4:30 p.m.

Fancy Nancy Party

For ages 4 and up (and their chaperones). Fancy Nancy is a character with a larger-than-life personality and a love for anything "fancy" (think feather boas, tutus, fairy wings, and bows and ornaments of every kind!) but also a love of words and anything French. Ooo-la-la! Competitions, hors d'oeuvres, prizes. Fancy dress encouraged. 

7:30 p.m.

Good Kings Bad Kings

2012 Winner of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction

At the Swedish American Museum, 5211 N. Clark Street--a fully accessible facility.

Nussbaum's novel explores the complicated and punishing lives of those in an institution for juveniles with disabilities. In this isolated human warehouse on Chicago's South Side, friendships are forged, trust is built, love affairs are kindled, and resistance begins. Their stories are told through the voices of a large cast of characters, from Yessenía Lopez, who faces down everyone around her (often facing them down too much), to Joanne Madsen, whose wit and fierce dedication to the children is mixed with guilt over her own complicity in an ugly system. This passionate novel challenges our ideas about what it means to be disabled. Susan Nussbaum's works have been produced at many theaters. In 2008 she was cited by the Utne Reader as one of "50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World" for her work with girls with disabilities. She lives in Chicago. 

"The characters in Good Kings Bad Kings made me laugh over and over again, and cry, and cheer. This is fiction at its best. The story's sharp eye allows no one to take shelter, and it doesn't flinch; it is simply and breathtakingly honest. A stunning accomplishment." --Barbara Kingsolver

7:30 p.m.

I'll Be Seeing You

It's January 1943 when Rita Vincenzo receives her first letter from Glory Whitehall. Glory is an effervescent young mother with a wealthy New England pedigree, while Rita is a sensible professor's wife in Iowa just trying to make ends meet. They have nothing in common except they have loved ones on the front lines, but the lifeline of the written word helps each survive the loneliness and uncertainty of waiting on the home front and also develop the self-reliance that will propel them into the fight for equal rights for women. Authors Suzanne Hayes and Loretta Nyhan connected three years ago commenting on each other's blogs and quickly became fast friends--although they had never met. Soon they began a writing experiment, sending each other letters in a character's voice. The novel I'll Be Seeing You is the result of that experiment. Suzanne Hayes has also written (under the name Suzanne Palmieri) the novel The Witch of Little Italy. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and three daughters. Loretta Nyhan is the author of paranormal thrillers for young adults. She lives in the Chicago area with her husband and two sons. 

Midsommarfest

Midsommarfest is Andersonville's annual summer street festival, now entering its 48th year. Each year, nearly 50,000 people throng Clark Street from Foster to Catalpa for two-and-a-half days of music, dancing, kids' entertainment, and delicious food. Artists and crafts people from around the region sell their wares to passers-by, while ethnic dance troupes and cutting-edge bands keep the party going. This year the fun will kick off on Friday evening, June 7th on Clark Street between Balmoral and Catalpa Avenues beginning at 5:00 p.m. For more information, visit http://www.andersonville.org/midsommarfest.

Saturday, June 8 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Sunday, June 9 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Printer's Row Book Fair

Dearborn Street, from Congress to Polk streets

Join us this weekend down at Printers Row, the Midwest's largest free outdoor literary event, drawing more than 125,000 book lovers each year. Come say hello to the hard-working Women & Children First staff at the Lil' Lit Park, where kids and parents can enjoy storytelling, costumed characters, performances, sing-alongs, and special activities coordinated by educational and cultural groups. We will also be selling books for Melanie Benjamin, Pat Byrnes, Kevin Guilfoile, Adam Levin, Peter Orner, Libby Fischer Hellman, and other writers at the Wyndham Blake Hotel venue of the fair. For more information, visit http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/books/printersrowlitfest/.

Tuesday, June 11, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. 

How to be a Friend to a Friend Who's Sick

offsite Beth Emet Synagogue, 1224 Dempster, Evanston  

7:30 p.m

Fireweed

In Bea Moriarty's debut novel, five feisty women, each one struggling with the crippling effects of childhood abuse, meet by chance and form a bond. They laugh and cry together, supporting one another's fight to overcome the debilitating effects of their trauma. But as they discover the powerful healing of friendship, they must also face the vicious threats of a brutal ex-husband, a homicidal stalker, and a therapist with the moral compass of a slug. It is not a given that any one of them, let alone all of them, will survive. Bea Moriarty has a Ph.D. in Social Psychology and twenty years' experience in academia. She lives in Andersonville with her husband and their two free-thinking Scottish terriers.

7:30 p.m.

Susan Levin and Leah Jones of Women Bike Chicago

Bike Crash Recovery Stories: By Women for Women 

Getting back on a bike after a long time or a setback

Event in celebration of Bike To Work Week

Women Bike Chicago is a grass-roots organization founded in 2012 made up of women who love to bicycle and love to encourage other women to bicycle--for commuting, recreation, transportation, exercise, or fun. Tonight's program will focus on recovering and riding again after a crash. Susan Levin was in a bad crash in 2007. She took eight months to recover physically and more than three years to regain confidence psychologically. Leah Jones was in a similar crash and was riding again in a little more than a year. They will share their stories about what they went through and how they were able to move on and get back riding again. Refreshments will be served.

7:30 p.m.

An evening with writers of Jackleg Press

Cin Salach

Caroline Goodwin

Trapline

Illinois Arts Council recipient and four-time Ragdale fellow Cin Salach has been widely published in journals and anthologies, and her work has also been highlighted on Oprah! and This American Life. She is also the co-founder of the award-winning Words@Play, an after-school children's poetry program, and is known for her collaborative work with musicians, video artists, dancers, and photographers. Cin lives in Andersonville with her young son, Leo. Caroline Goodwin was born and raised in Alaska and is a former Wallace Stegner Fellow in poetry at Stanford. Caroline lives in Montara, California, with her husband and two daughters and teaches in the Stanford Online Writers' Studio and the writing program at California College of the Arts.

"In Caroline Goodwin's Trapline, nature's flux and torque are embodied in a language that is taut, luscious, and musical. These are poems of rot and salt, dragonflies and kinked reeds, where the world is always with us--raw and omnipresent, beautiful and terrible. . . . This is wonderful, searing, necessary work; we read it and we pause and we see ourselves differently." --Donna de la Perrière

Sappho's Salon: A Provocative Night of Lesbian Diversions Presents: '80s Prom!

$7 to $10 sliding scale includes food and wine

Drag out those old '80s prom dresses! To celebrate Pride month and our five-year anniversary, Sappho's Salon is hosting a lesbian prom! Join us for champagne punch and cake as Sappho's house DJ SpinNikki plays the best and the worst prom music from the '80s. Prizes for best costumes and Prom Queen & King (or Queen & Queen, or King & King), and more! Proceeds benefit the Women's Voices Fund.

7:00 p.m.

Annual GLBTQ Pride Open Mic

Hosted by Robert McDonald, Cin Salach, Betsy Merbitz, and Joe Eldrige

It's an annual Pride tradition we look forward to every year--our GLBTQ Pride open mic. Open mic readers are invited to bring your best single page of prose or poetry to share. Whether you are a seasoned reader with tons of readings under your belt or a novice sharing your work for the first time, you'll find a rousing and supportive audience and a dazzling variety of GLBTQ creative expression. Open mic participation is limited, so stop in or call the store (773-769-9299) today to sign up. 

7:30 p.m.

Company of Women: New and Selected Poems

Join us for an evening of poetry by the members of A Company of Women, the three-woman writing group from Indianapolis. Their poems are insightful, frank, and humorous and draw upon their experiences as women, touching on nature, loss, sexuality, friendships, family, and hope. Jayne Marek is the author of Women Editing Modernism and a previous book of poetry called Imposition of Form on the Natural World. Lylanne Musselman is the author of three chapbooks. Her one-act play Surfacing has been performed at Ball State University, and her monologue "Of Mother and Men" appears in Mother/Daughter Monologues Vol. 2. Her work has been included in many journals and anthologies. Mary Sexson is the author of the book 103 in the Light: Selected Poems 1996-2000. Her work has been included in many journals and poetry projects.  

"'Never has it been so easy to love poetry, to enter the poem and explore its spacious rooms, to take in complex blends of joys and losses. Sensory notes are everywhere packed into these poems . . . It's heartening to remind ourselves that the company of women poets is thriving, that these embodied voices are generous, elegant, and fierce." --Marilyn Kallet, The Love That Moves Me

11:00 a.m. 

Violin Lullabies

Swedish American Museum, 5211 N. Clark Street

Co-sponsored by the Swedish American Museum and Audience Logic

A free concert for the whole family! Getting young children to unwind is something first-time mother and internationally renowned concert violinist Rachel Barton Pine knows a thing or two about! Rachel Barton Pine's delightful new CD Violin Lullabies on Cedille Records is number one on this week's Billboard Classical Chart! Recorded with pianist Matthew Hagle, Violin Lullabies features 25 lullabies by some of the world's greatest composers: Schubert, Fauré, Strauss, Ravel; it also includes George Gershwin's "Summertime" and the famous lullaby by Brahms. One reviewer said "It is not only the mastery of Rachel's playing, but the sweet, rich voice of the Guarnari violin and the charm of the chosen music that makes this album so wonderful."

1:30 to 4:00 p.m.

75-minute Flow Yoga Class followed by Book Signing

Yogalosophy: 28 Days to the Ultimate Mind-Body Makeover

Exhale Mind Body Spa, 945 North State Street

$50 per attendee

Co-sponsored by KIND Healthy Snacks

Mandy Ingber, the creator of the hybrid workout Yogalosophy (which pairs traditional yoga poses with toning exercises), is a fitness and wellness expert, speaker, producer, and yoga and spinning instructor based in Los Angeles. For more than 16 years, she has motivated people with a light-hearted approach and unique teaching style, and her clients include Jennifer Aniston, Kate Beckinsale, Jennifer Lawrence, Ricki Lake, Brooke Shields, and Helen Hunt. This 75-minute vinyasa flow class will include 30 minutes of the hybrid routine. Afterwards, meet Mandy personally and be one of the first to get a signed copy of her book. To sign up, go to http://www.exhalespa.com/locations/chicago/ and click on Workshops & Events. 

Wednesdays, July 10 to August 14

1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

Young Authors' Club

with Kathie Bergquist

Kids ages 9 to 11 are invited to explore their creativity, improve writing skills, and have fun in this kids-only writing workshop. Based on the successful Story Week® method of creative writing, young writers will be led through a series of games, creative exercises, and guided visualizations as they develop their own stories from first idea through revision, culminating in a reading party for family and friends. Club leader Kathie Bergquist has an MFA in Creative Writing and teaches writing at Columbia College Chicago. She has two years' experience teaching creative writing workshops for fourth to sixth graders in Chicago Public Schools. Session fee is $275. For more information or to reserve your spot, email Kathie Bergquist at kathiebergquist@gmail.com. 

Kate Christensen

Blue Plate Special: An Autobiography of My Appetites 

Novelist Christensen (The Astral, The Great Man) has written a food memoir reviewers are already comparing to the work of M.F.K. Fisher, Ruth Reichl, and Laurie Colwin.  

Thursday, July 18 at 7:30 p.m.

Lisa Lutz

The Last Word

If you love the Spellman series, don't miss Lisa Lutz's return visit to Women & Children First!  

Used Book Sale

Saturday, July 27, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sunday, July 28, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Mark your calendars! Our annual used book sale (part of Andersonville's Sidewalk Sale weekend), benefiting the Women's Voices Fund, will be taking place July 27th and 28th! Proceeds benefit the Women's Voices Fund, our not-for-profit arm. And we are now accepting donations of used books for the sale. No magazines, textbooks, foreign language, or badly damaged books, please. Just drop off donated books at the store during our regular business hours.