Attend an Upcoming Event

Join us for a powerful night of readings, featuring five incredible Black authors with recent releases:

• Sandra Jackson-Opoku, author of Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes

• Rita Woods, author of The Edge of Yesterday

• James Stewart III, author of Defiant Acts

• Nancy Johnson, author of People of Means

• Faylita Hicks, author of A Map of My Want

Organized in collaboration with Exhibit B, this special evening uplifts Black literature, Chicagoland voices, and stories that speak to survival, belonging, memory, and imagination.

Join us for our first book club! We’ll discuss How to Read a Book by Monica Wood – a story of three characters whose lives intersect one morning at a local bookstore: a women recently released from prison after serving time for a drunk-driving accident, a woman who runs the book group at the prison, and a man whose wife was the victim of the crash. Register here and receive a 10% discount on your copy of the book. Tickets are free.

There’s something inspiring about writing among other writers – and while surrounded by books! Join us for an after-hours write-in at the bookshop. There will be time to chat for a bit at the start, followed by quiet writing with an optional prompt in case you need something to get your pen moving. Bring your laptop or notebook and we’ll make progress on our writing projects together.

Tickets are free. Registration opens on September 1.

The Nineteenth Century Charitable Association will be hosting a special program with MK Pritzker, the First Lady of Illinois, on the history and restoration of the Illinois Governor’s Mansion. Working with acclaimed interior designer Michael S. Smith, Pritzker has brought a carefully curated collection of fine art, crafts, and furniture to the Italianate–Greek Revival mansion, and has researched and documented the mansion’s cultural history and changing architecture since 1855.

• Purchase tickets at nineteenthcentury.org →
• Get your copy of A House That Made History →

If you purchase a copy of A House That Made History, you will receive it at the event.

Join us in collaboration with The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) as we explore how to discover, design and develop your world. We will cover topics like rules, geography, culture and timelines. Then we will dive deep into creating your main character, be it a hero or villain. We’ll end our discussion on how to create your hook. Come prepared to write! Free and open to the public.

Sip freshly brewed coffee or cold brew while you shop for your next read! Swelter Coffee is a local, woman-owned brand featuring ethically sourced coffee from women producers.

Join us in collaboration with Housing Forward for a conversation with legal advocate and author Maria Foscarinis, founder of the National Homelessness Law Center and a leading voice in housing justice. In her new book, And Housing For All, she argues that only by recognizing housing as a fundamental human right can we end homelessness in America.

Drawing on more than three decades of personal stories and advocacy work, Foscarinis offers insight into why past efforts have failed and what will change as we enter a new era of federal leadership. Following her conversation with WBEZ Communities Reporter Esther Yoon-Ji Kang, Foscarinis will be available for an audience Q&A, and a post event reception and book signing. Free and open to the public.

Local Chicagoland authors Beth and Kathleen Rooney read from their debut picture book Leaf Town Forever. The book, illustrated by Betsy Bowen, is based on a true story and tells a gentle tale of a town created by children with vivid imaginations, and, of course, leaves. Unfurling over the cycle of seasons, this timeless saga captures the fleeting beauty of creative play, reminding kids and adults alike that some dreams are worth protecting. Enjoy hearing a reading from Beth and Kathleen along with leaf-related crafts and a brief haiku workshop.