Category: Event

  • Poetry From Nicole Wilson, Kate Dougherty, and Patrick Culliton

    Nicole Wilson is the Assistant Programs Director of Poetry and Literature at Columbia College Chicago. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Coconut, Fifth Wednesday, RealPoetik, pacificREVIEW, Rabbit Light Movies, and Another Chicago Magazine, among others.

    Kate Dougherty’s e-chapbook, We Trundle We Ignite, is forthcoming from Scantily Clad Press. More poems are published or forthcoming in The Carolina Quarterly, Cannibal, SIR! Magazine, Used Cat, and Action Yes. Kate holds an M.F.A. from Columbia College Chicago,Hornet Homily where she served as editorial assistant on Court Green.

    Patrick Culliton’s chapbook Hornet Homily is available from Octopus Books. Recent work has appeared, or will soon, in Another Chicago Magazine, Beeswax, Conduit, Eleven Eleven and elsewhere. He teaches at UIC and Loyola.
    For more info: http://www.octopusbooks.net/

  • Eugene Nelson Jr. Reads From Covert Operations: Alpha

    Covert Operations: AlphaWhen asked about his influences, Eugene Nelson Jr. points to three enduring sources: growing up on the Southside of Chicago in the 1970s and 80s, playing Role Playing Games with people all over Chicago, and loving my family everyday. Not a likely combination for a writer, but one that has brought forth Covert Operations: Alpha (AuthorHouse Publishing), a debut book that is filled with action, love, friendship, death, mystery, humor, magic, betrayal, technology and vengeance. All set here in the back drop of Chicago. Fast paced and intriguing, Covert Operations: Alpha’s science fiction marks the difficulties of everyday life in a world that has evolved into a powerful society filled with powerful beings. This book will wake up every brain cell you have in an effort to understand each character and their actions. Just when you think you understand something, everything will change and so will your understanding. This is the thinking man’s book and you will enjoy every moment of it. So check your equipment at the door and get ready for the time of your life as you are introduced to the world of Covert.

    Bad attitudes meet sophisticated intelligence, and underground crime meets big business in this involving debut book. Eugene Nelson Jr.’s complicated characters and rude cut offs in Covert Operations: Alpha evoke a self-absorbed population. Eugene Nelson Jr., who still lives in Chicago, works from home now and spends most of his time creating new and exciting tales from his role playing game by the same name of Covert Operations.

    For more info: http://covertoperationsalpha.com/

  • Alan Goldsher & Artist Jeffrey Brown

    Paul Is DeadWriter Alan Goldsher & Artist Jeffrey Brown will present their new book, Present Paul Is UnDead: The British Zombie Invasion, that Goldsher wrote and Brown illustrated.

    Are readers ready for a world in which the Beatles just wanna eat your brains? ALAN GOLDSHER (Hard Bop Academy) thinks so, and he may be right. In this humor-filled splatterfest, the rise and fall of the zombie Beatles unfolds through eyewitness accounts, newspaper clippings, and interviews. Violence and music go hand-in-hand as the zombiefied Lennon, Harrison, and McCartney fight, eat, and rock their way to fame and popularity while ninja lord Ringo Starr tries to keep them out of trouble. Nothing can stop them–not even a vampiric Pete Best, zombie-killing Mick Jagger, rival ninja Yoko Ono, or bad reviews. In fact, their only enemies may be one another, as personal conflicts threaten to break them up for good. Roughly paralleling the real-world career of the Beatles, this alternate history reimagines successes, failures, and rivalries with over-the-top bizarro charm.

    JEFFREY BROWN illustrated Paul Is Undead. He’s best known for his bittersweet autobiographical graphic novels like Clumsy, Unlikely, and more. His work has appeared in McSweeney’s, NPR’s This American Life, the Chicago Reader, the New City, and Time. He has been featured on and created a short animated music video for the band Death Cab For Cutie.

    For more info:
    alangoldsher.com
    Jeffreybrowncomics.com
    http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/jeffrey-brown

  • Robert K. Elder reads Last Words of the Executed

    Last Words Cover

    The final words of the famous and infamous have been collected since antiquity because they speak to a primal curiosity and spark introspection: What does one say on the edge of oblivion?

    We expect last words to be poignant, a résumé or summation of life experience. Sometimes they are, sometimes they are not. We want them to reveal secrets. But they very seldom do. Journalist Robert K. Elder spent 7 years writing Last Words of the Executed, chronicling the ?nal thoughts of the most discarded, reviled members of society. It’s an oral history of the overlooked, the infamous and the forgotten—who nonetheless speak to a common humanity with their last act on earth. This is the history of capital punishment in America, told from the gallows, the chair, and the gurney.

    “This is a dangerous book. Who knows how we will emerge from the encounter? It makes me want to live, to use my energies in soul-sized pursuits like justice, like love…”
    —Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking
    “Robert K. Elder is a journalist in the noblest tradition. . . . What I will remember most about this book is its poetry in the speech of people at the most traumatic moment of their lives.”
    —Studs Terkel, from the foreword

    For more info: http://lastwordsoftheexecuted.com

  • Work In Progress at Quimbys

    wipThe rumors are true, our monthly social get together, Work In Progress is tons of fun! It happens that last Wednesday of the month, and involves free snacks, and working on projects in a social atmosphere.

    You can either present something your working on, and get feedback, or just hang out and work on your project and not feel so all alone for one night.

    Stop by June 30 from 7 – 8:30pm for a good time!

  • Learnapalooza


    Quimby’s is proud to team up with the organizers of Learnapalooza, a free, day-long neighborhood festival happening on June 19, 2010 in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago where community members, both businesses and residents, will exchange skills with one another. Anyone who has anything to share – and basically we all do – can offer a workshop. The idea is to provide a fun and free way for neighbors to share their passions and for everyone to learn new skills. The organizers of the festival hope that all attendees will realize how much they have to teach and learn from others.

    Of course Quimby’s is participating! We’re offering three workshops about how to get involved in independent publishing, since that’s of course what we’re known for. Each of our workshops are 45 minutes long, and they’re at 2:00, 3:00 and 4:00 that day. There are workshops in a variety of places, and we hope that you’ll stop in to Quimby’s to attend our portion of the ‘palooza! You are of course welcome to come in on the day of as a walk-in, but if you RSVP to tell us ya think you might make it, we’d appreciate it so we know how many people to expect.

    For more info or to sign up to teach a class, learn something new, or be a volunteer the day of: Learnapalooza

    Quimby’s Workshops: Sat., June 19th, 2:00pm, 3:00pm and 4:00pm

  • William Ayers Presents To Teach: The Journey, In Comics

    To TeachThis graphic novel brings to life William Ayers’s bestselling memoir To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher. These illustrated stories begin with Ayers’s early days teaching kindergarten and follow this renowned educational theorist on his “voyage of discovery and surprise.” Readers meet fellow travelers from schools across the country and watch as students grow across a year and a lifetime.

    On the surface, To Teach is primarily the story of William Ayers and his class as they navigate the kindergarten year from introductions to graduation. In the process, we see how Bill Ayers engages with the children as individuals, translates their questions and concerns into fun and educational projects and handles the “weird” people with clipboards who stop by to check his actions against the Regional and National Curriculum.

    Fans of scholarly graphic works such as Studs Terkel’s Working: A Graphic Adaptation and A People’s History of American Empire: A Graphic Adaptation will appreciate this pioneering work from Ayers and Alexander-Tanner, while fans of graphic novel memoirs will find much to love in To Teach’s powerful and progressive message.

    To Teach: The Journey, In Comics is also a landmark work of collaboration. Ryan Alexander-Tanner lived with William Ayers for over 6 months, at his home in Chicago. This includes the period of time during the 2008 presidential election. The result of a fruitful partnership, To Teach is not just Ayers’ story – the authors also show how other teachers have found ways to engage with, and learn from students. To Teach is a timeless work that challenges the student/teacher dichotomy and opens up a world in which the hard questions aren’t avoided, and it is acceptable for a teacher to say, “Let’s learn this together.

    “This fascinating and, yes, educational book will certainly be of interest to teachers, but it will also teach, inspire, and entertain anyone else who picks it up.” —Publishers Weekly

    “It’s profoundly charming…part autobiography, part education reform tract, and entirely enjoyable to read.” — The Huffington Post

    “A serious book, but laced with humor… a novel approach. Required reading for all educators.” —Harvey Pekar, American Splendor series

    “This book is a treasure chest of insight. It represents what dedicated, imaginative teaching is all about and is a blueprint for everyone who wants to explore the intimate connection between teaching and learning.” —Peter Kuper, Diario De Oaxaca

    For more info: http://store.tcpress.com/080775062X.shtml

  • Artist Sonja Ahlers Presents The Selves, with Anne Elizabeth Moore

    TheSelvesSonja Ahlers has been described as a pioneer of a new genre of print material fusing collage, found images, original drawings, poetry and prose and her work has been included in university teachings. Ahlers was influenced by the early 90s autobiographical comics and zines, the do-it-yourself movement, music of the Pacific Northwest and fine art.

    The Selves (Drawn & Quarterly), her third book, is a 96-page color feminist scrapbook and collective biography, that which Kathleen Hanna said was “seductive, familiar and very funny.” It tells the story of different selves in a lifetime starting from baby to lady. The ‘character’ grows up throughout the pages. The cast includes: Hollie Hobbie, Drew Barrymore, the Olsen twins, Camille Claudel, Alice Munro, Degrassi kids, Angelina Jolie, and Stevie Nicks and Judy Chicago. These selves appear by way of collage, illustration and poetry.

    Sonja Ahlers’ very first book was Temper, Temper (Insomniac Press, 1998) which now sells for $200 online and Fatal Distraction (Insomniac Press, 2004). Born and bred in Victoria, BC, she has been making angora bunnies since 1995. This craft item supports her bookmaking and art practice. She has exhibited her installation work internationally and has received numerous awards.

    Appropriately, this evening filled with childhood nostalgia, pop culture and feminine power would not be complete without staunch critic of consumerism and media activist Anne Elizabeth Moore. Her Operation: Pocket Full of Wishes project was originally a series of eight cards that mimicked the shopping aides found in American Girl Place. Moore is also the author of Unmarketable: Brandalism, Copyfighting, Mocketing, and the Erosion of Integrity, founding editor of the Best American Comics series, and former editor of now-defunct Punk Planet. Recently, Moore went to Cambodia to teach the first generation of feminists in the country self publishing as a way of combating governmental oppression and self-censorship. She travels throughout the globe to lecture on corporate and governmental oppression and freedom of expression.

    For more info: www.sonjaahlers.blogspot.com or www.sonjaahlers.com or www.anneelizabethmoore.com

  • Dan Clowes Signs Wilson

    WILSON.coverWILSON is one of the most anticipated books of the year to hit stores — by Daniel Clowes, the cartoonist of David Boring, Ghost World and Ice Haven and the legendary Eightball comic book series. Meet Wilson, an opinionated middle-aged loner who loves his dog and quite possibly no one else. In an ongoing quest to find human connection, he badgers friend and stranger alike into a series of one-sided conversations, punctuating his own lofty discursions with a brutally honest, self-negating sense of humor. After his father dies, Wilson, now irrevocably alone, sets out to find his ex-wife with the hope of rekindling their long-dead relationship, and discovers he has a teenage daughter, born after the marriage ended and given up for adoption. Wilson eventually forces all three to reconnect as a family – a doomed mission that will surely, inevitably backfire.

    For more information: www.drawnandquarterly.com/blog

  • Work In Progress Get-Together

    We launched our new monthly working get-togetherhere at Quimby’s, which is called Work In Progress. At the first one, we had some wonderful folks sharing what they’re working on and hangin’ out withus. Comics, zines, poetry and fiction were represented, and we enjoyed snacks. Won’t you join us again on Wednesday, May 26th at 7pm?

    Event!

    Work In Progress is from 7-8:30pm on the last Wednesday of the month.  You can bring your current project and work on it in a social atmosphere.  If you’re looking for critiques or advice, you can get it from fellow attendees.  If you just want somewhere outside of your dark basement apartment to work on that new zine, this is the event you want to go to.

    If you’re looking to meet more folks in the city who are making fun stuff, stop by!  We’re hoping this monthly series will become a positive space for self-publishers and other creative types here in Chicago.

    Spread the word: Work In Progress at Quimby’s, the last Wednesday of every month!