Category: Store Events

  • Erotic Harry Potter Night


    Erotic Harry Potter Night at Quimby’s

    Who knew that the vanguard of erotic fiction could be found amongst the devotees of J. K. Rowling’s boy wizard Harry Potter? Quimby’s, of course! Critically-acclaimed erotica writer Cecilia Tan comes to Chicago under her nom de plume “Ravenna” to gather together some of the world’s best-known writers of erotic fanfiction for a group reading on Wednesday, August 6 at 7pm.

    “Fanfic is the hottest stuff,” says Tan, who wrote sexy fan stories as a teenager featuring her friends meeting the teen idols of the day, but moved into writing Harry Potter fanfic in recent years after establishing a career as a leading erotica author and editor. On tour to support the release of her latest book of erotic short stories (White Flames, published by Running Press, 2008), Tan’s visit coincides in Chicago with Terminus, a huge Harry Potter fan convention. “Erotic fanfic has its roots in the mainstream, but then subverts it completely.”

    Joining Tan in this erotic celebration will be two authors from Chicago, and from as far away as Copenhagen, Toronto, and Kansas City. Come expecting to hear short, homoerotic excerpts pairing Harry with Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape, and other characters. A special commemorative zine, “The Erotic Harry Potter,” is being produced specially for the event and will only be available through the weekend.

    Author Bio:
    “Cecilia Tan is simply one of the most important writers, editors, and innovators in contemporary American erotic literature,” says Susie Bright (Best American Erotica). Tan is the author of the books White Flames, The Velderet, Black Feathers, and Telepaths Don’t Need Safewords, editor of many anthologies such as Sex In The System, Cowboy Lover, The MILF Anthology, and Best Fantastic Erotica, and the founder of Circlet Press, an independent publisher dedicated to erotic science fiction and fantasy.

    The lineup also includes authors Alchemia Dent and Bugland from Chicago, Kabal from Copenhagen, GatewayGirl from Massachusetts, Mijan from Kansas City, and Mechiaeh from
    Nashville.

  • Joe Carducci at Quimby’s!

    Join Joe Carducci as he talks about his time in the west coast music underground, 1976-1986, and then about the three books he has written and published; Rock and the Pop Narcotic, Enter Naomi, and Wyoming Stories.  Joe will also do a short Q & A, and sign books.

    Joe Carducci.  Was born in 1955 in Merced, California and grew up in Naperville, Illinois.  He moved to the west coast in 1976.  Achievements of note: Founded Systematic Record Distribution and its label Optional Music (featuring bands: Dead Kennedys, Voice Farm, Negativland); founded the Thermidor label (featuring bands: Ono, Oil Tasters, Toiling Midgets, Nig-Heist, Birthday Party, SPK), and came into Black Flag’s label, SST Records, in 1981 until 1986.  Then he moved back to Chicago to write Rock and the Pop Narcotic and started Redoubt Press in 1990.  He also started Provisional for videotape releases in 1992.  Moved to Wyoming in 1995 and still resides there today.

  • Sparkplug Comics Presents an event for The Windy Corner

    Cartoonists Austin English, Jeremi Onsmith and John Hanciewicz will be signing copies of the 2nd issue of Sparkplug Comic Books’ most unique offering – Windy Corner. Windy Corner is a hybrid of a comic and a magazine that features comics by some of the brightest and best up and comers in indie comics as well as comics criticism and interviews. Special guests may also be in attendance!

    The Performers:
    Jeremi Onsmith
    John Hankiewicz
    Austin English

  • Eddie Campbell at Quimby’s!

    Join comic artist Eddie Campbell as he signs copies of his new graphic novel THE AMAZING REMARKABLE MONSIEUR LEOTARD (First Second).

    ‘He flies through the air with the greatest of ease – the daring young man on the flying trapeze!’

    Step right up, Ladies and Gentlemen, for a glorious spectacle of graphic literature beyond your wildest imaginings, in which young Etienne discovers that replacing his uncle as the Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard, world-renowned acrobat and head of a circus troupe, is every bit as difficult as it appears to be. Etienne is swept up in wonder and work even as he struggles to keep up his grandiose façade, while every day his chances for happiness slip further away.  For Etienne, taking a stand for his own happiness is as daring as any trick the Amazing Remarkable Leotard could perform.  Eddie Campbell and Dan Best bring to life the historical story of the daring young man on the flying trapeze in a tale filled with wonders and marvels.

    Eddie Campbell has earned an international following. For over 25 years, he has blazed a trail in the world of graphic novels, and his work has earned nearly every honor in the field, including the Eisner, Ignatz, and Harvey awards.

    With Alan Moore he created the towering opus From Hell, later adapted by Hollywood. Among the multitude of solo works he has produced, the epic series Bacchus brings the adventures of the Greek god of wine bang up to date, along the way adding such anomalies as the Eyeball Kid to the ancient pantheon. His autobiographical Alec has also garnered praise, notably for the memorable graphic novels Alec: the King Canute Crowd, and Alec: how to be an Artist.

  • The Microcosm Tour Lands at Quimby’s!

    The Microcosm Tour Lands at Quimby’s!
    Join the Microcosm crew as they make a stop in Quimby’s while on their summer tour.

    With performers:

    Dave Roche is small man with a big heart. He’s friends with some weird Hollywood celebs but you’d know him best as the author of “On Subbing”  and “About My Disappearance”.

    Joe Biel tinkers in zines, film, and books. He screens short film “talkies” about eccentric topics and is co-authoring a new edition of the book “Make a Zine”.

    Sparky Taylor is the creative visual brain behind designing books at Microcosm Publishing. She also draws cute animals doing things like eating cookies on buttons and operates the Paperfort Zine Library.

    About Microcosm:

    Microcosm Publishing is an independent publisher and distributor based in Bloomington, IN and Portland, OR. They distribute & publish zines, books, pamphlets, stickers, buttons, patches, t-shirts, posters, films, and more! They work to add credibility to zine writers and their ethics, teach self empowerment, show hidden history, and nurture people’s creative side. Microcosm began in 1996 with one person doing part time mailorder out of a bedroom.

  • Bizarro Fiction Night

    Eckhard Gerdes, D. Harlan Wilson, David Agranoiff and Garrett Cook will be reading selections from their Bizarro Fiction books!

    The Performers:
    Eckhard Gerdes is the author of My Landlady the Lobotmist, The Million-Year Centipede, and Przewalski’s Horse. Eckhard publishes The Journal of Experimental Fiction. At times, he writes about literature for The Review of Contemporary Fiction, American Book Review, and Electronic Book Review. His fiction appears in various journals every now and then.

    D. Harlan Wilson is the author of Dr Identity, Pseudo City; The Kafka Effekt, and Stranger on the Loose. Currently he is the editor-in-chief of The Dream People, a journal of Bizarro literature, and is contributing editor for Guide Dog Books.

    David Agranoff is the author of Screams from a Duying World.

    Garrett Cook is the author of Murderland Part I: h8.

    Other info:
    www.bizarrocentral.com

  • Sean Carswell, Mickey Hess and Scott Stealey

    Join authors Sean Carswell, Mickey Hess and Scott Stealey as they read and sign their recent books.

    Sean Carswell is the author of the novel Drinks for the Little Guy (1999) and two short story collections: Glue and Ink Rebellion (2002) and Barney’s Crew (2005).  His fiction has appeared in dozens literary journals over the fifteen dozen years.  He has been a staff writer for Flipside Magazine, READ, Clamor, and Ink 19, and is a regular contributor to Razorcake.  He is a co-founder of both Razorcake Magazine and Gorsky Press.  He is on tour promoting his new novel, Train Wreck Girl.

    Mickey Hess lives and writes in Lawrenceville, NJ, where he likewise teaches at Rider University. He is the author of much, including the memoirish novel Big Wheel at the Cracker Factory and the collections One Thousand Pound Locket and El Cumpleanos de Paco. He edited the Greenwood Press anthology the Icons of Hip-hop (2007).

    Scott Stealey is the editor of the online literary magazine, Please Don’t (please-dont.com), and author of the Featherproof mini-book, Letter from the Seaway.

  • Rauan Klassnik and Paula Cisewski

    A reading by Black Ocean poets Rauan Klassnik, author of Holy Land, and Paula Cisewski, author of Upon Arrival.

    The Performers:
    Rauan Klassnik was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Now he spends most of his time in Mexico looking after birds and dogs with his wife Edith. His poems have appeared in such journals The North American Review, MiPoesias, No Tell Motel, Caesura, Sentence, Tex!, Pilot Poetry, and Hunger Mountain.

    Paula Cisewski is the author of Upon Arrival (Black Ocean, 2006) and the chapbook How Birds Work (Fuori Editions, 2002).  She lives in the Twin Cities where she teaches writing and humanities courses and hosts the Imaginary Press Reading Series.

    From early silent films to early punk rock, Black Ocean brings together a spectrum of influences and combines them with a radical social perspective on the nature of art and humanity. We manifest our aesthetic in the books we print, the shows we produce, and the work we promote.

    Based out of Boston, New York and Chicago, our intent is to saturate the public with skillful and passionate forms of expression through a wide variety of mediums.
    Other info: www.blackocean.org

  • Jessica Abel and Matt Madden

    Join Jessica Abel and Matt Madden, authors of DRAWING WORDS & WRITING PICTURES as they talk about their new book and Jessica’s new books Life Sucks and the paper back edition of La Perdida.

    Drawing Words & Writing Pictures is a systematic course on that teaches the alchemical art of combining words and pictures to make comics. In it, Jessica and Matt have laid out a complete, structured syllabus that guides students from creating narrative within a single drawing to orchestrating all the skills involved in creating a multi-page, complex story.

    Life Sucks is the story of Dave Marshall. The girl he’s in love with doesn’t know he exists, he hates his job, and ever since his boss turned him into a vampire, he can’t go out in daylight without starting to charbroil. Undead life in its uncoolest incarnation yet is on display in this cinematic, supernatural drama told with gallons of humor and hemoglobin.  In striking, colorful, B-movie style artwork and light-hearted, intelligent writing by Jessica Abel, Gabe Soria, and Warren Pleece, Dave Marshall’s story comes alive – in a vampiric kind of way.

    La Perdida is the story of Carla, an American estranged from her Mexican father, who heads to Mexico City to “find herself.” Her intense desire to make a connection with Mexico and her unwillingness to see the impact of her own history on her understanding combine to turn an innocent journey down a dark path. A story about the youthful desire to live an authentic life and the consequences of trusting easy answers, La Perdida is a story about finding yourself by getting lost.

    Jessica Abel is a cartoonist and writer. Born and raised in Chicagoland, she moved in 2000 to Brooklyn, New York, after a two-year pit stop in Mexico City. In her “free” time, she likes to build things, garden, and cook, and hopes that doesn’t make her sound like the biggest dork ever. Along with La Perdida she is also responsible for the popular comic Artbabe.

    Matt Madden started self-publishing minicomics in the early 1990s. He published his first graphic novel, Black Candy in 1998, and in 2001 published Odds Off. Madden lives in Brooklyn with his wife, author and cartoonist Jessica Abel. He works in comics and illustration, and teaches at the School of Visual Arts and Yale University.  His latest works appear in A Fine Mess, his bi-annual series published by Alternative Comics.

    More info at www.jessicaabel.com
    Wednesday, June 25th, 7:00 PM
    FREE

  • Kathleen Rooney, Jasmine Dreame Wagner and Samuel Wharton

    Join authors/poets Kathleen Rooney, Jasmine Dreame Wagner and Samuel Wharton as they read from their new books.

    Kathleen Rooney was born in Beckley, West Virginia and raised in the Midwest. She earned a B.A. from the George Washington University and an M.F.A. in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College. Along with Elisa Gabbert, she is the author of the collaborative poetry chapbook Something Really Wonderful and the collection That Tiny Insane Voluptuousness. Her poems have appeared in AGNI online, 32 Poems, and Cincinnati Review, and her essays have appeared in Gulf Coast, Gettysburg Review, Ninth Letter, Southern Humanities Review and Another Chicago Magazine. She currently lives in Chicago with her husband, the writer Martin Seay.

    Jasmine Dreame Wagner is a recent graduate of the MFA program at the University of Montana – Missoula. Her poems have appeared in journals such as Verse, American Letters & Commentary, Colorado Review, Indiana Review, Seattle Review, North American Review, Columbia Review, 32 Poems, and others. A graduate of Columbia University, she was a writer-in-residence at The Hall Farm Center for Arts & Education in Townshend, Vermont. Her chapbook, “Charcoal,” surveys and deconstructs the language and visual field of the American urban ruin from the remains of the 9/11 site and the Greenpoint Terminal Market fire to the eroded mines and mills of the former western frontier. “Charcoal” was published this spring in collaboration with printmaker Matthew Trygve Tung and is part of a commission on the behalf of Windows Gallery (formerly PS2 Gallery) in Long Island City, New York. Wagner also performs in the experimental folk collective Cabinet of Natural Curiosities.

    Samuel Wharton has had poems published in various journals, including, most recently, The Concher, Otoliths, & Death Metal Poetry, & his work will appear in Outside Voices 2008 Anthology of Younger Poets . He is the editor of the online poetry journal, Sawbuck . Wharton’s chapbook, Welcome Home, was released by NeOPepper Press in May, 2007, and his music criticism appears regularly at www.urbanpollution.com. He lives and works in Chicago.

    More info at:
    Kathleen Rooney
    Jasmine Dreame Wagner