Quimby’s Bookstore · 1854 W. North Ave · Chicago, IL 60622 · 773-342-0910

Category: Store Events

  • 9/27 Show & Tell: madeleine aguilar

    Quimby’s Show & Tell
    with madeleine aguilar of bench press
    Saturday, September 27, 2025 – 6:30 PM
    in-person at Quimby’s Bookstore 1854 W. North Ave Chicago, IL 60622

    Join madeleine aguilar of bench press for a conversation on maintaining a collaborative practice, dive deep into the behind-the-scenes of some of her favorite publications. Bench Press is a risograph press based on friendship, play & collaboration. Books are remnants of generative conversations & mutual exchange between artist + publisher.

    “madeleine is an artist & musician from chicago. her work is often mobile / modular / interactive and can be found in backyards, libraries, storefronts, homes, galleries, book stores & street fairs. using the archive as form, she acknowledges the passing of time by cataloging lived spaces, collected objects, familial histories, personal relationships, natural phenomena, mundane routines, and ephemeral moments.” ~ benchpresspress.com

    Register for the event!

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    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!

    Pay what you can afford. Suggested: $10
    Venmo: @quimbysbookstore
    Please include “After Hours” in the note!

  • 9/25 After Hours: Taylor Thornburg

    Quimby’s After Hours:
    Taylor Thornburg – 6:00 pm to 7:27 pm
    Thursday, September the 25th 6pm-7:27pm

    in-person at Quimby’s Bookstore 1854 W. North Ave Chicago, IL 60622

    Quimby’s After Hours is excited to welcome Quimby’s family member Taylor Thornburg for a conversation, reading, and book launch for his recent release Agathe, 6:00 p.m. to 7:27, “about a woman, her letter, a memory, and the trouble in which she finds herself.”

    “Taylor Thornburg is an author and essayist based in Chicago, Illinois. His fiction explores strange yet humane ways of being. His fiction can be found in The Garfield Lake Review, L’Esprit Literary Review, Thirteenth Floor Magazine, Valley Voices, The Heartwood Literary Review, Disco Kitchen, and elsewhere.” ~ Lost Telegram Press

    Register for the event!

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    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!

    Pay what you can afford. 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 authors, publishers, creators, Quimby’s Bookstore, and DIY culture—we truly couldn’t do it without you!

  • Quimby’s After Hours: Wreathe Literary Collective

    Quimby’s After Hours:
    Wreathe Literary Collective
    Thursday, August 28th, 2025 – 6:30 PM

    in-person at Quimby’s Bookstore1854 W. North Ave Chicago, IL 60622

    Quimby’s After Hours is excited to welcome readers from Wreathe Literary Collective. Wreathe Literary Collective, founded by Chicago writer Kat Thanopoulis publishes Wreath Magazine a two (and soon to be three) issue zine format lit, poetry and painting publication!

    Register for the event!

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    Readers for the event are

    Gretchen Shull

    Gretchen Shull is a sketch and improv performer and loves Kat with all of their heart! They love a good notes app poem; they find it fun to tell a small story in their poems that only they know. They’re very proud of Kat and Wreath, and are very excited to be a part of it.

    Dylan Gann 

    Dylan Gann (she/her) graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a degree in Comedy Writing and Performance. She was first published in Wreath and has since loved sharing her poetry and exploring the literary world!

    ethan

    ethan is an abolitionist poet born and raised on the far north side of Chicago.

    His poetry has previously appeared in Wreath LC, Querencia press and Dream Boy Book Club. He is currently working on his 2nd collection of poetry: Code Switch

    Tommy Bien

    Tommy Bien is a visual artist and sometimes writer from Chicago.

    Expect a lively reading celebrating contributors Wreathe Literary Collective and zines from Wreathe and the readers!

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    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!

    Pay what you want. Suggested $10.

    Venmo: @quimbysbookstore (Please include “Wreathe” in the note!)

    By registering for this event, you’ll be added to Quimby’s newsletter to receive updates on upcoming events, new releases, and zine news. You can unsubscribe at any time.

  • 8/9 Show & Tell: Marc Fischer

    Quimby’s Show & Tell: Marc Fischer of Public Collectors
    Saturday, August 9th, 2025 – 6:30 PM
    in-person at Quimby’s Bookstore
    1854 W. North Ave Chicago, IL 60622

    Register to attend Show & Tell: Marc Fischer of Public Collectors

    Join Chicago-based publisher Marc Fischer of Public Collectors to discuss his latest Public Collectors publications, and read from the recent booklets: “Why Self-Publish Under Fascism?” and “Who Shares the Restroom Code with ICE Agents?“

    Marc Fischer is the administrator of Public Collectors, an initiative he formed in 2007. Public Collectors aims to encourage greater access and scholarship for marginal cultural materials, particularly those that museums ignore. Public Collectors’ work includes the Library Excavations publication series and web project, Hardcore Architecture—a blog and publication series about where people in punk bands lived, and Quaranzine—which produced 100 single-page publications with over 75 collaborators at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to Public Collectors, Fischer is also a member of the group Temporary Services (founded in 1998) and a partner in its publishing imprint Half Letter Press (ongoing since 2008). He is based in Chicago.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!

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    Pay what you want. Suggested: $10
    Venmo: @quimbysbookstore
    Please include “Show & Tell” 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 authors, publishers, creators, Quimby’s Bookstore, and DIY culture—we truly couldn’t do it without you!

  • County Highway Summer Reading Tour, 7/12

    County Highway Summer Reading Tour
    Saturday, July 12, 2025 – 3:00 PM
    in-person at Quimby’s Bookstore
    1854 W. North Ave Chicago, IL 60622

    Register to attend County Highway Summer Reading

    Meaghan Garvey and Amanda Fortini will be reading from their work in County Highway with interspersed discussions, followed by an audience Q&A discussion!

    County Highway is a magazine about America in the form of a 19th-century newspaper, started on a shoestring by three friends (David Samuels, Walter Kirn, and Ryan Baesemann) in the wake of the pandemic. They have since become the fastest growing print periodical in the country — earning an annual circulation of 150,000 copies barely one year after releasing thier debut issue.

    The name County Highway is inspired by what they believe is the perfect-sized place for the enhancement of life and art. A county is a chunk of earth big enough to allow for a variety of human types, but small enough to get to know a decent number of your neighbors, where they come from, what they’re proud of, what they fear, what they smoke, what they drink, and what they love. The county where County Highway newspaper is located is somewhere between all those places, real and imaginary. It’s the scale of the place that’s important, and also the idea of traveling from one to another with an eye towards finding new answers to the founding American questions of who we are, and why we are here.

    Dubbed “America’s Only Newspaper,” County Highway features hairy off-road adventures by some of America’s best and strangest writers; reports on the myriad of political and spiritual crises that are gripping our country and their deeper cultural and historical sources; regular columns about agriculture, civil liberties, animals, herbal medicine, and living off the grid, both mentally and physically; essays about literature and art; and an entire section devoted to music. Offering a road-side banquet of American humor, common-speech, and social and political insights in every issue, County Highway prints six times each year for readers across all fifty states and Canada. Wherever there’s a stop sign, there’s a story.

    Amanda Fortini is a natural remedies columnist for County Highway. She divides her time between Livingston, Montana, and Las Vegas, Nevada, about which she is currently writing a book of essays, Flamingo Road. From 2021 to 2022, she did a nine-month flower essence apprenticeship and got certified as a practitioner.

    Meaghan Garvey is a writer and illustrator living on the beach in the Midwest. She’s a contributing writer to County Highway, with bylines in Pitchfork, NPR, The New York Times, New York Magazine, Tablet, Vulture, and many other outlets. Her debut book Midwestern Death Trip will be published by Panamerica in 2026.

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    Suggested donation: $10
    Venmo: @quimbysbookstore
    Please include “County Highway” 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 authors, publishers, creators, Quimby’s Bookstore, and DIY culture—we truly couldn’t do it without you!

  • Quimby’s Show & Tell: Rachel Hays of Taxonomy Press, 7/17

    Quimby’s Show & Tell: Rachel Hays of Taxonomy Press
    Thursday, July 17, 2025 – 6:30 PM
    in-person at Quimby’s Bookstore
    1854 W. North Ave Chicago, IL 60622

    Register to attend Show & Tell: Rachel Hays of Taxonomy Press

    Join Detroit-based printmaker and publisher Rachel Hays of Taxonomy Press for an evening of visual storytelling and reflection on sustaining a creative press practice. In this Show & Tell session, Rachel will share recent work and guide us through the systems, collaborations, and small habits that help her keep going as she navigates the shift to full-time independent publishing.

    Expect an honest, low-key conversation about the creative process, risograph printing, and staying grounded outside the algorithm. Perfect for anyone curious about zines, small press life, or slow, intentional ways of making.

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    Suggested donation: $10
    Venmo: @quimbysbookstore
    Please include “Show & Tell” 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 authors, publishers, creators, Quimby’s Bookstore, and DIY culture—we truly couldn’t do it without you!

  • Quimby’s After Hours: Raging Opossum, 6/26

    Quimby’s After Hours: Raging Opossum
    Thursday, June 26, 2025 – 6:30 PM
    in-person at Quimby’s Bookstore
    1854 W. North Ave Chicago, IL 60622

    Register to attend After Hours: Raging Opossum

    Join Quimby’s Bookstore and Taylor Thornburg to welcome Raging Opossum Press for our inaugural After Hours evening of readings. 

    Raging Opossum Press is a publishing house and press highlighting the local and DIY art in Chicago… Raging Opossum Press is dedicated to the ideas of community and the wonders of sharing art with one another, and strives to do that regularly by showing off different artists through publications, interviews, or our newsletter which shares and discusses a variety of different art events, shows, and whatever else around Chicago.

    Expect a raucous reading celebrating contributors to recent issues of Raging Opossum.

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    Suggested donation: $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 authors, publishers, creators, Quimby’s Bookstore, and DIY culture—we truly couldn’t do it without you!

  • Quimby’s Co-Sponsors Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (CAKE), at The Irish American Heritage Center, 6/28 + 6/29

    Quimby’s is proud to co-sponsor The Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (CAKE), a weekend-long celebration of independent comics, inspired by Chicago’s rich legacy as home to many of underground and alternative comics’ most talented artists– past, present and future. Featuring comics for sale, workshops, exhibitions, panel discussions and more, CAKE is dedicated to fostering community and dialogue amongst independent artists, small presses, publishers and readers.

    Featuring Special Guests!: Angie Hewitt, Caroline Hu, Geneva Bowers, Koreangry, Malachi Ward, Max Huffman

    CAKE 2025

    Saturday, June 28, 11:00 – 6:00 PM
    Sunday, June 29, 11:00 – 5:00 PM

    at The Irish American Heritage Center (not at Quimbys!)
    4626 N. Knox Ave.
    Chicago, IL 60630

    Masks strongly encouraged.

    More info at cakechicago.com

    flyer by former Quimby’s employee Mike Centeno!

  • Quimby’s Co-Sponsors Chicago Zine Fest at the Harold Washington Library Center, 7/19

     

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    Quimby’s is proud to be a co-sponsor of Chicago Zine Fest! We’ll be tabling there on 7/19 at the Harold Washington Library featuring special guest Angel xoxoxoxox! Stop by our table and say hello.

    Chicago Zine Fest is a celebration of small press and independent publishers, with an annual festival of workshops and the big expo day where 70+ zinesters sell and trade their zines. All CZF events are free and open to the public.

    Saturday, July 19, 2025, 11 am to 4 pm
    Harold Washington Library Center
    Winter Garden, 9th Floor
    400 S State St
    Chicago, IL 60605

    More information at chicagozinefest.org.

    art by Kelly Wang.

  • John Porcellino & Chris Fink Release Forage Like a Bear at Quimby’s, May 31st

     

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    Don’t miss John Porcellino (King-Cat) and Chris Fink (Add This to the List of Things That You Are) visiting Quimby’s to talk about Forage Like a Bear, their collaborative book of gentle micro-essays on nature, family, and life on Saturday, May 31st at 7pm!

    This beautiful book by Chris Fink collects twenty of his short, luminous radio essays as heard on Northern Public Radio WNIJ FM in DeKalb, Illinois. Low-key and plainspoken, he explores quiet moments in nature and with family in a classic Midwestern style. It features whistling acorns, scribbling clams, gossipy geese, technicolor ducks, turkeys (including human ones), roving bands of chipmunks, chimneys, fires, chainsaws, lice, thin ice, approximately 30,000 blueberries, cars rolling uphill, the leaves of a mulberry tree drifting down, Peace Trail meanders, and maybe just maybe, a holy grail morel and more, all illustrated with graceful ink line drawings by comics luminary John Porcellino. 

    Porcellino will read (with slides) selections from recent issues of King-Cat, with Chris Fink reading afterwards from Forage Like a Bear. A Q+A and signing will follow. Books will be available for purchase.

    Long-time friend of Quimby’s John Porcellino has been publishing King-Cat Comics since 1989. When he does events at Quimby’s he lovingly refers to us as the place where he does the first event on the tour to experiment, and we are therefore the “sacrifical pancake.” He runs Spit and a Half Distro and goes to the post office on most days. Follow him on Patreon +@johnporcellino on IG among other places.

    Chris Fink is a professor of English at Beloit College and the editor of the Beloit Fiction Journal. He’s the author of two collections of short stories, Farmer’s Almanac: A Work of Fiction (Emergency Press, 2013/2023) and Add This to the List of Things That You Are (University of Wisconsin Press, 2019). He’s a regular contributor to Northern Public Radio.

    Forage Like a Bear (Bored Wolves, 2025) $18.00 – Lovingly printed on soft white paper with French flaps.

    Yes! Quimby’s will stay open later for this event! Quimby’s is located at 1854 W. North Ave, Chicago, IL 60622.  This event is free.

    Find the Facebook event link here.

     

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