Happy New Year! Discover our Top 20 Bestsellers of 2020 & what's coming up--virtually!

January 2021

Dear Friends of Women & Children First!

Our 2020 Holiday season was hands-down the quietest in the bookstore's history. We missed having all of you crowding inside the store, layered in winter coats, arms stacked with books for everyone on your list! In a normal year, there are few things as heartening and hopeful than an overly crowded feminist bookstore!

But thanks to your phone and online orders, we felt your cheer and generosity from afar. We loved the heartwarming phone calls and the common refrain we detected: "I'm calling because my daughter/niece/grandson says I have to buy their Christmas present from you!" We are surprised and deeply honored that amidst a pandemic, our community keeps expanding! Our work is much bigger than us. This year, we felt that to be true more than ever before. Thank you.

Continuing to prioritize community health, we will remain closed for in-store browsing for a bit longer. In the meantime, we are here 7 days a week, answering the phones from noon to 4 p.m. and providing curbside pickup from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Our online store will be open 24/7, but remember to wait for a notification from us that your order is ready before swinging by to pick it up. For those of you needing to exchange holiday gifts, we ask for your patience as those transactions can happen much more seamlessly once our doors are open again.

As always, we appreciate your patience and support as we move forward into the new year with gratitude, resilience, and hope.

All our love,

W&CF

Our Top 20 Bestsellers of 2020

Drumroll, please! This year, Our Bestseller List speaks volumes about the year that was. Beyond books associated with our biggest virtual events, our customers rallied around reads devoted to antiracism as well as books by local authors. We also saw a surge of interest in a timeless resource about trauma that was published five years ago! Discover them all on our online store!

As we begin a new year full of hope, please support our third annual gift card drive for Chicago Books to Women in Prison.

This all-volunteer 501(c)(3) organization sends paperback books free of charge to incarcerated women and trans people nationwide. With lockdowns in place due to COVID-19, access to books through prison libraries is more limited than ever, while the need for books of all kinds has never been greater. Now through Valentine's Day, visit the CBWP wish list and buy a gift card of any amount. It will go to CBWP so they can buy books that are in high demand but rarely donated. You can also call to buy a gift card. Or stop by when we're open for browsing again. (When you buy a gift card, CBWP does not pay sales tax on books purchased with it; in addition, your purchase may be tax-deductible.)

2021 Calendars Now On Sale!

Get ready for the year ahead with a new 2021 calendar! Beginning today, our selection of wall and engagement calendars are now 20% off with code: HELLO2021. You can also place calendar orders over the phone at 773-769-9299 between noon and 4 p.m.

Shop 2021 Calendars Now!

Gift Bundles!

We loved carefully curating and wrapping gift bundles for so many of you this holiday season. We loved it so much that we aren't going to stop! If you're shopping for birthdays or other special occasions, our gift bundles remain a great option. Just let us know the age of the person you're shopping for in the comments box at checkout and we will put together something great. And stay tuned! In February, we plan to launch more thematic collections beginning with an Afro-Futurist Bundle just in time for Black History Month.

SHOP OUR GIFT BUNDLES!

Upcoming Events

In case you missed last night's event,

WATCH THE RECORDED REPLAY

For this event, Patricia McNair was in conversation with Eric Charles May!

In Responsible Adults, farms fail, families break apart, and work is hard to come by. The characters in Patricia Ann McNair’s fictional Midwestern towns are fueled by grief and hope, loss and desire. What happens when responsible adults are anything but responsible people? When they are at best irresponsible, and at worst, dangerous?

(Don't forget, you can view events that you missed last year or sign up for upcoming ones on our Crowdcast Channel!)

Thu, Jan 7, 2021 7:00 PM CST

Virtual Book Launch: LAZINESS DOES NOT EXIST by Devon Price

Tickets

For this event, Price will be in conversation with Christie Tate!

Like many Americans, Dr. Devon Price believed that productivity was the best way to measure self-worth. Price was an overachiever from the start, graduating from both college and graduate school early, but that success came at a cost. After Price was diagnosed with a severe case of anemia and heart complications from overexertion, they were forced to examine the darker side of all this productivity.

Tues., January 12 at 7 pm CT

Virtual Conversation:

Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates

BUY THE BOOK TO ATTEND

Flatiron Books and Women & Children First are excited to welcome Melinda Gates for a virtual event to launch the paperback of Gates' New York Times bestseller The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World. Buy the book, and you'll receive a signed paperback edition of the book and access to this exclusive virtual event.

Thurs., January 14 at 7 p.m. CT

Our Words, Ourselves: Maria Hinjosa, Koa Beck, Deborah Douglas, Alicia Elliott & Michele Weldon

Join us for a virtual conversation featuring Maria Hinjosa, Alicia Elliott, Deborah D. Douglas, and Koa Beck in a conversation moderated by Michele Weldon. These four women will be discussing their new books through the lens of identity and storytelling.

Sat., January 16 at 11 a.m. CT

Virtual Story time: One Little Act of Kindness by Susan Salidor

Join us on Facebook for a musical story time with our friend Susan Salidor in celebration of her new picture book One Little Act of Kindness!

Thurs., January 21 at 7 p.m. CT

Virtual Poetry Reading: Wound from the Mouth of a Wound

by torrin a. greathouse

torrin a. greathouse is a transgender cripple-punk and MFA candidate at the University of Minnesota. She is the author of boy/girl/ghost (TAR Chapbook Series, 2018) and assistant editor of The Shallow Ends.

Wed., January 27 at 6 p.m. CT

Virtual Book Launch: Ida B. The Queen by Michelle Duster

For this event, Michelle Duster will be in conversation with Karen Hawkins.

Ida B. the Queen tells the awe-inspiring story of an pioneering woman who was often overlooked and underestimated—a woman who refused to exit a train car meant for white passengers, a woman who brought to light the horrors of lynching in America, a woman who co-founded the NAACP. This biography is written with a unique warmth by Wells’s great-granddaughter Michelle Duster.

Most of our Book Groups continue to meet via Zoom! (And we even have a new book group for kids we're launching!)

The Kids First Book Group is starting this month! Join us as we kick off our book group with a discussion of Mr. Wolf's Class on January 28th at 4:30 p.m. This group is for readers who are 8 to 12 years old. One day, we will meet again in person at the bookstore, but until then we will meet virtually (with crafts and activities still accessible at home!). Contact facilitator Karlee at wcfkarlee@gmail.com if you are interested in participating! We look forward to seeing you there!