Make the darkest day of the year a little brighter with baked treats from Paper Moon Pastry. On from 1-5 p.m. on Saturday, December 21, a.k.a the Winter Solstice, Ana from Paper Moon will be offering a slew of festive treats from the one and only pastry wagon. Pick up gingerbread, dulce de leche cookies, cupcakes or signature baking kits. You can even pre-order vegan and gluten-free goodies in advance. Papermoonpastry.com
Find the perfect hand-drawn, gift at this year’s Quimby’s Holiday Sketch-ravaganza! On Sunday, December 15 from 12:30-6:30 p.m. we’ll be hosting six talented, local comic artists who will doodle away on the image of your choice. It’s all part of our seasonal celebration, 12 Weeks of Quimbas. That’s right. Christmas with a Quimb’.
How about a Santa riding a mongoose? No problem. Perhaps a festive owl peering out from a bottle of scotch? Got you covered. Come in and one of our Quimbas comics elves will scrawl away on any image of your creation.
Here is a list of participating artists so you can haggle with your favorite Chicago drawing star:
12:30-1:30: Ben Bertin – Ben Bertin’s comics appear in anthologies, his own self-published work and as part of the Chicago-based jam comic collective, Trubble Club. Among his projects: the alien-centric “Oofo Komsk Booka Oon” and “Losing Sight”, a “minicomic about a caveman who is bitten by a snake.” benbertin.blogspot.com
1:30-2:30: Lyra Hill – Lyra Hill is the mastermind behind the pioneering performative comics series Brain Frame, now in its fifteenth iteration. She uses sequential art to examine everything from personal anecdotes to sci-fi alternate realities. Her work often juxtaposes live action elements within the static, illustrated panels of her comics. iamanartstudentwhatamidoing.blogspot.com/
2:30-3:30: Krystal Difronzio – Krystal Difronzo is a comic artist whose whimsical, humorous and sometimes dark depictions pepper the pages of her mini-comics. Her subject matter ranges from collections honoring Canadian singer Kate Bush to narrative coat tales. In addition to her illustrations, she is part of the puppetry collective Pup House. http://krystaldifronzo.com/
3:30-4:30: Grant Reynolds – Grant Reynolds’ work delves into the dark realms of horror all while exploring gender, feminist politics and the abstract world of mysticism and the unseen. Reynolds, aside from being a nearly lifelong illustrator, also has recently begun exploring written narratives and has embarked on several musical projects. http://grantreynolds.com/
4:30-5:30 Kevin Budnik – Kevin Budnik is a lifelong Chicago area resident who “spends most of his time drawing noodle armed characters.” When not scrawling the pasta-limbed, he creates paintings, illustrations and comics that have been featured in the pages of Saveur, MAKE Magazine, Wild Honey and Sexfist, just to name a few. http://kevinbudnik.com/
5:30-6:30: Jenna Caravello – Jenna Caravello is an LA native, Chicago-based comics artist and videographer. When not creating animations and drawings, she directs music videos and is the videographer-in-residence for Brain Frame. She’s also illustrated awesome coloring place mats! http://www.jennacaravello.com
Dec 6th Fri, 6-10pm – Celebrate Krampusnacht with arty Chicago mobile photo booth GlitterGuts here at Quimby’s. Get your picture taken with the Krampus, the xmas demon known to punish children during the Yule season for their misbehavior. We here at Quimby’s would like to show our customer appreciation by helping you creep out the people in your life with photos of you getting reprimanded by this traditional Germanic holiday beast.
Krampus (from the German “Krampen,” or “Claw,” or “Giddy Child Murderer”) was born of a pre-Christian, Alpine Pagan tradition, and has been described as a “boozy goat-horned menace that whips children around Europe.” December 6th is the day in which parts of Germany and Bavaria celebrate Krampusnacht, which is a throwback to a pre-Christian tradition. The Krampus’ job is to punish those who have been bad, while Santa rewards the people on his “nice” list. Krampus punishes the naughty children, swatting them with switches and rusty chains before dragging them in baskets to a fiery place below. And we’ve got Krampus here for you to pose with on Dec 6th, hooves and all.
About GlitterGuts: They provide photobooth services with live photographers at raves, festivals, gallery shows, fetish parties, carnivals, hardcore shows, orgies, comic cons, orgies, hootenannies and other gatherings, like the Black and Brown Punk Show, as seen (above), Riot Fest or Nocturna’s All Hallows Eve Ball (below). They make their own backdrops and post their photos to their site glitterguts.com, where you can download for free. You can also order prints and hi-res files to give to send your seasonal greetings to your friends and family, or to show off at home.
Click here to go to the Facebook event post for this event.
…And just so you know, here’s our…
Quimby’s Holiday Hours
Also! Starting Fri, Nov 29th, until Tues, Dec 24th, Quimby’s will be open at 11am every day.
Nobody chooses to be a loser – they just haven’t found the right advice. This ground-breaking new handbook guides readers through how to win at everything (actually, more like dozens of things) —even things that aren’t competitive, and that you can’t or shouldn’t try to win at, such as eye exams, puberty and apologizing.
Essential diagrams direct winners through activities such as raising a child (remember: feed them daily and have them checked by a veterinarian), bird watching (start by spotting common species like pigeons, or dogs), fishing (throw a toaster into a lake), faking your own death (Write DEAD on your library card in red block letters) and many more scenarios for success. In sharing their hard-won knowledge, the authors—who win at winning—help readers become the future winners they were meant to be.
Join Quimby’s at the Hideout November 16th to welcome authors Daniel Kibblesmith and Sam Weiner as they present this new book, which Quimby’s will provide for purchase.
About the Authors:
Daniel Kibblesmith has written for the Onion News Network and Splitsider, produced video for Funny or Die and The Best Show on WFMU, and appeared on Bravo’s Millionaire Matchmaker. He lives in Chicago.
Sam Weiner is a staff writer for the Onion News Network. His work has appeared in McSweeney’s, Splitsider, on NPR’s Marketplace, and on stage at Chicago’s Annoyance Theatre. He lives in Chicago.
How to Win at Everything
By Daniel Kibblesmith and Sam Weiner
5 x 7 in; 176 pp;
2-color images throughout
Paperback
ISBN 9781452113319
$15.95
Please note: this event is NOT at Quimby’s. It is at The Hideout, at 1354 W Wabansia Ave, Chicago, IL 60642, (773) 227-4433. For more info about The Hideout, see hideoutchicago.com.
David Novak’s new book Japanoise: Music at the Edge of Circulation (Duke University Press) describes how Noise, an underground music made through an amalgam of feedback, distortion, and electronic effects, became a global phenomenon. Noise first emerged as a genre in the 1980s, circulating on cassette tapes traded between fans in Japan, Europe, and North America. With its cultivated obscurity, ear-shattering sound, and over-the-top performances, Noise captured the imagination of a small but passionate transnational audience. But does Noise really belong to Japan? Is it even music at all? Novak draws on more than a decade of fieldwork to trace the “cultural feedback” that generated Noise in circulation between Japan and the United States, illustrating his talk with rare videos of Noise performances.
Novak’s presentation at Quimby’s will also be supported by electronic music performances featuring Roth Mobot, the circuit bent hybrid performance/teaching duo of Tommy Stephenson and Patrick McCarthy (www.RothMobot.com) and Peter Speer, a Chicago artist working with improvised electronic sound (www.diode-ring.com).
“David Novak goes inside the Noise scene and presents an astounding perspective: historically astute, inspired, and completely shell-shocked.”
—Thurston Moore, Sonic Youth
David Novak is Associate Professor of Music at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of essays in Public Culture, Cultural Anthropology, and The Wire, and his research has recently been featured on podcasts by MIT and MoMA. Novak is also a radio host, sound engineer, and musician who has performed in the groups Habit Trail, Maestros, the Anthony Braxton Ensemble and Dymaxion.
For more info: www.japanoise.com
For the Facebook event invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/204576466391960/
Friday, November 22, 7pm – Free Event
School Spirits is Anya Davidson‘s idiosyncratic and captivating debut full-length graphic novel. It is the story of Oola, a high school student with an unusual connection to the supernatural. Comprised of four chapters, each deploying a different narrative technique, School Spirits is at once funny, sexy, mystical and, above all, utterly readable. Davidson’s crisp cartooning style makes even the strangest occurrences somehow seem plausible. This publication is sure to appeal to Davidson’s existing extensive underground following, as well as to fans of the farther reaches of contemporary graphic fiction.
Anya Davidson is a cartoonist and musician based in Chicago. She is the author of numerous zines and was a member of the acclaimed band Coughs. More info at anyadavidson.blogspot.com.
School Spirits
Hardcover, 152 pages PictureBox, $19.95
For more info: dan(at)pictureboxinc(dot)com
Quimby’s gift to you, in honor of our own holiday, Quimbas at this event: Take a nibble of a free Krampus Candy Cane. But don’t gobble too quickly, little fellow. There’s a special Krampus mystery missive wrapped on that sweet treat.
In Gene Gregorits’ latest, Fishhook (Monastrell Books), he takes a break from his Dog Days series, which has won him a mountain of small press support while also inviting hellish scorn since its emergence last year. Throughout this new volume’s 550 pages, we experience the notorious cult writer and well-known Facebook abuser’s oftentimes hazardous day-to-day life with both humor and a terrifying clinical detachment. Fishhook is the first book of its kind: a literary anthology comprised entirely of status updates. It works as a conceptual coffee table piece, but fans of his novels can investigate this collection as a real life companion to both Dog Days and Johnny Behind the Deuce.
The work of Gene Gregorits has been hiding in plain sight for 20 years. His first 2 books, 2002’s Sex & Guts and 2007’s Midnight Mavericks: Reports From The Underground, sold less than 50 copies each, despite heavy marketing, exceptional writing, and one-of-a-kind interviews. He finds the relentless attempts to extinguish him as a writer and force of nature amusing, particularly now that with his own imprint, Monastrell, he has finally managed to discover an intelligent and informed readership that, like him, is none too happy about the current void in American literature. His rapidly growing cult of ne’er do wells, malcontents, and highly literate reprobates seems to be largely based in Chicago, and he is very excited to meet every one of them on November 8th.
Gregorits is coming all the way from Florida for this event; he will be reading from Dog Days Volume Two, Fishhook, and his current work-in-progress, Intra-Coastal: One Year On St. Pete Beach. For more info: www.MonastrellBooks.com
“Gene Gregorits is the best and truest writer you have never heard of.” -Lisa Carver, VICE MAGAZINE
Alan Hoffman is a Chicago-based writer-performer who collaborates with musicians (including current-regular ambient accompanist Cinchel) to create dark sonic portraits about human nature. His current project is a recording for late 2013 which includes his own monologues, along with one each by director Christophe Honore and author Dennis Cooper. Alan will read a piece from this recording tonight and will be performing the show in its entirety (with several other local musicians) in the near future.” For more info: http://cinchel.com/
Friday, November 8th, 7pm – Free Event
In honor of Gregoritis’ love for Facebook, we’ll be giving away FREE GRAB BAGS to any customer who can prove that they shared that day’s event and tagged Quimby’s Bookstore. Social media: truly the gift that keeps on giving. Please note: customers must be in the store at the Gregorits in-store appearance to pick up their grab bags.
Laydeez do Comics is a unique salon with a focus on graphic works based on life narrative, the drama of the domestic, and the everyday. Invited guest speakers have 10-20 minute slots to present works/ideas followed by a Q&A. Launched in London in July 2009, the group has now expanded to other cities, including Chicago. Quimby’s hosts the Chicago chapter and it is usually the last Thursday of every month.
October’s edition features artists Beth Hetland (cartoonist, teacher, lover of sharks) & Jaclyn Miller (cartoonist, Chicago Zine Fest organizer).
Beth Hetland was raised in the rolling hills of Wisconsin. After earning her BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009, where she started making comics, she packed up and moved to White River Junction, VT to attend a graduate program at The Center for Cartoon Studies. She graduated with an MFA in 2011 and accepted a position teaching comics at her alma mater, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has been teaching there ever since, bringing comics and cheer to eager young minds. She has been self-publishing since 2006 with over 50 titles to her name. She has been the recipient of the both the Best Small Press Stumptown Award and Nerdlinger. Her longest auto-bio work, “Fugue,” is a three part story that traces the generational repetitions and relationship of her family utilizing music as a metephor. She frequently collaborates with her best friend, Kyle O’Connell, on fiction work–the current ideration of which is the first volume of their new series titled “Half Asleep.” For more about Beth and her work, visit her blog: beth-hetland.com.
Jaclyn Miller is a cartoonist living and working in Chicago. Her work deals primarily in autobiography, daydream, and memory. Her current project, “Rememberies,” is a minicomic series centered around childhood folly and reflection. When she’s not working her day job or surrounding herself with good people and good comics, she spends her time as an organizer for the Chicago Zine Fest. More info at fortfootcomix.tumblr.com.
Join us at the Hungry Brain on Oct 16th for the release of Fred Minnick’s book Whiskey Women: The Untold Story of How Women Saved Bourbon, Scotch, and Irish Whiskey (and yes, the book will be available for purchase, courtesy of Quimby’s). Special discussion panel guests will be Monique Huston, whisky specialist at Stoller Wine & Spirits, “Still Stoker” Karen Sisulak Binder of Southern Sisters Spirits, Meg Bell – brand ambassador for Death’s Door Spirits and one of Chicago premier female distillers Sonat Hart from Koval Distillery.
About the book:
Shortly after graduating from University of Glasgow in 1934, Elizabeth “Bessie” Williamson began working as a temporary secretary at the Laphroaig Distillery on the Scottish island Islay. Williamson quickly found herself joining the boys in the tasting room, studying the distillation process, and winning them over with her knowledge of Scottish whisky. After the owner of Laphroaig passed away, Williamson took over the prestigious company and became the American spokesperson for the entire Scotch whisky industry. Impressing clients and showing her passion as the Scotch Whisky Association’s trade ambassador, she soon gained fame within the industry, becoming known as the greatest female distiller. Whiskey Women tells the tales of women who have created this industry, from Mesopotamia’s first beer brewers and distillers to America’s rough-and-tough bootleggers during Prohibition. Women have long distilled, marketed, and owned significant shares in spirits companies. Williamson’s story is one of many among the influential women who changed the Scotch whisky industry as well as influenced the American bourbon whiskey and Irish whiskey markets. Until now their stories have remained untold.
Please note: This event it NOT at Quimby’s. It is at The Hungry Brain, 2319 W Belmont Ave Chicago, IL 60618 (773) 709-1401.
The Hungry Brain on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehungrybrain
The Facebook Post for this event.
Wednesday, Oct. 16th
In ellie june navidson’s new zine Spider Teeth, she attempts to encompass the complicated emotionality surrounding her recent surgery, “the surgery.” It’s a messy and gorgeous work that she couldn’t be more excited to share. The opening will feature performances by several trans women/goddesses. Face it, she says, we’re absolutely everything, come celebrate with us.
ellie june navidson is your everyday subversive tranny faggot. She is a blogger, poet, workshop facilitator, dressmaker, and all around crafty radical. Much of her work explores gender, normativity, radical visibility, and self-awareness. She works to incorporate vulnerability and non-violence into her life while striving for social justice. She’s all about empowerment, brave honesty, and growth. She is perparing to release her fabulous new zine, Spider Teeth, that encapsulates all the complicated emotionality surrounding “The Surgery.” Some essays and contact information can be found at her personal blog can be found at invisiblyqueer.tumblr.com.
She will be accompanied by AJ Durand and KOKOMO.
For more info: ellie(dot)june(dot)navidson(at)gmail(dot)com
Thursday, October 10th, 7pm – Free Event
Click here to find the Facebook event posting for this event.
