AMAZON DOESN'T CARE IF YOU SPEND MONEY WITH THEM, BUT WE DO |
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Chicago Tribune image of Nina Barrett during the Covid-19 lockdown |
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This newsletter is jam-packed with fantastic events, but the one I want to mention upfront, because I’m so excited about it (and excuse me for shouting) is THE RETURN OF STORY TIME! Before COVID, Story Time was a beloved Saturday morning ritual that gave me and Miss Brooke and the other storytellers a regular chance to moo like a cow and quack like a duck—because there’s almost no experience on earth as much fun as watching a kid crack up because grown-ups are making fools of themselves. Beginning Saturday, October 8, we’ll be doing Story Time twice a week, on Saturday and Thursday mornings, and anyone who’s ready to quack and moo along with us is welcome to join in!
One more quick thing I’ll mention—because *warning* this is a pretty long newsletter—is the op-ed I published last week in the Chicago Tribune about our gratitude for all the people who make a conscious decision to spend their book dollars with us. As we start to approach the holidays this fall, please remember that just because you made your Wish List on Amazon, doesn’t mean you have to order it from them. Lots of people bring those in to order from us. And that’s what’s behind MY Amazon smile 😉
Please read on to find out about all our great upcoming events, and remember, some browsers cut off what you see and you’ll need to click to see the whole newsletter.
Yours,
Nina
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Our twice-weekly Story Times will take place Saturday and Thursday mornings from 11:30 am to noon, launching on Saturday, October 8 with Miss Brooke in the reader's chair. Stories will be selected for kids aged 3 to 6, but older and younger sibs are welcome to come along. For hints about what Miss Brooke might be thinking of reading, follow us on Facebook or Instagram!
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AN IN-PERSON EVENT AT BOOKENDS & BEGINNINGS' COURTYARD
September 24, 2022 | 6:00PM
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Come join us for a night of poetry in the Bookends & Beginnings alley courtyard to support the ongoing resistance to the aggression and horrors Ukraine is facing.
Featured Poets:
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Lennart Lundh is an American poet, photographer, historian, and short fictionist. His work has appeared internationally since 1965. Following a combat deployment to Vietnam in support of Marine Corps air and ground units, Len was discharged as a conscientious objector.
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Liya Chernyakova is a Ukrainian-American poet and songwriter. Born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, she lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Liya has taken part in various literary endeavors in Ukraine, U.S. Israel, Finland and Germany, has been a featured poet in various literary collectives, and has translated war poems of Ukrainian poets
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Gari Light was born in Kyiv, Ukraine. He has lived in the United States since 1980. His several books of poetry were published in the U.S. and Ukraine, starting in 1992. His English language poetry book entitled Confluences appeared both in U.S. and Ukraine. Gari has translated war poems of Ukrainian poets.
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Olga Shenfield is a Ukrainian-American poet, born in Kyiv, Ukraine, currently living in the greater Chicago area. She has published in various literary magazines in Chicago and Boston, has been featured in various literary collectives, and has translated war poems of Ukrainian poets.
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This event is free and open to everyone, but in order to facilitate practical support to this cause, you can choose to make a donation to several featured charities when you register, or go to their websites and donate directly to them. Bookends will also be donating proceeds from the evening's book sales to these organizations.
Donations in other amounts, or by cash or check, will be accepted at the event. The money will be divided among these organizations, or, if you prefer to donate only to one of them, please feel free to make your donation directly:
Pomoga is a non-profit delivering needed medicines to Ukraine.
Razom, Inc supports the people of Ukraine through multiple projects, including the recent delivery of medical equipment and supplies.
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A BOOKENDS UNIVERSITY ONLINE WORKSHOP
September 28, 2022 | 7:00PM
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In this 90-minute, online workshop, Jay Bonansinga, the critically acclaimed author of The Walking Dead novels, presents the top ten attributes of highly successful writers, exploring both micro and macro issues of craft, style, impact, and clarity. This will be an immersive, entertaining, and interactive experience that will improve the skills of writers of any level and genre.
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Jay Bonansinga has established himself as a fixture in the genres of horror and suspense. He is currently the co-author with the late, great Stan Lee of a new series of superhero novels titled Stan Lee’s The Devil’s Quintet. Jay is also the New York Times bestselling author of The Walking Dead novels (four volumes in collaboration with the creator of the franchise, Robert Kirkman, and four volumes as solo author). Additionally, Jay is the author of fifteen original novels, including the Bram Stoker finalist The Black Mariah, the International Thriller Writers Award finalist Shattered, the acclaimed YA horror novel, Lucid, and Jay’s latest horror original, Self Storage. Jay’s work has been translated into sixteen languages, and he has been called “one of the most imaginative writers of thrillers.” He lives in the Chicago area with his wife, the photographer Jill Norton, and his two sons, and is currently hard at work on his next novel.
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A BOOKENDS UNIVERSITY ONLINE WORKSHOP
October 4, 2022 | 6:00PM
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In this four-part, interactive online workshop for writers in all media, you will learn how to become a more confident, inspired, authentic storyteller. This is old-school, classic dramatic structure. By this we mean crafting a powerful beginning, building tension, and ending with a resonant climax. You will learn how to leverage the principles of plot, character, setting, dialogue and theme to realize your vision. The idea here is to give you enough structure to stay on track but not so much it strangles your creativity. Rubin will introduce each principle, detail the mechanics and then show you how master storyteller Francis Ford Coppola executed the principle in The Godfather I and II. This workshop is a strong introduction for rookies and will help veteran writers get back to basics. Rubin is a charismatic and entertaining lecturer whose two-minute drills will help you develop a more productive, enjoyable, insightful process, and learn how to consistently make intelligent decisions that are aligned with the truth as only you see it.
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Daniel Joshua Rubin is a multimedia writer and story scholar who provides consulting and education to storytellers in all media. His critically acclaimed book. 27 Essential Principles of Story: Master the Secrets of Great Storytelling, from Shakespeare to South Park (2020, Workman Publishing), has won endorsements from actor, Paul Giamatti, Tony and Pulitzer Award-winner, Tracy Letts and has been hailed as “The new bible of lessons and practices for creators” by Library Journal. He has taught dramatic writing at Loyola University in Chicago, and at the University of California, San Diego, and has written for television (NBC, the WB); new media (The Motley Fool, National Lampoon); and theater (with plays produced at Steppenwolf in Chicago, off-Broadway in NYC, and on the West End of London). Born and raised in Brooklyn, Rubin lives in Evanston after a decade in Los Angeles. He holds an MFA in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama, where he graduated with honors.
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Event Dates: Course meets four consecutive Tuesdays:
October 4 (6-8 pm) - Introduction to the Essential Principles of Plot
October 11 (6-8 pm) - Introduction to the Essential Principles of Character
October 18 (6-8pm) - Introduction to the Essential Principles of Setting, Dialogue and Theme
October 25 (6-8) - Story Builder Workshop, putting it all together to build a successful outline.
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A BOOKENDS UNIVERSITY ONLINE WORKSHOP
October 5, 2022 | 7:00PM
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A Bookends University five-week online introductory course to writing historical fiction with author Allison Epstein
Whether it's your first historical novel or your fiftieth, coming up with a new idea is thrilling—but figuring out what to do with that idea can be overwhelming. In this five-week online course led by historical fiction author Allison Epstein, we'll explore what it takes to turn your idea into a complete novel that captures your reader's imagination.
Through a blend of practical tips and hands-on exercises, we'll practice some of the elements that bring a historical novel to life, from first chapters that sweep the reader back in time to plots that balance the personal and the political. We'll spend our last meeting talking about what happens once you've completed a full draft: revision strategies, tips to incorporate feedback, and various paths to publication.
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Allison Epstein is a writer and editor living in Chicago. Her debut novel, A Tip for the Hangman, is a historical thriller about the espionage career of the Renaissance poet Christopher Marlowe, and her second novel, Let the Dead Bury the Dead, will be published by Doubleday in September 2023. She is also the author of the Substack newsletter Dirtbags Through the Ages, which profiles a different weird, wacky, or unpleasant historical figure every other week. Allison holds an MFA in fiction from Northwestern University and a BA in English from the University of Michigan.
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AN IN-PERSON EVENT AT BOOKENDS & BEGINNINGS' COURTYARD
October 7, 2022 | 5:00PM
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Join former tech executive and author of the Silicon Valley corporate thriller Bit Flip, Mike Trigg, in a conversation with Margaret O’Mara, University of Washington professor and author of The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America, about the growing awareness of the negative effects of the tech industry. From gentrification to gender inequality, data privacy to teen depression, Mike and Margaret (both Northwestern University graduates) will delve into the dark side of Big Tech and what to do about it—a topic both authors explore in their work.
This in-person conversation will be followed by a reception and book signing.
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Mike Trigg spent over 20 years in Silicon Valley’s tech industry before becoming an author. He has been a founder, executive, and employee at dozens of venture-backed start-ups, including Hightail, hi5, and Epiphany. He has also been an angel investor, advisor with several venture capital funds, and a contributor to TechCrunch, Entrepreneur, and Fast Company. Born in Kentucky and raised in Wisconsin, Trigg earned a BA from Northwestern University and an MBA from University of California, Berkeley. He lives in Menlo Park, California, with his wife and two sons. Bit Flip (SparkPress, 2022) is his first novel.
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Margaret O’Mara is the Howard & Frances Keller Endowed Professor of History at the University of Washington. She writes and teaches about the growth of the high-tech economy, the history of U.S. politics, and the connections between the two. O'Mara is the author of The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America (Penguin Press, 2019). She is a contributor to The New York Times and has appeared in The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and Newsweek. She lives outside Seattle with her husband and two daughters.
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AN IN-PERSON EVENT AT BOOKENDS & BEGINNINGS' COURTYARD
October 8, 2022 | 5:00PM
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Please join us for an in-person reading from The Marsh Queen. For fans of Where the Crawdads Sing, this "marvelous debut" (Alice McDermott, National Book Award-winning author of The Ninth Hour) follows a Washington, DC artist as she faces her past and the secrets held in the waters of Florida's lush swamps and wetlands.
The reading will be followed by a book signing and reception.
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Virginia Hartman is a proud alumna of Northwestern University. She later went on to receive an MFA in creative writing from American University in Washington, DC, and now teaches at George Washington University. Her stories have been shortlisted for the New Letters Prize and the Dana Awards, and her writing has been supported by the Sewanee Writer’s Conference and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. The Marsh Queen is her first novel.
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AN IN-PERSON EVENT AT BOOKENDS & BEGINNINGS
October 20, 2022 | 6:00PM
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Join us in person as Dr. Christopher Evans (Boston University) joins Janet Olson (Archivist, Frances Willard House Museum & WCTU Archives) for a conversation and book-signing event to introduce Evans’ latest book, Do Everything: The Biography of Frances Willard. In this first new biography of the social reformer (and Evanstonian) in over 35 years, Evans makes use of primary source materials not accessible to previous biographers, and highlights Willard’s importance to the fields of women’s history, Gilded Age/Progressive Era studies, and religious history. “Underscoring both the breathtaking ambition and profound limitations of Willard's moral vision, Evans recovers a too-often forgotten past--one that matters for our future," says Heath W. Carter (author of Union Made: Working People and the Rise of Social Christianity in Chicago).
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Janet Olson has been the part-time Archivist for the Frances Willard House Museum and WCTU Archives in Evanston, IL, since 2007. Meanwhile, from 1998 until her retirement in May, 2020, she was the Assistant University Archivist at Northwestern University. Olson is a Certified Archivist, and has held leadership roles in local, regional, and national professional organizations. She has written articles, book chapters, and exhibit catalogues and has an MA in History from Loyola University-Chicago, with a research focus on 19th-century social reform. |
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AN IN-PERSON EVENT AT BOOKENDS & BEGINNINGS
October 22, 2022 | 6:00PM
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From the fraught, sexually charged groves of academia and elevators of corporate America, to the imagined diary entries of Brett Kavanaugh and the tragicomic travails of a woman swiping right on Tinder in order to dispense advice to men whose profiles she finds lacking, these stories offer a blend of humor and horror, victory and heartache, righteous anger and rueful recrimination. It's a collection that's sure to leave a mark on readers' minds--and earn a place in their hearts.
We are delighted to welcome anthology editor Christine Sneed along with six other contributing authors for an engaging reading and timely conversation. Click below to view their bios and recent works.
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AN IN-PERSON EVENT AT BOOKENDS & BEGINNINGS
October 27, 2022 | 6:00PM
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Please join us in-person at Bookends & Beginnings for an author showcase featuring the work of three wonderful local writers: Ivy Sundell, Patricia Rickets, and J.S. Puller. Each author will speak briefly about their work and do a short reading. Presentations will be followed by a reception and book signing. |
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Visions of Life 2 is an anthology of short stories inspired by art and edited by Ivy Sundell. Ivy will be joined by several contributors to the anthology, including writers Paco Aramburu, Elizabeth DeSchryver, and Barbara Joyce, and visual artist Jacqueline Moses.
Speed of Dark by Patricia Rickets is a novel set in Chicago, told through three distinct voices--including the voice of Mishigami (AKA Lake Michigan).
J.S. Puller is a playwright and author celebrating the paperback release of The Lost Things Club, a children's book about the aftermath of a school shooting.
Please come help us support and celebrate these three outstanding members of our rich literary community.
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Save the dates! An early RSVP guarantees you a spot! |
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Pre-order these books and more and get them when they're released!
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Bookends & Beginnings is a community-centered and community-sustained, full-service, general-interest independent bookstore, now in our ninth calendar year. We are a member of the Chicago Independent Bookstore Alliance (ChIBA), the Great Lakes Independent Bookstore Association (GLIBA), and the American Booksellers Association (ABA). Show your support by shopping in our store (and other Chicago-area independent bookstores), by trading in or donating books of quality and in good condition, by bringing your local and out-of-town friends and family to shop with us, by attending our events, and by "liking" us on Facebook and posting reviews on other social media. Remember that you can always see event photos and news updates on our Facebook page, which is updated almost daily. There you can also subscribe to our events feed with a single click.
Above all, keep reading good books!
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Bookends & Beginnings
1712 Sherman Ave Alley #1
Evanston, IL 60202
224-999-7722
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