Blog

  • 5-/12-6/26 Chicago Sign & Symbols / Exhibition & Zine Release

    Chicago Sign & Symbols Issue 3 release party: Friday. 5/15, 6:30-8 pm
    Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave, Chicago

    Chicago Sign & Symbols: Featuring the work of Lisa Glenn Armstrong and Atlan Arceo-Witzl
    Exhibition runs through June 26, daily 12-6

    Join us Friday 5/15 for the release of Chicago Signs and Symbols Volume 3 featuring an interview with Quimby’s alumni Echo Elise González and works submitted by Nick Marzullo, Lya Finston, Maddie Vaccaro, Scott McGaughey and printing by Raeann Van Zee of Bovine Press.

    In this exhibition Lisa Glenn Armstrong and Atlan Arceo-Witzl of the zine Chicago Signs and Symbols bring together protest posters, publications, signage reference books, and community workshop outcomes from an event held at Hoofprint back in December.

    Chicago Signs and Symbols is a collaborative zine project made under the model of DIT (do-it-together) that uses Chicago’s unique signs to explore the cultural indicators of our social realities and what can be understood about Chicago’s past, present, and future through semiotics.

    Lisa Glenn Armstrong is a Chicago-based designer, musician, and educator whose work explores the shifting boundaries between emergent technologies and traditional print processes, treating both as living systems rather than fixed tools. Collaboration is central to her approach, building frameworks that prioritize collective authorship, shared inquiry, and community engagement. Her work often unfolds as an open-ended process, where outcomes are shaped through participation.

    Atlan Arceo-Witzl is a Mexican-American visual artist, creator, and educator based in Chicago. He is driven by a foundational urge to draw, working to redefine midwestern identity and place as a hybrid ancient-contemporary-nowness. Being a second generation printmaker and a third generation educator influences his use of graphic forms in the relief print tradition while also instigating a curiosity in print process and ephemera. He is intrigued by everyday rituals, icons, symbols, totemic objects, communication, and translation.

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    Pay what you can afford in person or via Venmo.
    Suggested: $10
    Venmo: @quimbysbookstore
    Please include “Sign and Symbols” 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!

  • 5/30 After Hours with The Ground Is Uneven

    After Hours with The Ground Is Uneven: Th. 5/28, 6:30-8 pm
    Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave, Chicago

    The Ground Is Uneven is run by Editor and Creative Writer Adam Kaz in collaboration with Art Director Grimm Shapfel. Justin Wilde  served as the art director for the first issue. 

    Sporting a highly visual format, The Ground is Uneven presents evocative short stories paired with striking illustrations. Adam developed much of the early content, manages the magazine’s web presence, and edits all submissions.

    After Hours will feature this stacked roster of readers from the pages of The Ground is Uneven, an open mic, and a live interview with the editor on their process!

    Adam Kaz (he/him) is a Chicago-based writer, critic, marketing professional, and editor-in-chief of The Ground Is Uneven, an arts and literary journal. His fiction has appeared in Flash Fiction Magazine, Milwaukee Avenue Messenger, Fabula Argentea, literally stories, The Ground Is Uneven, MoonPark Review, Poetries in English Magazine, and Maudlin House.

    Amrit Sooch (she/her) is a Chicago-based poet whose work brings awareness to women’s health. Her poetry collection Pain & Paper was published in 2024, and her work is forthcoming in The Ground Is Uneven.

    Jon Murphy (he/him) is a Chicago-based writer of copy by day and fiction by night/lunch break. He’s a proud contributor to The Ground is Uneven.

    Maranda Raskin (she/her) is a writer and food systems policy professional based in Chicago. She runs a neighborhood writing group that self-publishes an annual zine just for fun. Ask her about it!

    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!

  • 4/30 After Hours with L’Esprit Literary Review

    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**

    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!

  • 3/30 Sketch/Book: Salon

    Sketch / Book: a Wicker Park Reading and Drawing Salon
    A collaboration between LMN Wedge Studio and Quimby’s
    Monday, March 30th, 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!

  • 3/26 After Hours with Sabr Tooth Tiger Magazine

    After Hours with Sabr Tooth Tiger Magazine: Th. 3/26 6:30
    Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave, Chicago

    RSVP for After Hours

    Sabr Tooth Tiger Magazine is a Chicago-based literary magazine aiming to showcase poetry, prose, and art from emerging and established creatives worldwide.

    Sabr Tooth Tiger Magazine seeks to unearth the fierce beauty of patience (sabr), the pulse of the body (tooth) and the courage of the spirit (tiger). We are searching for the bridge between the animal and the divine.

    Save the Night Chicago will require and provide KN95/N95 masks and Clean Air Clubs will provide HEPA air filtration and livestreaming equipment to make this event more accessible to all. 

    Reading for Sabr Tooth Tiger Magazine:

    Phoebe Nerem is a creative writer and visual artist torn between beauty and terror. Their work explores queerness, feeling crazy, and having a romantic fascination with fire. Their artistic and written work has been featured in numerous publications, including Get Back To Print’s “Luminous Beings Are We” and Emotional Alchemy’s “Sex, Love, and Other Magic.” 

    kieran fu (they/them) is an east coaster turned chicagoan who thrives outside boxes. a certified nostalgic and double cancer sign, they write about the murky waters surrounding love and belonging. they are the author of the poetry collection tidal breaths, as well as work published or forthcoming in Y2K Quarterly, Vagabond City Literary Journal, Oyster River Pages, Snowflake Magazine, and others. 

    gray lindsey (they/them) is a poet and lifelong learner from florida who moved to chicago because, well, florida. they study social work and write about community, fatigue, horror, and lust. you can find their work among TEA Literary Magazine, WREATH, Transfix Magazine, and The Deadlands.

    Z.D. Jones is a writer and poet studying at the University of Chicago. They are originally from Des Plaines, Illinois. Their work has appeared in Cult. Magazine and is forthcoming in Michigan City Review of Books.

    Madeline Blair is a poet, editor, and award-winning filmmaker from Chicago, IL. She is the founder/editor-in-chief of Sabr Tooth Tiger Magazine. Her poems appear or are forthcoming in Okay Donkey, BULLSHIT LIT, Burial Magazine, Michigan City Review of Books, Luna Luna Magazine, Milwaukee Avenue Messenger, and Ekphrasis Magazine.

    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!

  • 3/12-5/1 Mac Blackout / Street Dreams & Towering Seers

    Mac Blackout: Street Dreams and Towering Seers
    Opening Reception: Saturday March 21st, 5-7 pm
    Show runs: March 12th to May 1st, daily 12-6 pm
    Featuring Mac Blackout

    Quimby’s Bookstore is honored to exhibit Chicago artist Mac Blackout’s next solo show of 10 new paintings and and past favorites.

    Quimby’s Ink – our new publishing division – is also super excited to publish our first Print “Fifteen Faces”  to correspond with the exhibition. This three color offset print is a collab between Mac and Quimby’s partner Eric “Manny” Von Haynes. 11×17, 3-Color Offset Print, Edition of 80, Signed and Numbered.

    All new work is for sale! Prints $20, Paintings $300, Drawings $400,
    Contact Peter Miles at Quimby’s to inquire.

    2026 / Mac Blackout / 15 Faces / 11×17 3-color offset print / $20
    2026 / Mac Blackout / Many Face painting 1 / 12×12 pen and ink on paper / $300
    2026 / Mac Blackout / Many Face painting 2 / 11×14 pen and ink on paper / $300
    2026 / Mac Blackout / Many Face painting 3 / 11×14 pen and ink on paper / $300
    2026 / Mac Blackout / Many Face painting 4 / 12×12 pen and ink on paper / $300
    2026 / Mac Blackout / Many Face painting 5 / 12×12 pen and ink on paper / $300
    2026 / Mac Blackout / Many Face painting 6 / 11×14 pen and ink on paper / $300
    2026 / Mac Blackout / Many Face painting 7 / 11×14 pen and ink on paper / $300
    2026 / Mac Blackout / Many Face painting 8 / 12×12 pen and ink on paper / $300
    2026 / Mac Blackout / Many Face painting 9 / 12×12 pen and ink on paper / $300

     

     

    2026 / Mac Blackout / Many Face painting 10 / 11×14 pen and ink on paper / $300

     

    2026 / Mac Blackout / Many Face drawing 1 / 9×9 pen and ink on paper / $400

     

    2026 / Mac Blackout / Many Face drawing 2 / 9×12 pen and ink on paper / $400

     

    Mac Blackout (born Mark Dunihue McKenzie on June 17, 1977) is an American visual artist and musician based in Chicago.

    Mac was born in Bedford, Indiana, later attending college at the Herron School of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana where he graduated with a BFA in 1999. During his high school and college years he became a well known street artist in the midwest underground. In 1999 he moved to Chicago, Illinois channeling his creative energies into music and the music related art of posters and album covers. From 2000 to present day he has formed several bands releasing more than 10 full length albums as well as a slew of singles. He continues to create music with multiple avant-garde and improvisational musicians and recently released “Revelation On The Beach”, his first solo album in five years on Torn Light/Fire Love Records. Mac is currently a muralist and multimedia artist creating large scale public works with a studio focus in painting, drawing, sculpture and mixed media art.

     

  • 2/23 Sketch/Book: Salon

    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

    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

    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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    Quimby’s Bookstore
    Books Zines Comics
    ~ ~ Since 1991 ~ ~
    1854 W. North Ch-IL
    Open every day 12-6