Wednesday, July 9th - Jojo Moyes

7:30 p.m.

One Plus One

From the bestselling author of Me Before You comes this quirky love story centering on Jess, a single mother with two kids, two jobs, and
--ever since her husband vanished two years ago--zero help. When Jess can't afford to give her math whiz daughter the opportunity of a lifetime, things take a tragicomic turn for this lovable, dysfunctional family. Then Ed, the tech millionaire whose house Jess cleans, comes to the rescue, driving Jess's family to the Math Olympiad in Scotland--probably Ed's first unselfish act ever. Jojo Moyes is the author of The Girl You Left Behind and The Last Letter from Your Lover, among others. Her fiction is feminist and funny, featuring working-class heroines with big hearts and keen class awareness. She lives with her husband and their three children on a farm in England.

Thursday, July 10th - Mike Nowak

7:30 p.m.

Attack of the Killer Asparagus

Book launch party

Called the "Dave Barry of Gardening" and the "Mark Twain of Garden Writers," Mike Nowak's new book Attack of the Killer Asparagus is a complete compilation of his award-winning columns from Chicagoland Gardening magazine. In it, he trains his absurdist humor on the seduction of gardening and the paranoid fantasies of gardeners. Mike is an Illinois Master Gardener, co-founder of the Midwest Ecological Landscape Alliance, and the current president of the Chicago Recycling Coalition. He also hosts The Mike Nowak Show on WCPT Chicago's Progressive Talk radio and has made numerous television appearances. As a bonus, Mike has invited his friends Kathleen Thompson (Examining the Evidence: Seven Strategies for Teaching with Primary Sources) and Andra Medea (Safe Within These Walls: De-escalating School Situations Before They Become Crisis) to sign their new books for teachers the same evening. Supporters of the book's Kickstarter campaign can pick up their premium and get it signed at this event. Refreshments will be served. 

 

7:30 p.m.

Lust & Letters: A Reading with Tera Patrick (Sinner Takes All) and
Shawna Kenney (Book Lovers: Sexy Stories from Under the Covers)

Cosponsored by Early to Bed, 5044 N. Clark St.

As memoirists and professionals within the adult film industry, Tera Patrick and Shawna Kenney are experts at baring all. Join both authors for a reading of their books as well as a discussion of the pleasures and perils of writing about intimate matters. Tera Patrick's first memoir, Sinner Takes All, recounts her early life and later travels to more than eighty countries modeling, dancing, filming, and touring. Tera has appeared on Chelsea Lately, MSNBC, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and she was the first host of the AVN Awards. She is currently writing her second book, performing burlesque, and raising her daughter, Sophia. Shawna Kenney is the author of the award-winning memoir I Was a Teenage Dominatrix and co-author of the anthology Book Lovers: Sexy Stories from Under the Covers. Her work has appeared in Ms., Bust, Creative Nonfiction, and Juxtapoz, as well as many anthologies, including Hos, Hookers, Callgirls and Rentboys: Professionals Writing on Life, Love, Money and Sex and Without a Net: The Female Experience of Growing Up Working Class. She also teaches creative writing in the UCLA Extension Writers' Program.

7:30 p.m.

Little Mercies

As a veteran social worker for fifteen years, Ellen Moore has seen the worst side of humanity, but remains a gifted child advocate as well as a devoted mother and wife. But everything changes one blistering summer day when Ellen races to rescue two children from their mother's dangerous boyfriend and, in a moment of distraction, leaves her own infant daughter in a sweltering car. While Ellen is swarmed by legal authorities and the media, ten-year-old Jenny, who's just been abandoned by her father, is set to cross Ellen's path and change both of their lives for good. Born with a profound unilateral hearing impairment, Heather Gudenkauf found refuge in books from an early age. She has since become the bestselling author of The Weight of Silence and These Things Hidden. She also works in education with students of all ages in Iowa, where she lives with her husband, three children, and a very spoiled German Shorthaired Pointer.

7:30 p.m.

Let Me See It: Stories

James Magruder's collection of linked stories follows two gay cousins, Tom and Elliott, from adolescence in the 1970s to adulthood in the early '90s. With a rueful blend of comedy and tenderness, Magruder depicts their attempts to navigate the closet and the office and the lessons they learn about libidinous coworkers, Italian suffixes, and frozen condoms. As Tom and Elliot search for trusting relationships while the AIDS crisis deepens, their paths diverge, leading Tom to a new sense of what matters most. James Magruder is a fiction writer, playwright, and award-winning translator. He teaches dramaturgy at Swarthmore College and fiction at the University of Baltimore. He is also the author of Sugarless, which was a Lambda Literary Award Finalist and shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Writing Prize.

Saturday, July 26, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sunday, July 27, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Mark your calendars! Our annual used book sale (part of Andersonville's Sidewalk Sale weekend) will be taking place July 26th and 27th! Book lovers and bargain hunters won't want to miss this Women & Children First tradition and opportunity to treasure hunt through the stacks for great deals on fiction, nonfiction, children's books, LGBTQ titles, CDs, DVDs, and collectibles; all priced to sell. Proceeds benefit the Women's Voices Fund, our nonprofit arm. 

To celebrate Where's Waldo?'s 27th anniversary, Women & Children First will be hosting a community-wide scavenger hunt involving a number of other local businesses. Beginning July 1, children can stop by W&CF for a list of participating businesses. Each participating business will have a 6" Waldo figurine hidden somewhere on the premises. When the child finds him, a staff member there will give the child a card that says "I found Waldo at _____." Bring all the cards back to W&CF for chances to win fabulous prizes (donated by Andersonville indie businesses and Candlewick Press).

And on July 29th, we'll be hosting the Where's Waldo? Bash from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., complete with games, snacks, and the prize drawings!

Inventory Day

On Monday, August 4th, Women & Children First will be closed for inventory. We will resume regular business hours on Tuesday, August 5th at 11:00 a.m.

Donations Needed!

We are now accepting donations of used books for the Used Book Sale. No magazines, textbooks, foreign language, or damaged books, please. Just drop off donations at the store during our regular business hours. 

We need strong women and men who can help with set up and tear down, and carrying tables and boxes of books, for our Used Book Sale on July 26 and 27. Volunteers are needed for approximately 3-hour shifts. All volunteers will earn used book credits and the industrious companionship (and gratitude) of some diligent and hardworking feminists! Email wcfsarah@gmail.com if you are interested in helping with the Used Book Sale or if you'd like more information.

We are about to begin a Trans*-Focused Book Group. Email wcflynn@gmail.com if you'd like to receive email updates.

Family of Women Book Group

Sunday, July 13 at 2:00 p.m.

However Long the Night by Aimee Molloy

Kids' Book Group

Sunday, July 13 at 5:00 p.m.

Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff

Feminist Book Group

Sunday, July 13 at 6:30 p.m.

Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution by Sara Marcus

Women's Book Group

Tuesday, July 15 at 7:30 p.m.

Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

Classics of Women's Literature

Tuesday, August 5 at 7:15 p.m.

The Living Is Easy by Dorothy West