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Category: new book release event
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Mel Stringer Fart School Release Event, In Conversation With Kevin Budnik, at Quimby's, April 15th
Quimby’s welcomes Mel Stringer to celebrate the release of her graphic novel Fart School published by Silver Sprocket on Saturday, April 15th and 7pm here in person at 1854 W. North Ave in conversation with comics artist Kevin Budnik, for a night of talking and signing.
Based on the author’s experience attending art school in the early 2000s, Mel Springer’s Fart School is a funny, heartfelt graphic novel will resonate with anyone who had a youthful dream—or a DeviantArt account. The book chronicles Mel’s excitement about moving to Brisbane to start art school where she imagines collaborating with other artists in a vibrant community, honing her craft, and becoming an accomplished artist. But it turns out that art school isn’t quite the same in real life. Can Mel finish college with her love of art still intact?
Mel Stringer was encouraged to be creative from an early age and remembers spending most of her free time drawing all through her schooling years. Her work spans across mediums, including comics and illustrations, all autobiographical and influenced by her surroundings in one way or another. Mel was brought up in the Northern Territory of Australia, finishing high school in Darwin. She then traveled across the country to study art in Brisbane, in hopes of starting her art career and meeting more like-minded people. Now based in St. Louis, Missouri, with her husband, she spends her days creating autobiographical comics in the form of the zine Flowery, about what it’s like being a Filipino-Australian living in the USA. Fart School is her first graphic novel. She has long been a consignor at Quimby’s, where she sells her diary comic Flowery. Find her on the web at instagram.com/melstringer.
Mel will be in conversation with local mini-comics artist and Quimby’s friend Kevin Budnik, whose diary comics have been called “painful” in a complimentary sense. Born in Chicago, graduate of Columbia College, Kevin makes work exploring depression, compulsive behaviors, mental illness, queerness, cats, and death. Find him on the web at instagram.com/kevin_budnik. He publishes the ongoing mini-comics series I Hope This Finds You.
Reviews of Fart School:
“A relatable exploration of the difficulties of making it in the art world.” – Booklist
“Devotees of Dan Clowes’s beloved teenage dramadies will appreciate Stringer’s neurotic, angsty worldview as she tries to find her way in the adult world. Though most likely to strike a chord with actual past and present art school comrades, any reader who’s ever felt like a fish out of water will be drawn in by the irresistible loose cartoony art style and cheery color palette. This funny portrait of the artist as a young adult is a charmer.” -Publishers Weekly
“Mel Stringer’s art and storytelling talent shine in this brilliant, beautiful graphic memoir that’s both personal and universal: the time somebody starts to become their true self. Her brilliant artwork and storytelling are somehow both intensely personal and universal, as well as funny, poignant and real. The more you look at Mel Stringer’s work, the more you see, and the more you realise what an awesome talent she is.” -Kaz Cooke
Facebook event invite here.
Be extra prepared and purchase Fart School here!
Hey! Remember when Mel did our awesome bookmarks?! We love them so much!
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Dave Eggers Does Something Interesting at Quimby's For His Book The Eyes & The Impossible, April 11th
What will Dave Eggers do here at Quimby’s for this event Tuesday, April 11th? Read something? Talk about something? Who knows? Will he cut hair? Make drinks? We look forward to finding out. What we do know is he has a new book coming out. And we’re having an event here in partnership with the American Writers Museum.
The Eyes and the Impossible (McSweeney’s) is the story of a dog named Johannes. Johannes is a free dog, a fast dog—such a fast dog! He lives in an urban park by the sea, and every day, he runs through the park, seeing all, missing nothing, and reporting what he sees to the park’s three ancient Bison, the Keepers of the Equilibrium. But the Equilibrium has been disrupted.
Mysterious rectangles are hypnotizing Johannes, humans are erecting a strange new building, and an entirely new kind of animal has arrived in the park—and there are hundreds of them. Johannes must run faster, see better, and ultimately do more than run and see—he must liberate those he loves.
Gorgeously illustrated throughout by Shawn Harris (author of Have You Ever Seen A Flower? and illustrator of Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers, among many others)—Dave Eggers’s The Eyes and the Impossible is a lyrical, soulful book full of wit and passion—a timeless story for readers of all ages.
Quimby’s is normally closed on Tuesdays but for this very special event we’ll be open in the evening for this event! Doors open at 6pm, events starts at 7pm.
Praise for The Eyes and the Impossible
“So clever and engrossing and sweet. I loved it.”
—Roddy Doyle, Man Booker Prize and Irish PEN Award winner“An exhilarating, funny, frightening, mind-warping, heart-squeezing tale. Told at the speed of light. A must read. For all humans.”
—Jon Scieszka“A total delight: a heroic dog’s account of a thrilling adventure, during which a community determines, separately and together, how to live. I loved it.”
—Maile Meloy“This book is a magic trick. The kind of magic trick where you want to know how to do it so you can also write a book this good.”
—Jon Klassen“The Eyes and the Impossible is Exhibit A in the argument for children’s books being great literature. Honestly, it’s the best all-ages novel I’ve read in years. It reminded me why I love kids’ books—and why I love reading itself.”
—Annie Barrows“Hilarious, big-hearted, and beautifully written. If you want to know what I think, this book right here is a significant contribution to children’s literature.”
—Mac Barnett“One remarkable creature vividly shows readers that “there is so, so much to see.” —Kirkus, starred review
The Eyes and the Impossible
McSweeney’s
isbn: 978-1-95211-945-3 (wood-cover edition)
pub date: May 9, 2023
price: $28
format: Hardcover
publicity: Amanda Uhle, amanda(at)mcsweeneys(dot)net
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Caroline Sun, caroline(dot)sun(at)sunliteraryarts(dot)comAbout Dave Eggers: Dave Eggers is the author of many books, among them The Eyes and the Impossible, The Circle, The Monk of Mokha, Heroes of the Frontier, A Hologram for the King, and What Is the What. He is the founder of McSweeney’s, an independent publishing company, and co-founder of 826 Valencia, a youth writing center that has inspired over 70 similar organizations worldwide. Eggers is winner of the American Book Award, the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award for Education, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the TED Prize, and has been a finalist for the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He once did an event at Quimby’s in the middle of the day on a Wednesday.
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A Night with Acid Nun: Corinne Halbert in Conversation With Caroline Cash
We are proud to welcome back Quimby’s alum Corinne Halbert in celebration of her graphic novel Acid Nun! She is joined by another Quimby’s alum, Caroline Cash, as they talk about all things that may or may not include: cartooning, art, Quimby’s behind-the-scenes and other inspiration dragged up from the depths. It is only befitting with Quimby’s celebrating 31 years in September that our first in-person event since 2020 will feature 2 former employees in the very month of our anniversary.
Corinne Halbert in Conversation with Caroline Cash
7-9 p.m. CT Friday, September 30
at Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Ave. Chicago IL 6622
Free!Masks required for entry. This event marks Quimby’s first in-person event in the store since 2020, as we tentatively experiment with what it is like to having events somewhere other than online! Will we go back to doing more in-store events? Stay tuned!
About Acid Nun by Corinne Halbert:
A bad trip leads Annie, our earnest heroine, through a journey of suffering and self-discovery. Caught within the confines of her own mind, Annie struggles against the doubled weight of trauma and despair. In order to crawl her way out, she must grapple with the cruelest parts of her psyche, and make peace with her inner child and suppressed past. Annie argues with her demons and punches her way toward the light, with a little help from her dedicated and loving friends. Lushly illustrated with influences from spiritual iconography and psychedelic imagery, Halbert crafts an unflinching yet compassionate story about pain, rage, and the blessings we can give ourselves. CW: 18+ only. This book deals with trauma, sexual and physical violence, mental health, drugs, and other sensitive subjects. Preorder the book from Quimby’s here.
“Halbert’s art and writing throb with uninhibited scenes of sex and gore, crude but portrayed with wit. Each chapter concludes with her frank confessions about processing her own childhood trauma through creating these comics. Her openhearted emotional arc combined with such shock-erotic visceral imagery make for an entertaining and unexpectedly moving experience for gore-horror fans.” -Publishers Weekly
128 full-color pages; ISBN 978-1-945509-95-7, published by Silver Sprocket
About Girl In the World by Caroline Cash:
What’s everyone doing later? Some creatively named Facebook events? This book is about how a particularly chaotic 24 hours impacts a group of girls, and what they each get up to over the course of the night. Order this book from Quimby’s here.
“Girl in the World is drenched in equal parts love and despair, is softly satirical, and is just a lot of fun to look at. We predict Caroline Cash’s star is rising, make sure to grab onto its belching rainbow tail as it passes by and pick up this book if you want to see what the fuss is about.” -Broken Frontier
64 full-color pages, ISBN: 978-1-945509-36-0, published by Silver Sprocket
Corinne Halbert is a Chicago horror artist with an extensive book collection. Her work is heavily influenced by an avid obsession with 1970s cult films and vintage comics. Find her on the web at corinnehalbert.com.
View this post on InstagramCaroline Cash can be found on IG at cash_browns. Her comic Pee Pee Poo Poo is nominated for two 2022 Ignatz Awards.
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