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Category: Essays
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Recommended Reading: Vibrant Voices on the Page
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
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Quimby's Presents Joshua James Amberson’s Staring Contest Book Release + Antiquated Future Showcase Online on YouTube, June 14th
Staring Contest: Essays on Eyes (Perfect Day Publishing) is the debut full-length essay collection from zinester, arts-and-culture writer, and founder of the Antiquated Future zine distro and record label, Joshua James Amberson. Deftly weaving together such disparate subjects as Bette Davis’s career, the daily challenges of eye contact, and his own decade-long saga of periodic eye injections, Amberson digs deeply into the physical and existential consequences of living with such uncertainty. Staring Contest is wise, generous, and—given the subject matter—surprisingly funny.
This event will also be a showcase of Chicago-based writers carried by Antiquated Future, including Anna Jo Beck (Biff Boff Bam Sock), Jim Joyce (Let it Sink), and Liz Mason (Caboose). It will air on the Quimby’s YouTube channel so no RSVP is necessary.
“Staring Contest is a jewel box of an essay collection: It takes a quotidian facet of experience—the human gaze—and considers it at length, revealing an overlooked world of ideas and resonances.” –Jordan Kisner, author of Thin Places: Essays from In Between
Joshua James Amberson is the author of the young-adult novel How to Forget Almost Everything, as well as a series of chapbooks on Two Plum Press, and the long-running Basic Paper Airplane zine series. His words have appeared in The Los Angeles Review of Books, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Electric Literature, The Rumpus, and Tin House, among others. joshuajamesamberson.com
About the other readers:
Anna Jo Beck has been making zines for over a decade, writing and designing how-to zines on skills like personal finance, habit tracking, and health insurance, as well as a film recommendation series called Mini Movie Marathon. She also runs Zine-A-Month, a zine by mail subscription. More info on her and her various zine projects can be found at annajobeck.com
Jim Joyce writes perzines like Let It Sink and others. A gentleman, he likes keeping his hands as sof’ as a frog’s belly.
Liz Mason publishes Cul-de-sac, Caboose, and Awesome Things. Her work has been in places like Broken Pencil, Punk Planet, The Zine Yearbook and the back of her friend’s toilets. She’s worked at Quimby’s Bookstore since 2001 in a state of perpetual arrested development. Find her at LizMasonIsAwesome.com + Etsy at LizMasonZines + @caboosezine at all the places.
For more info:
Buy Staring Contest at Quimby’s
Wednesday, June 14th, 7:30pm CT
Online at youtube.com/quimbysbookstore
Want the Facebook invite to add it to your calendar? It’s here.
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Zine Club Chicago SNAX Collab Zine Call for Submissions!
SNAX
A Zine Club Chicago collab zine
Call for SubmissionsThe members of Zine Club Chicago love snacks (almost) as much as they love zines, so the group is celebrating their collective snackiness with a collab zine. Send in your writing, lists, comics, drawing, collage & more all about SNACKS!
Updated food pyramids made up only of snacks, an essay about discovering Zapp’s chips on your first trip to New Orleans, a renaissance-style still life of your favorite noshes, a power ranking of the most coveted sleepover snacks of 2000, a poem about your first experience of the munchies . . . if it pertains to the realm of the edible, Zine Club Chicago wants to know about it!
Submission guidelines: 500 words max for writing; 4.5” x 7.5” max, black & white + 300 dpi for artwork. (One submission per contributor, please; you’re welcome to submit images to accompany a written submission, or text to accompany a visual art submission.) Due to space limitations, please limit visual submissions to 2 pages max.
SUBMISSION LINK HERE: bit.ly/snackzine
Deadline: July 31, 2022
All contributors will receive a free copy of the zine! Zine Club Chicago is planning for an autumn 2022 release, and will keep everyone updated via the email address you provide.
Co-edited by Rachel Hyman, Liz Mason, and Cynthia E. Hanifin
Questions? Email zineclubchicago(at)gmail(dot)com
You don’t need to be a Zine Club Chicago member to submit, but all are welcome at the monthly Zoom meetups!
Want to know more about Zine Club Chicago? Check out their social media channels: @zineclubchicago
Please note that Zine Club Chicago reserves the right to reject any submissions that do not meet their guidelines.
Image #1 description: A purple illustration, accented with green on a peach background, of a bag of potato chips, with this text: SNAX; A Zine Club Chicago collab zine; bit.ly/snackzine
Image #2 description: An illustration of 2 green cake pops on a peach background, with this text: Send us your writing, lists, comics, drawing, collage & more all about SNACKS! Writing: 500 words max; Artwork: 4.5 in x 7.5 in max, black & white, 300 dpi; Submission deadline: July 31, 2022; Co-edited by Rachel Hyman, Liz Mason & Cynthia E. Hanifin; zineclubchicago@gmail.com; bit.ly/snackzine“
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New Stuff This Week
Happy Saturday! Did you know that April 9 is National Unicorn Day? While we don’t have any mythical creatures in stock right now, we do have a TON of fun new stuff in the form of zines, comics, and books. Check out this fantastic list of fresh arrivals!
Zines
My Favorite Actor is a Dog by Aim Ren $2
Women in Print #8 $8
Razorblades and Aspirin #14 $8
Dealing with COVID: Hopefully Helpful Tips by Lost Fillings $1
Time’s Up: No More Rape Culture in Our Skate Culture by Smash the Skatriarchy $3.95
How It Felt to Me: The Further Writings of Annie Howard $11
Gothic Lyric Book by Karina Song and Blaketheman1000 $5
I Miss You by Karina $1
Cut Me Up #8: Guided by Instinct $18
Something Rather Than Nothing Zine #1 $4
Bad Year by Nick Greer $5
Comics & Minis
Ghouls by Jenn Woodall $12
Future #8 by Tommi Musturi $6
Teeni Bop #1 $4
Annual Eternia Bodybuilding Contest #1 $2
Forms Saint George and the Dragon by Ryan Shipman $5
Eschew #5 by Robert Sergel $8
Smear Girl of Clay #1 $2
Heavy Metal #315 $13.99
Reptile House #9 by Nick Bunch $5
Scoundrels Don’t Get Caught by Hannibal Gerald $6
Graphic Novels
Rave by Jessica Campbell $22.95
Hell Phone: Book One by Benji Nate $14.99
One Hundred Columns for Razorcake: The Complete Comics 2003-2020 by Ben Snakepit $11.99
Book Tour by Andi Watson $24.99
Mr. Lightbulb by Wojtek Wawszczyk $29.99
Squeak the Mouse by Massimo Mattioli $29.99
Fiction
Manhunt by Gretchen Felker Martin $17.99
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan $28
Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer $18
The Time of Our Singing by Richard Powers $21
DIY Books
Creative Not Famous the Small Potato Manifesto by Ayun Halliday $14.95
Stolen Sharpie Revolution: A DIY Resource For Zines and Zine Culture vol 6 by Alex Wrekk $15 – In fancy hardcover!
Everything Depends on Me: A Book About OCD by Alice DuBois $24
A Quick and Easy Guide to Asexuality by Molly Muldoon and Will Hernandez $7.99
Pure Magic: A Complete Course in Spellcasting by Julia Illes $18.95
From Big Idea to Book: Create a Writing Practice That Brings You Joy by Jessie L Kwak $14.95
Music Books
Sigh, Gone: A Misfit’s Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock and the Fight to Fit In by Phuc Tran $18.99
Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall of SST Records by Jim Ruland $30
Mudhoney: The Sound and the Fury From Seattle by Keith Cameron $24.99
Essay & Culture & Memoir
Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage by Rachel E. Gross $30
Stalking the Atomic City by Markiyan Kamysh $22
Mayhem & Outer Limits Books
Platform Edge: Uncanny Tales of the Railways edited by Mike Ashley $15.95
Doorway to Dilemma: Bewildering Tales of Dark Fantasy edited by Mike Ashley $15.95
Tales of the Tattooed: An Anthology of Ink by John Miller $15.95
Inside the Mind of Jeffrey Dahmer by Christopher Berry Dee $16.95
Food & Drug Books
The Microdosing Guidebook: A Step-by-Step Manual by CJ Spotswood $19.95
Sexxy
Fantasy Lewds Erotic Anthology by Andy Hood $15
Experience Points: Illustrated Queer Smutty Stories by N.A. Melamed $12.95
Magazines
Little White Lies #92 $16.99
032c #40 $24.95
Chap Books & Lit Journals
Granta #158: In the Family $19.99
Kids Stuff
Illustoria #17 $16
Other Stuff
What A Time to Be Gay and Alive Bumper Sticker by Archie Bongiovanni $3
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Anne Elizabeth Moore Talks Perzines and Memoirs with Quimby’s Online Nov 5th
Anne Elizabeth Moore’s new book Gentrifier: A Memoir (Catapult Books) is ostensibly about a free house the author was awarded in Detroit in 2016. But after she moves in, pets some cats, and gets to know her delightful neighbors, the murky history of her supposedly free house—more costly than expected—comes to light, illuminating the contemporary American housing crisis. Moore writes about gender, policy, and the downside of capitalism (all of it), plus she includes many jokes, so her books are pretty good. She has been self-publishing since she was 11 and will talk about using zines in a writing practice, and memoir in a self-publishing practice.
Don’t miss Anne on the Quimby’s Instagram, livestreaming on Fri, Nov 5th at 7:30pm CT at instagram.com/quimbysbookstore where she’ll talk with Quimby’s employees and fellow veteran zinesters Liz Mason and Cynthia E. Hanifin, in what promises to be a lively discussion. Because this is a livestreaming workshop event, viewers are encouraged to come prepared with questions to ask about the differences between perzines (as in personal zines) and memoir, moving from one to the other, and incorporating zines into a writing practice and/or memoir writing into a self-publishing practice. Part workshop, part craft talk, part book discussion, part interactive discussion with the audience, this event promises to be fully unpredictable and most definitely fun.
For a limited time! While supplies last, with the purchase of this book, you will get a signed bookplate by Anne Elizabeth Moore, in celebration of this November 5th event! Get Gentrifier at Quimby’s Bookstore here.
“I don’t know how Anne managed to write the funniest book I’ve read in years and the most honest one about the scramble of American life, but she did.” —Jace Clayton, Uproot: Travels in 21st-Century Music and Digital Culture
Anne Elizabeth Moore was born in Winner, SD, and currently lives in the Catskills with her ineffective feline personal assistant, Captain America. In 2019, her book Sweet Little Cunt won an Eisner Award. Body Horror was nominated for a 2017 Lambda Literary Award and a Chicago Review of Books Award, was listed as a 100 Best Books Of All Time on the Political Economy by BookAuthority and named Best Book by the Chicago Public Library. Threadbare made the 2016 Tits & Sass list “Best Investigative Reporting on Sex Work.” Cambodian Grrrl received a 2012 Lowell Thomas Award for Travel Journalism. Unmarketable was Mother Jones’ Best Book of 2007.
For more info: www.anneelizabethmoore.com
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Al Burian Brings Anarchy and Apocalypse to Quimby's June 20th
Writer, musician, comic artist zine-maker (and former Quimby’s employee) Al Burian (best known for his Orwellian-themed band Milemarker and darkly humorous personal zine Burn Collector) reads from new work and presents his newest book, NO APOCALYPSE: PUNK, POLITICS AND THE GREAT AMERICAN WEIRDNESS, a collection of columns and miscellany from turn-of-the-millennium publications such as PUNK PLANET and THE SKELETON. Seen through our contemporary lens, The 00’s reveal themselves to have been a time of splendidly naive optimism: remember when we all thought George W. Bush was the worst US president there could possibly be? Remember when the neighborhood seemed too crappy to ever get gentrified? Return to those carefree days, when the Y2K computer virus had just failed to happen and environmental collapse was still near-future science fiction.
The evening also sees the first US appearance of DEAN STREET, an epic comic book series (we dare not say “serialized graphic novel”) by Al Burian and Berlin comic artist Oska Wald. The action in DEAN STREET takes place in a mythical version of Chicago, and features a zany cast of characters, some unnerving supernatural occurrences, and the best rock show ever drawn.
Plus a brief music performance by ANARKUSS, the post-apocalyptic no-electricity song and story act. A glimpse into what punk bands will sound like when the power grid fails and we all revert to eating nuts and berries…
“Al Burian is the bastard love-child of Spalding Gray and Henry Rollins” -Ex Berliner
Thursday, June 20, 2019 7pm – Free Event
More info:
