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4/30 After Hours with L’Esprit Literary Review

Published on April 20, 2026 Closed
Apr
30
6:30 pm

After Hours with L’Esprit Literary Review: Th. 4/30 6:30
Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave, Chicago

L’Esprit was founded in February 2022, the centenary month of the publication of Ulysses. The journal was thus born in celebration of the literary revolution of consciousness represented by High Modernism, and seeks to publish work in that spirit.
For After Hours L’Esprit has curated a stacked roster of Chicago writers:
Joyce Goldenstern  is the author of the novel IN THEIR RUIN (Black Heron Press 2024)
Allison Elizabeth is a Chicago based writer, actress, and caffeine addict. You can check out her work in Milwaukee Avenue Messenger’s Winter 2026 issue, and JELLizine vol. 3: Articulate. Allison is a prose reader for L’Esprit Literary Review, and a blog writer for the JELLiblog.
Devyn Andrews is a graduate of the University of Illinois-Chicago Program for Writers. Her work has been published in Chicago Review of Books, Cutthroat, Memezine, and elsewhere. Previously, she lived in Boston and Sacramento.
Rachel León is a writer, editor, and social worker, who serves as Managing Director for Chicago Review of Books. Her debut novel, How We See the Gray, is forthcoming in May from Curbstone Books.
After Hours is a production of Taylor Thornburg in Partnership with Quimby’s!

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Pay what you can afford in person or via Venmo.
Suggested: $10
Venmo: @quimbysbookstore
Please include “After Hours” in the note!

Your generous donation directly supports artist honorariums and ensures the continuation of this program. We are so grateful for your support of local creators, Quimby’s Bookstore, and DIY culture—we truly couldn’t do it without you!

Your generous donation directly supports artist honorariums and ensures the continuation of this program. We are so grateful for your support of local authors, publishers, creators, Quimby’s Bookstore, and DIY culture—we truly couldn’t do it without you!

4/27 Sketch/Book: Salon **CANCELED**

Published on April 20, 2026 Closed
Apr
27
6:00 pm
Unfortunately this event is canceled due to an injury!
We’ll be back next month! (Everyone is ok – just need more recovery time)

Sketch / Book: a Wicker Park Reading and Drawing Salon
A collaboration between LMN Wedge Studio and Quimby’s
Monday, April 27th, 2026 –  6:00-8:30pm

Complimentary tea and a Quimby’s zine (off $15 value) are included with the $40 admission. BYOB, if you have a taste for adult beverage.

Save the eventbrite fee by sending $40 to @quimbysbookstore with “Sketch Book” in the note, or dm @lmn_wedge_art on Instagram to reserve a spot and pay at Quimby’s register. See below for a link.

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Meet in-person at 6pm Quimby’s Bookstore: 1854 W. North Ave, Chicago IL: 60622 for a free zine of you choosing (of $15 value or less). At 6:30 we’ll walk 2 blocks to LMN Wedge Studio 1579 N Milwaukee Ave Suite 206, Chicago, IL 60622

This is an opportunity to read a book or other material of your choosing, practice sketching the people and setting from observation, or simply journal and/or mark-make in your sketchbook within a social, supportive setting. Bring your own reading and/or sketchbook materials. (Also, if you like doing a little knitting, or something else like that, no one will raise an eyebrow 😉

At LMN Wedge, we’ll have some good instrumental tunes on, tea and water on offer, and the eclectic and comfy surroundings. We will savor a good stretch of semi-focused reading and/or sketching, then a shorter time near the close of our session for round-robin sharing. 

Register for the event on eventbrite

OR:

Register via a $40 donation to Venmo: @quimbysbookstore
Please include “Sketch Book and your name” in the note!

2/23 Sketch/Book: Salon

Published on February 16, 2026 Closed
Feb
23
6:00 pm

Sketch / Book: a Wicker Park Reading and Drawing Salon
A collaboration between LMN Wedge Studio and Quimby’s
Monday, February 23rd, 2026 –  6:00-8:30pm
Meet in-person at Quimby’s Bookstore: 1854 W. North Ave, Chicago IL: 60622
At 6:30 walk 2 blocks to LMN Wedge Studio 1579 N Milwaukee Ave Suite 206, Chicago, IL 60622

Save the eventbrite fee by sending $40 to @quimbysbookstore with “Sketch Book” in the note, or dm @lmn_wedge_art on Instagram to reserve a spot and pay at Quimby’s register. See below for a link.

Guests begin at 6pm by stopping at Quimby’s for a free zine of their choosing (of $15 value or less). 

Around 6:30, the group will head a few doors down to the Flatiron Arts Building to LMN Wedge Studio and Gallery. 

This is an opportunity to read a book or other material of your choosing, practice sketching the people and setting from observation, or simply journal and/or mark-make in your sketchbook within a social, supportive setting*. Bring your own reading and/or sketchbook materials. 

At LMN Wedge, we’ll have some good instrumental tunes on, tea and water on offer, and the eclectic and comfy surroundings. We will savor a good stretch of semi-focused reading and/or sketching, then a shorter time near the close of our session for round-robin sharing. 

Complimentary tea and a Quimby’s zine (of ? $15 value) are included with the $40 admission. BYOB, if you have a taste for adult beverage.

(*Also, if you like doing a little knitting, or something else like that, no one will raise an eyebrow 😉

Register for the event on eventbrite

OR:

Register via a $40 donation to Venmo: @quimbysbookstore
Please include “Sketch Book and your name” in the note!

2/26 After Hours: Lover’s Eye Press

Published on February 14, 2026 Closed
Feb
26
6:30 pm

After Hours with Lover’s Eye Press Th. 2/26 6:30
Readings by: E. Hughes, Angelica Julia Dávila, Tori Rego, Natalie Staples
Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave, Chicago

Register for the Event

Lover’s Eye Press a journal of fixation. Our purpose is to provide a space for artists and writers to communicate the inescapable themes, experiences, and people that arise prominently in their work or linger in the background, winking a secret message. 

E. Hughes is the author of Ankle-Deep in Pacific Water, which was longlisted for the 2025 Maya Angelou Book Award (Haymarket Books 2024). They received their MFA in poetry and MA in English Literature from the Litowitz Creative Writing Program at Northwestern University. Currently, Hughes is a PhD candidate in Philosophy at Emory University.

Angelica Julia Dávila is the author of the poetry chapbook Bilingual Bitch (Abode Press, 2015). Angelica received her doctorate at the Program for Writers at University of Illinois at Chicago and currently teaches in the English Department at Oakton Community College. Angelica’s work is an exploration of the bilingual Latine identity, autistic self-expression, and mental borderlands. 

Tori Rego is a writer from Charleston, South Carolina. She currently lives in Chicago where she hosts the monthly reading series Written on a Napkin. Her poetry chapbook, “Briefly, Gently” was recognized as a finalist for the Chicago Reader’s Best New Poetry Book by a Chicagoan in 2024. This Spring she is buying too much of the rhubarb at the supermarket and no one can stop her.

Natalie Staples holds a B.A. from Kenyon College and an M.F.A. from the University of Oregon. Her work has appeared on National Public Radio and in The American Poetry Review, Literary Matters, Birmingham Poetry Review, Able Muse, Mezzo Cammin, Terrain.org, and SWWIM Every Day and others. 

After Hours is a production of Taylor Thornburg and Quimby’s Bookstore

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Pay what you can afford in person or via Venmo.
Suggested: $10
Venmo: @quimbysbookstore
Please include “After Hours” in the note!

Your generous donation directly supports artist honorariums and ensures the continuation of this program. We are so grateful for your support of local creators, Quimby’s Bookstore, and DIY culture—we truly couldn’t do it without you!

Your generous donation directly supports artist honorariums and ensures the continuation of this program. We are so grateful for your support of local authors, publishers, creators, Quimby’s Bookstore, and DIY culture—we truly couldn’t do it without you!

2/21 Show & Tell: Dorian Sylvain | Artist Talk 6:30 pm

Published on February 10, 2026 Closed
Feb
21
6:30 pm

Saturday, February 21, 6:30-8 pm
Featuring Dorian Sylvain

Quimby’s is excited to host acclaimed painter, muralist, educator, and cultural organizer Dorian Sylvain for a special Show & Tell session focused on her artistic practice and the book that accompanies her exhibition, Raised In It!

During this conversation, Sylvain will discuss her diverse work in murals, scenic design, mixed media, and education, as well as her ongoing dedication to collaboration, community empowerment, and the preservation of cultural memory. She will discuss the creative process behind Raised In It!, her solo exhibition and the related publication, which includes essays, archival materials, and reflections on lineage, mentorship, and creative resistance.

Hear directly from Sylvain about how her work integrates storytelling, public art, and intergenerational knowledge into her community-focused practices. Her approach considers history as an ongoing influence that actively shapes the present. This Show & Tell explores how art serves as a remembrance, a site of resistance, and a collective imagination.

Register for the event

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Pay what you can afford in person or via Venmo.


Suggested: $10
Venmo: @quimbysbookstore
Please include “Raised In It!” in the note!

Your generous donation directly supports artist honoraria and helps ensure the program’s continued success. We are so grateful for your support of local creators, Quimby’s Bookstore, and DIY culture—we truly couldn’t do it without you!

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