGBTQIA spectrum.
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Fri, Jun 16, 2023 7:00 PM CST
Off-Site Event: LOVE, THEORETICALLY by Ali Hazelwood
Chicago Waldorf School,
Chicago
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We're thrilled to host Ali Hazelwood for a conversation and book-signing to celebrate the release of Love, Theoretically! For this event, Ali will be joined by authors Danielle Jackson, Sonali Dev, and Shirlene Obuobi!
Rival physicists collide in a vortex of academic feuds and fake dating shenanigans in this delightfully STEMinist Romcom from the New York Times-bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis and Love on the Brain.
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Wed, Jun 21, 2023 7:00 PM CST
In-Store: THE WATER WE SWIM IN by Christian Aldana
Women & Children First,
Chicago
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Please join us for an in-person event celebrating The Water We Swim In by Christian Aldana! For this event, Chris will be joined by Raych Jackson, Czaerra Galicinao Ucol, and Janice Lobo Sapigao.
Christian Aldana's debut poetry collection, The Water We Swim In, is an ode to radical care. Through community organizing and deeply held love, Aldana follows in the footsteps of Grace Lee Boggs against a carceral state. They champion safety for all who need it while challenging the waters of our time, this state in which protection is needed. Aldana questions the broken system and shows us an alternative future well within our grasp.
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Thu, Jun 22, 2023 12:00 PM CST
Virtual Event: WILD THINGS by Laura Kay
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Please join us for a virtual event to celebrate the release of Wild Things by Laura Kay. For this conversation Laura will be in conversation with Ashley Herring Blake!
El is in a rut. She’s been hiding in the photocopier room at the same dead-end job for longer than she cares to remember, she’s sharing a flat with a girl who leaves passive-aggressive smiley face notes on the fridge about milk consumption and, worst of all, she’s been in unrequited love with her best friend, effortlessly cool lesbian Ray, for years.
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Sun, Jun 25, 2023 10:30 AM CST
Chicago's Official Drag Story Hour with Special Guest Juno Dawson!
Women & Children First,
Chicago
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Join us for our monthly Drag Story Hour with our beloved host Mrs. Yuka and special guest, author Juno Dawson! Juno will be reading and signing copies of her new picture book, You Need to Chill!
Drag Story Hour celebrates reading through the glamorous art of drag. Each chapter network creates diverse, accessible, and culturally inclusive family programming where kids can express their authentic selves and become bright lights of change in their communities.
If you can't make story hour this time around, don't worry! We'll be hosting Drag Story Hour on the fourth Sunday of every month.*
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Mon, Jun 26, 2023 7:00 PM CST
In-Store: THE TERRAFORMERS by Annalee Newitz
Women & Children First,
Chicago
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Please join us for an in-person event celebrating The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz. For this event, Annalee will be in conversation with Mary Anne Mohanraj.
From science fiction visionary Annalee Newitz comes The Terraformers, a sweeping, uplifting, and illuminating exploration of the future.
Destry's life is dedicated to terraforming Sask-E. As part of the Environmental Rescue Team, she cares for the planet and its burgeoning eco-systems as her parents and their parents did before her.
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Save-the-Dates
Wednesday, July 5 at 10:30 a.m.
Story time with Miss Linda
Monday, July 10 at 7 p.m.
Christine Sneed
Elizabeth McKenzie
Virtual Author Conversation via Zoom
Wednesday, July 12 at 7 p.m.
Haley Jakobson
In-person Author Reading
Wednesday, July 19 at 7 p.m.
Eliza Hull, editor
Virtual Author Conversation
Friday, July 21 at 7 p.m.
Beth Nguyen
In-person Author Conversation
Friday, July 28 - Sunday, July 30
Andersonville Summer Sidewalk Sale
We'll be hosting a BIG fundraiser for our Women's Voices Fund
with our first-ever
Clean Out the Basement Sale!
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Women & Children First Book Groups |
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Wide Sargasso Sea
Tuesday, June 27
at 7 p.m.
(Hybrid: in-person and Zoom)
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Trespassers
Thursday, June 15, 2023
at 4:30 p.m.
(via Zoom)
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Fever Dream
Tuesday, June 20
at 7:30 p.m. (Hybrid: in-person and Zoom)
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Recollections of My Nonexistence
Sunday, June 11
at 10 a.m.
(In-person meeting)
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Tomb of Sand
Sunday, July 9
at 2 p.m.
(In-person meeting)
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