June
Events
at Women & Children First

Dear Friends of Women & Children First,

 

The telltale signs of summer are all around us: we've been propping open our front door most afternoons, the Andersonville Farmers Market has started up again on Wednesday evenings, and Midsommarfest is only 2 weeks away! Enjoy the warmer weather in Andersonville by checking out the new restaurants and shops and also by attending one of our upcoming author events with luminaries such as Mindy Segal, who will be discussing and signing her new book Cookie Love on Thursday, June 18 at 7:30 p.m.

 

Mark your calendars! Our Annual Used Book Sale to benefit the Women's Voices Fund will be held the weekend of July 25th and 26th. We'll begin accepting donations of your gently used books (remember--no textbooks, please!) beginning Monday, June 15th. If you're interested in volunteering to help out with the sale, email Sarah at [email protected]

 

Other important dates to note: we'll be hosting Caitlin Moran for the paperback release of her novel, How to Build a Girl, on Friday, July 10th at 7:30 p.m. at the Swedish American Museum (5211 N. Clark St). Then, on July 16th, Roxane Gay and Bonnie Jo Campbell will return to the bookstore, along with April Lindala, to read from their just-released anthology, Here: Women Writing on Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

 

But let's not get ahead of ourselves! As you'll see in this month's calendar, there is plenty of things to see, do, read, and listen to in June!

 

Many thanks,


W&CF

 

 

Wednesday, June 3 - Cherilynn Veland
Stop GIving It Away: How to Stop Self-Sacrificing and Start Claiming Your Space, Power, and Happiness
7:30 p.m.  
Book Launch

Being caring and compassionate is important, but too many women give others' needs priority over their own needs. In Stop Giving It Away, therapist Cherilynn Veland utilizes her twenty-plus years of counseling experience to untangle what binds so many women to other people's expectations and to build a case for what women can do to make changes that will help them live more fulfilling personal and professional lives. Illustrating her points with real-life stories of women who--to the detriment of their relationships and personal happiness--have given away too much at home and at work, Veland provides readers with a toolkit for recognizing and analyzing unhealthy behaviors; developing new, healthy relationship strategies; and setting good personal boundaries. Accessible, entertaining, and illuminating, Stop Giving It Away is a book for every woman who tends to put everyone else first.

 

Thursday, June 4 -
Ladydrawers Comic Collective
How to Draw Comics the Ladydrawers Way

Workshop, Signing, and Discussion

6 p.m.  

 

Join the Ladydrawers Comics Collective and Femicomix Finland as they get you ready for the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (CAKE) with a series of performances, readings, games, and (possibly!) interpretive dances that will show you how to make comics The Ladydrawers Way™. You will also be able to peruse the debut of their new anthology, How to Draw Comics the Ladydrawers Way! The Ladydrawers Comics Collective is a diverse ("queer") group that conducts original studies on the impact of gender and race on economics in comics and other forms of cultural production and releases their findings in comics both experimental and traditional. The group has a monthly column on Truthout and has previously published work in Bitch, Annalemma, and Tin House. Their strips have been reviewed by Forbes, Jezebel, the Chicago Reader, and the New York Times Magazine. The group's next book, Threadbare, examining the hidden connections between the garment trade and the sex trade, comes out next year. Find out more at Ladydrawers.wordpress.com. Femicomix Finland is a feminist network that organizes different kinds of events in Finland and around the world.

 

Friday, June 5 - Voices
A Musical Performance
7 p.m. 

Come listen to Voices' new generation of musicians! Their album Sailing Free is a collection of songs that add reggae and Latin rhythms to this veteran political folk group. Chicago-based Voices has dedicated the past 30 years to creating music that promotes social justice through a multicultural message of peace. Voices currently includes: Iesha Scott, Peter Buttitta, Chris Inserra, Nathan Inserra-Mousin, Debra Inserra-Mousin, and Sarab Shada. All profits from Sailing Free support band member Sarab Shada of the Iraqi Student Project.

 

Tuesday, June 9 - Sappho's Salon
Open Salon, featuring expressions of Queerness, Gender, and Feminism
Co-hosted by Eileen Tull and Liz Baudler 
7 p.m.

 

It's the start of summer, it's Pride Month, and it's the first Sappho's "open salon" event! (We'll be alternating every month between curated showcases and open salons.) The open salon is a place for cis and transwomen, trans men, and non-binary artists to express creative work relating to gender, sexuality, and feminism. That creative work can be poetry, performance art, comedy, sketch, dance, storytelling, or song. If you've got fully realized pieces, great! If you've got half an idea that you want to try out in front of an audience, great! We'll have a music stand and chairs, but that's all, so keep your performance simple. Sign up when you arrive that evening to claim a five-minute slot. (All walk-up performers will receive a coupon to the bookstore!). We will have a couple of featured performers to kick us off, including Maggie Wagner and Nire Nah. The open salons are pay-what-you-can, so throw in what you've got, and as always, that cash will be split between our featured performers and the Women's Voices Fund. Please direct questions to [email protected]. This event is BYOB and, if inspired, feel free to bring a dish to share as well. 

 

Thursday, June 11 -
Jennifer Morales
Reading and Signing
7:30 p.m.


When Johnquell, an African American teen, suffers a serious accident in the home of his white neighbor, Mrs. Czernicki, his community must find ways to bridge divisions between black and white, gay and straight, old and young. Set in one of the nation's most highly segregated cities--Milwaukee, Wisconsin--Meet Me Halfway's nine stories examine connections in a community with a tumultuous and divided past. As an activist mother in the thick of Milwaukee politics, Morales developed a keen ear and a tender heart for the kids who have inherited the city's troubled racial legacy. With a critical eye on promises unfulfilled, Meet Me Halfway raises questions about the notion of a "postracial" society and, with humor and compassion, explores the day-to-day work needed to get there. Morales was the first Latino/a elected to the Milwaukee Board of School Directors. She earned her MFA from Antioch University-Los Angeles. She now lives in Viroqua, Wisconsin, and is a board member of the Council for Wisconsin Writers and the Driftless Writing Center.

 

 
Friday, June 12 - Lori Horvitz    
Joined by Special Guest Lee Ann Roripaugh
Reading and Signing
7:30 p.m.
 

Lori Horvitz grew up ashamed of her Eastern European Jewish roots, confused about her sexuality, and idolizing the "shiksa in her living room," the photo of a blond, all-American girl displayed next to a family bar mitzvah photo. With laugh-out-loud humor compared to that of David Sedaris, Horvitz describes her coming-of-age as a "hippie chick,"chronicling each trip, each romance, and each of her many attempts to reinvent herself. Lori's work has appeared in a variety of journals and anthologies, including Epiphany, the Southeast Review, Hotel Amerika, and the Chattahoochee Review. She is a professor of literature and language at University of North Carolina at Asheville. For this event, Lori will be joined by Chicago-based poet Lee Ann Roripaugh. Lee Ann is a Wyoming native and second-generation Japanese American, and the author of Beyond Heart Mountain, Year of the Snake, and On the Cusp of a Dangerous Year.

 

Saturday, June 13 -
Mother-Daughter Workshop with Middle-Grade Author
Crystal Chan 
Interactive Workshop
3 p.m.
A READ LOCAL Event
 

Join Crystal Chan, author of the middle-grade novel Bird, as she presents some hands-on activities for this special mother-daughter (or aunt-niece, or whatever!) workshop. After discussing Bird and the book's two protagonists who want to be a geologist and an astronaut, Crystal will invite attendees to talk about what they want to be when they grow up, and why, and explore a bit about geology, astronomy, and space. Additionally, she'll lead a mini poetry workshop. Finally, attendees will participate in a book-related activity involving stones and dirt, and everyone will get a chance to design and take home a stone with personal meaning to them. Please RSVP for this free workshop by emailing Crystal at [email protected].

 


Friday, June 12 - Sunday, June 14 
Celebrate 50 Years of Andersonville!

 

Midsommarfest is Andersonville's annual summer street festival, now entering its 50th year! Each year, nearly 50,000 people throng Clark Street from Foster to Catalpa for music, dancing, kids' entertainment, and delicious food. Vendors from around the region sell their wares to passers-by, while ethnic dance troupes and cutting-edge bands keep the party going. Also, this year will launch the return of the Miss Andersonville contest as a fundraiser for several local charities. Throughout the festivities, if you check-in to Women & Children First on Facebook or Yelp, show us your phone and we'll give you a $5 off coupon when you spend $25 or more. 

Wednesday, June 17 - Ellen Meeropol 
Reading and Signing
7:30 p.m.

As a major hurricane threatens the northeast, math professor Gandalf Cohen is abducted by federal agents and flown to a secret interrogation center off the coast of Maine. As the hurricane slams the shore, each character--from the abductee himself to the FBI agents and facility guards--must choose a side in order to survive. Told over the five days approaching the anniversary of 9/11, On Hurricane Island is both a fast-paced political thriller and a literary examination of today's sociopolitical storm. Ellen Meeropol is the author of one previous novel, House Arrest. Her short fiction and essays have been published in Bridges, the Rumpus, Portland Magazine, Beyond the Margins, and the Drum. A former pediatric nurse practitioner and part-time bookseller, Ellen holds an MFA in creative writing from the Stonecoast program at the University of Southern Maine. She currently lives in Western Massachusetts.

 

Thursday, June 18 -
Mindy Segal 
Reading and Signing
7:30 p.m.

A READ LOCAL Event

Join us for a reading, signing, and discussion with Mindy Segal, a James Beard Award-winning pastry chef; owner of the popular Chicago restaurant, HotChocolate; and self-professed "cookie nerd." Mindy shares all of her secrets for turning classic recipes, such as spritz and shortbread, into more elevated, inspired re-interpretations (like Malted Milk Spritz and Fleur de Sel Shortbread). In addition to the more than sixty perfected recipes, readers will find the best tricks, tools of the trade, and guide to building the ideal cookie pantry. Cookie Love is a must-have for anyone looking to up their cookie-baking game. We'll be following one of Mindy's recipes and serving the tasty results at the reading.

 

Friday, June 19 -
Claire Bidwell Smith
Reading and Signing
7:30 p.m.

The universal question of what happens when life ends is one that acclaimed author and bereavement counselor Claire Bidwell Smith encounters every day in her private practice. Having lost both of her parents by age 25, it is also a matter close to her heart. Part personal, part prescriptive, After This invites readers on Smith's journey as she undergoes past-life regressions and sessions with mediums and psychics and immerses herself in the ceremonies of organized religion and the rigor of scientific experiments to try and find answers about the afterlife. Ultimately, After This shows that exploring these issues can have a positive impact on the grief process and on how we live and love right now. Claire Bidwell Smith's memoir The Rules of Inheritance has been published in seventeen countries and is currently being adapted for film. Claire has a master's degree in clinical psychology. Her work has appeared in numerous publications including The Huffington Post, Slate, Salon.com, Chicago Public Radio, and BlackBook. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her two daughters.

 

Saturday, June 20 - You're Being Ridiculous
Hosted by Jeremy Owens
LGBTQIA Pride Storytelling Show
7 p.m.

For one month only, You're Being Ridiculous, the wildly popular and expertly curated storytelling show founded by Jeremy Owens, is crossing the street from its usual venue at Mary's Attic to hold its PRIDE show at Women & Children First! The YBR PRIDE show is a celebration of all things LGBTQIA with funny and touching true stories that cover everything from coming out and dating to adopting a dog. Featured performers include Fernando Borges, Kelly Lori, Philip Dawkin, Anita Mechler, Coya Paz, and Kris Vire. This event is BYOB with a $10 suggested donation. Proceeds will benefit the performers and the Women's Voices Fund. 

Wednesday, June 24 -
Mindful Parenting Workshop with
Sara Barrett
Parenting Workshop
7 p.m.

 

For this innovative workshop, Sara Dittoe Barrett, Ph.D., will discuss ways to apply the wisdom of mindfulness to everyday parenting issues. Dr. Barrett will present a flexible, compassionate, and pragmatic approach to parenting and will provide demonstrations of mindfulness practices drawn from the recently released book Mindful Discipline by Shauna Shapiro and Chris White. This presentation is grounded in neuroscience and aims to help parents manage stress, be more present for their children, and more easily navigate the many challenges of parenthood. Sara Dittoe Barrett received a master's degree in clinical psychology from the University of Dayton and a Ph.D. in clinical health psychology from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. Dr. Barrett has a psychotherapy and consultation practice on the north side of Chicago and uses cutting edge cognitive behavioral and mindfulness-based treatments to help her clients. She is also the mother of two young children.

 

SAVE THE DATE!
Friday, July 10 -
Caitlin Moran
Paperback Release Tour 
7:30 p.m.
Reading and Signing
**Please note: this event will be held at the Swedish American Museum, 5211 N. Clark St. Admission is $10 a the door or the purchase of any of Caitlin's books.**


It's 1990. Johanna Morrigan, fourteen, has shamed herself so badly on local TV that she decides that there's no point in being Johanna anymore and reinvents herself as Dolly Wilde, fast-talking, hard-drinking gothic hero and full-time Lady Sex Adventurer. She will save her poverty-stricken Bohemian family by becoming a writer. By sixteen, she's smoking cigarettes, getting drunk, and working for a music paper. She's writing pornographic letters to rock stars, having all the kinds of sex with all the kinds of men, and eviscerating bands in reviews of 600 words or less. But what happens when Johanna realizes she's built Dolly with a fatal flaw? Is a box full of records, a wall full of posters, and a head full of paperbacks enough to build a girl after all?  At sixteen Caitlin Moran joined music weekly, Melody Maker, and at eighteen hosted the pop show Naked City. Following this precocious start she then put in eighteen solid years as a columnist on the Times--both as a television critic and also in the most-read part of the paper, the satirical celebrity column "Celebrity Watch"--winning the British Press Awards' Columnist of The Year award in 2010 and Critic and Interviewer of the Year in 2011. She is the author of the essay collection How to Be a Woman.  

 

Save the Dates

Wednesday, July 8 at 7 p.m.

Trans Oral History Project

I Live For Trans Education

Screening and Talkback

 

Thursday, July 9 at 7:30 p.m.

Patricia Skalka

Death at Gills Rock

 

Friday, July 10 at 7:30 p.m.

Caitlin Moran

How to Build a Girl

Paperback Release Reading and Signing

**Please note: this event will be held at the Swedish American Museum, 5211 N. Clark St.**

 

Thursday, July 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Roxane Gay, Bonnie Jo Campbell, and April Lindala

Here: Women Writing on Michigan's Upper Peninsula

Reading and Signing

 

Saturday, July 25 - Sunday, July 26

Annual Used Book Sale benefiting the Women's Voices Fund

 

Friday, July 31 at 7:30 p.m.

Sara Paretsky

Brush Back

Reading and Signing 

 

Thursday, August 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Rebecca Makkai

Music for Wartime

 

Friday, August 21 at 7:30 p.m.

Kate Harding

Asking For It: The Alarming Rise of Rape Culture-and What We Can Do about It

Reading and Signing

   

Women & Children First | [email protected] | http://www.womenandchildrenfirst.com
Hours: M-T 11-7, W-TH-F 11-9, Sat 10-7, Sun 11-6
5233 N. Clark St
Chicago, IL 60640