Archive for the 'Local writer/artist' Category

John Porcellino & Chris Fink Release Forage Like a Bear at Quimby’s, May 31st

Published on May 9, 2025 Closed
May ’25
31
7:00 pm

 

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Don’t miss John Porcellino (King-Cat) and Chris Fink (Add This to the List of Things That You Are) visiting Quimby’s to talk about Forage Like a Bear, their collaborative book of gentle micro-essays on nature, family, and life on Saturday, May 31st at 7pm!

This beautiful book by Chris Fink collects twenty of his short, luminous radio essays as heard on Northern Public Radio WNIJ FM in DeKalb, Illinois. Low-key and plainspoken, he explores quiet moments in nature and with family in a classic Midwestern style. It features whistling acorns, scribbling clams, gossipy geese, technicolor ducks, turkeys (including human ones), roving bands of chipmunks, chimneys, fires, chainsaws, lice, thin ice, approximately 30,000 blueberries, cars rolling uphill, the leaves of a mulberry tree drifting down, Peace Trail meanders, and maybe just maybe, a holy grail morel and more, all illustrated with graceful ink line drawings by comics luminary John Porcellino. 

Porcellino will read (with slides) selections from recent issues of King-Cat, with Chris Fink reading afterwards from Forage Like a Bear. A Q+A and signing will follow. Books will be available for purchase.

Long-time friend of Quimby’s John Porcellino has been publishing King-Cat Comics since 1989. When he does events at Quimby’s he lovingly refers to us as the place where he does the first event on the tour to experiment, and we are therefore the “sacrifical pancake.” He runs Spit and a Half Distro and goes to the post office on most days. Follow him on Patreon +@johnporcellino on IG among other places.

Chris Fink is a professor of English at Beloit College and the editor of the Beloit Fiction Journal. He’s the author of two collections of short stories, Farmer’s Almanac: A Work of Fiction (Emergency Press, 2013/2023) and Add This to the List of Things That You Are (University of Wisconsin Press, 2019). He’s a regular contributor to Northern Public Radio.

Forage Like a Bear (Bored Wolves, 2025) $18.00 – Lovingly printed on soft white paper with French flaps.

Yes! Quimby’s will stay open later for this event! Quimby’s is located at 1854 W. North Ave, Chicago, IL 60622.  This event is free.

Find the Facebook event link here.

 

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Zine Club Chicago: An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping Collective Reading and Zinemaking Workshop, March 15th!

Published on March 1, 2025 0 Comments
Mar ’25
15
3:00 pm

A colorful infographic flyer designed by Julie Cho that features the cover of the book “An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping”, with text that reads: “An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping Collective Reading and Zinemaking Workshop; Zine Club Chicago at Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave., Chicago IL 60622; Saturday, March 15, 3pm CST; For more information visit quimbys.com”

Zine Club Chicago: An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping Collective Reading and Zinemaking Workshop
3 p.m. Saturday, March 15, 2025
Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave.
Free! 

This month, Zine Club Chicago is thrilled to welcome our friends at Thick Press for a celebration of their new book, An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping!

From “abundance” to “zinemaking,” An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping invites the reader to wander through a collection of interconnected entries on helping and healing by over 200 contributors from the worlds of social work and family therapy; art and design; body work and witchery; organizing and education; and more. Privileging co-construction over diagnosis, wisdom over evidence, collective healing over individual curejuyet, always blurring categories and embracing contradictions — this world-making collection reveals a pluriverse of helping practices grounded in love and freedom.

Please join us for Zine Club Chicago: An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping Collective Reading and Zinemaking Workshop, 3 p.m. Saturday, March 15, 2025 right here at our shop, 1854 W. North Ave. in Wicker Park. Free!

Erin Segal and Chris Hoff, two of the editors of An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping, will be joining us, and contributors to the book will read selections from their entries. Our readers include Zine Club Chicago producer Cynthia E. Hanifin, Neil Horsky, and Noriko Martinez.

Zine Club Chicago also be hosting a zinemaking workshop, and you’re all invited to make a mini zine about your own radical helping and collective care practices! No prior zinemaking experience necessary.

All zinemaking materials will be provided. Please note that event seating is limited, and will be first-come, first-served. Zine Club Chicago is a mask-supportive environment; masks will be provided if you’d like to wear one.

About Thick Press: Care-givers, justice-seekers, and community-builders often find ourselves in the thick of human experience. Yet so many of the texts we produce rely on the thin logic of Western medicine and mainstream social science! What might happen if we grounded more texts in the arts? In critical theories? In spirituality? In lived experience? What might happen if we paid more attention to medium, form, and design?

Enter Thick Press, a collaboration between a social worker (Erin Segal) and a designer (Julie Cho).

We aspire to a practice that is loving, reflexive, playful, and collaborative. We worry about reproducing oppressive structures, but we’re not really that interested in critique. Above all, we want to make unusual books with others.

Inspired by artists’ books and zines, Thick Press publishes books that cross genres and disciplines.  All our books relate to working or living in the thick of human experience.

Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are always welcome at Zine Club Chicago. This free event series is produced by Cynthia E. Hanifin and sponsored by Quimby’s Bookstore. Anna Jo Beck is the creative force behind our visuals, and she also made the Zine Club Chicago Shout-Outs site, where folks can peruse and recommend zines we’ve discussed at our events.

Facebook event is here. More info on the Zine Club Chicago social media channels: @zineclubchicago

Image description: A colorful infographic flyer designed by Julie Cho that features the cover of the book An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping, with text that reads: “An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping Collective Reading and Zinemaking Workshop; Zine Club Chicago at Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave., Chicago IL 60622; Saturday, March 15, 3pm CST; For more information visit quimbys.com”

Recommended Reading: Vibrant Voices on the Page

Published on January 29, 2025 0 Comments

A pile of books and zines that tell personal stories, available at Quimby’s Bookstore in Chicago.

The world is a flaming mess right now. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, I’m right there with you. Whenever I’m struggling, I know that I can find respite in personal narratives. Reading about another person’s challenges, triumphs, sorrows, and joys reminds me that, as Adrienne Rich wrote, our stories flow in more than one direction.

Our shop is, of course, packed to the brick walls with vibrant voices on the page. Here are a few of the tales in which I’ve taken solace lately.

Every single issue of Lucinda J. Williams’ Bookshelf Voyeur series is a pure delight. Her latest release, #8: On Scrapbooks, delves into the fascinating lives that the zinemaker first encountered within a collection of turn-of-the-century ephemera.

Anxious Critters #1 and #2: I adore this pair of sweet zines about the relationship between creator Alex O’Keefe and her housemate: A very cute bunny named Ivy.

Although I’m a native Chicagoan, I’ve lived a good chunk of my life in small Midwestern towns, each with its own unique DIY community. Punks in Peoria: Making a Scene in the American Heartland by Jonathan Wright and Dawson Barrett takes a compelling look at how the hardcore punk movement played out in one central Illinois city in the ’80s and ’90s.

When someone I know returns from a trip, the first thing I ask is what they ate during their journey. April Malig chronicles her culinary adventures, with words and gorgeous colorwashed images, in April’s Eating Zine #5: Everything I Ate in Japan (Part One: Toyko!) and April’s Eating Zine #5.5: Everything I Ate in Japan (Part 2: Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka, Atami!).

I love a pocket-size zine, since I like never want to be without a story to get lost in. Ker-bloom! always delivers a perfect bite-sized tale presented in a beautiful letterpress package. Issue #171 begins with the epic statement: “Sometimes it pays to be a known Lord of the Rings nerd.”

So perhaps you’d like to add your own story to the glorious chorus of voices in this universe? We’ve got two of my favorite books about writing in stock right now. 1000 Words: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round by Jami Attenberg and many of the writer’s literary friends — including Carmen Maria Machado, Roxane Gay, and Kiese Laymon — just came out in paperback. Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative by Melissa Febos is the book I would put into the hands of any storyteller who wants to deepen their own practice.

If you do decide to share your story with the world, please consider putting it into a zine and consigning it with us! You might want to grab a This is Going in My Perzine sticker to give folks a heads-up. 🙂

—   With love and solidarity, C.E. Hanifin

Zine Club Chicago: Let’s Make Food Zines! with Special Guest Sarah Becan

Published on October 21, 2024 0 Comments
Nov ’24
23
3:00 pm

Zine Club Chicago: Let’s Make Food Zines! with Special Guest Sarah Becan
3 p.m. Saturday, November 23, 2024
Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave.
Free!

What better way to celebrate a season of harvest than with an artist who draws food? Chicago-based superstar Sarah Becan has been on the scene for years, and we’ve always been fans of her delectable and informative work. We’re thrilled to have Sarah as a special guest at Zine Club Chicago to talk about her career in culinary comics, which spans mini-comics, webcomics, restaurant work, and publishing. Sarah also will tell us about the weird things artists have to think about when illustrating food and making recipe comics, because she’s got plenty of experience. Plus, she’ll be hosting a free workshop! Bring a recip Bon appetit!

Please join us at Zine Club Chicago: Let’s Make Food Zines! with Special Guest Sarah Becan at 3 p.m. Saturday, November 23, 2024 right here at our shop, 1054 W. North Ave. in Wicker Park. Free!

We’ll provide zinemaking supplies and snacks. Recommended: Bring a short recipe of your choosing to make into a zine during the workshop.

Zine Club Chicago is a mask-supportive environment; we’ll have masks available if you’d like to wear one. Please note that seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Sarah Becan has been drawing comics since she was very small. Her food-based autobiographical webcomic “I Think You’re Sauceome” sparked a love of food and culinary illustration, and her work has since appeared in various publications, including Saveur Magazine, Eater.com, StarChefs, and the Chicago Reader. She is the coauthor and illustrator of Let’s Make Ramen!, published July 2019, and Let’s Make Dumplings!, published June 2021, and the most recent Let’s Make Bread!, coauthored with baker Ken Forkish, published May 2024. She lives in Chicago with her partner Niles and their cat Toki, and she would be very happy to do nothing but draw food all day. Find her on Instagram @sarahbecan

Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are always welcome at Zine Club Chicago. This free monthly event series is produced by Cynthia E. Hanifin and sponsored by Quimby’s Bookstore. Anna Jo Beck designs the monthly flyers, created the logo, and made the Zine Club Chicago Shout-Outs site, where folks can peruse and recommend zines we’ve discussed at our events: https://zineclubchicagoshoutouts.spread.name/

More info:

Zine Club Chicago social media channels: @zineclubchicago like here on IG and here on Twitter.

The Facebook Event Invite is here.

Local Spooky: Full Bleeeeeeeeed

Published on September 26, 2024 0 Comments

AHHH! WHAT’S THAT BEHIND YOU???

Oh! It’s the spooky season!!

Fall is here and there’s already a little chill in the air… With October (the best month of the year by a gapingly enormous margin) just around the corner, many of us are looking very much forward to all the fun, fun activities of the spooky season: coming up with Halloween costumes; eating supernatural amounts of candy; carving 80 to 90 pumpkins into exact replicas of Moo Deng the sassy baby hippo; and, of course, watching as many horror movies as humanly possible! 

Whether you’re a seasoned horror flick connoisseur, a sweet lil’ chicken whose terror tolerance is maxed out by It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, or somewhere in between, October is a great time to watch some scary (and not-so-scary) movies. If you agree, I’d like to point your attention to a new zine that you won’t want to sleep on: 

An orange zine titled "Full Bleed" is displayed on a shelf, among other spooky zines and decorations, including a white, plastic skull and crossbones and a skeleton sticker pack.

The premier issue of Full Bleed: Chicago’s #1 Horror & Exploitation Zine is currently on the shelves at Quimby’s, so get it while we got it! This wicked zine is jam packed with horror movie reviews, an interview with local comic artist Tyrell Cannon, a Chicago horror directory, a frighteningly hilarious comic, and more. 

Don’t miss Eerie Ed’s 31-day Argentober Letterboxd challenge, which is outlined on page 9! Eerie Ed challenges readers to join him in watching one horror movie from another country per day during the month of October. 

And be sure to check out the STACKED calendar of upcoming local events that graces the center spread! It showcases horror film screenings and other spooky events that will be happening in Chicago from October through December.

A hand holds a zine open to a Table of Contents page and a Letters to the Editor page of a zine titled Full Bleed.

Chicago thanks you, Full Bleed staff (“Tombstone” Tony Recktenwald, “Eerie” Ed Witt, “Jump-scare” Judson Picco, and Dean “the Ween” Gibbs), for this horrifically delightful new horror zine!

Shine on, zine-stars! 

<3 <3 <3 Echo