Chicago’s literary scene is, in a word, “lit”: from the Midwest’s largest free outdoor literary festival to pop-up typewritten poetry encounters to the nation’s only museum devoted to American writers, our city is bursting with bookish delights. Not least of which are the more than 30 independent Chicago bookstores serving readers in neighborhoods from Rogers Park to Beverly, providing community and personalized recommendations for your next read.
This column highlights several exciting author events tied to new book releases, hosted by bookstores across the city in the coming month. For more ideas, I’m confident the staff at your local bookstore will be happy to tell you how you can stay connected with fellow devotees of the written word.
Conversation with KB Brookins about Pretty: A Memoir
Tuesday, July 2, at 7pm at Women & Children First, 5233 N. Clark St., Chicago
Event registration is free and required HERE
I first met KB Brookins at the Tin House Summer Workshop, where they read from their debut poetry collection Freedom House, a fierce and unflinching work that subsequently won the American Library Association’s Barbara Gittings Literature Award. Brookins’ new memoir, Pretty, was recently published by Knopf, and they’re in Chicago on July 2, for a conversation with Kemi Alabi at Women & Children First that is sure to be insightful and empowering.
Even as Pretty shines a light on the beauty and toxicity of Black masculinity from a transgender perspective, it is as much a powerful and tender love letter as it is a call for change. Brookins writes that their “life's work as a writer, workshop facilitator, and cultural worker is to make Black people, queer people, and masculine people fall in love with who they are and shed the daily violence of betraying themselves and others." The memoir is informed by Brookins’ personal experiences growing up Black, queer, and transgender in Texas; rather than simply recounting each traumatic event, Brookins reflects on the inequities and colonial systems that enable such things to occur, challenging readers to be part of the solution. I found much to learn and relate to in this memoir of identity and self-acceptance. As Brookins says, “Every day that I wake up able to live the life I do, I know that I'm walking uncharted territory: the newly self-acquired land of my body.” May we all be so fearless.
Book release event for Until Next Summer by Ali Brady
Tuesday, July 9, at 7pm at Volumes Bookcafe, 1373 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
Free event registration with optional book pre-sale HERE
Until Next Summer is the third book from Ali Brady, pen name of the “writing BFFs” Bradeigh Godfrey and Chicago-based Alison Hammer. In their latest romance, two former best friends each find love at an adults-only summer camp sure to induce nostalgia among any reader who was a “camp person” in their youth (or wished they had been). This free event with the authors at Volumes Bookcafe celebrates the book’s official publication July 9, by Berkley, and promises “coveted pre-order swag” and other treats for attendees who pre-purchase the book when making their reservations online.
Storytime with Natasha Anastasia Tarpley (Keyana Loves School)
Saturday, July 13, at 10:30am at 57th Street Books, 1301 E. 57th St., Chicago
Free event registration HERE
Long before the #OwnVoices movement spread across social media (and beyond) to bring greater attention to kids’ literature written by authors of diverse backgrounds, Chicago-based author Natasha Anastasia Tarpley wrote a picture book titled I Love My Hair! Twenty-five years later, this acclaimed book celebrating Black childhood and natural beauty is a staple on school and library reading lists across the country. The central character in the book inspired Tarpley’s new picture book series, Keyana Loves… Tarpley presents a special storytime event for families at 57th Street Books on July 13, to share her latest book in the series, Keyana Loves School, which will be published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in July. The book is illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow and follows Keyana as she completes a class project about the people and places she loves at school.
Authors on Tap with Santiago Jose Sanchez (Hombrecito)
Thursday, July 18, at 7pm at Exile in Bookville, 410 S. Michigan Ave. (Second Floor), Chicago
Free event registration HERE
Located on the second floor of Chicago’s historic Fine Arts Building, Exile in Bookville’s Authors on Tap series hosts authors in conversations about their new books, from national bestsellers to debut novelists on their way to becoming household names—like Colombian American writer Santiago Jose Sanchez. A Lambda Literary Fellow, Sanchez will discuss their debut novel, Hombrecito, at an event at the bookstore on July 18, in conversation with Richie Hofmann. Published by Riverhead Books in June, Hombrecito (“little man”) tells the story of a Columbian American immigrant who embraces his queer identity while grappling with a fraught, tangled relationship with his mother, who essentially disappears from his life until a family trip to Columbia years later. Based on personal experience, Authors on Tap events usually come with a complimentary glass of wine or beer, for those so inclined.
Looking ahead: Film Adaptation Book Club screening of True Grit
Wednesday, August 7, at 7pm (doors at 6pm.)
Presented by Bookie’s at the Lyric Theater, 12952 S. Western Ave., Chicago
Purchase joint book/movie screening tickets HERE
Next month, Bookie’s bookstore presents a screening of Joel Coen and Ethan Coen’s True Grit (2010) with the Lyric Theater as the next installment of their Film Adaptation Book Club. Tickets are $25 and include a copy of the original 1968 novel by Charles Portis, which can be picked up at Bookie’s before or after the movie screening. Bookie’s is the only independent bookstore in the Beverly neighborhood on the Far South Side, and recently shared that they need support from the community to keep their doors open. This film event is worth checking out, but Bookie’s has been selling new and used books for more than 35 years—so add the shop to your list, too! They are located just up the street from the theater at 10324 S. Western Avenue.
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