2024 Winner Women & Children First, IL
Women & Children First Wins Inaugural Great Lakes Bookstore of the Year Award
Chicago, IL – Women & Children First, one of the nation’s largest feminist bookstores, has been named the first-ever recipient of the Great Lakes Bookstore of the Year Award, presented by the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association (GLIBA). This award recognizes outstanding achievement in bookselling and community engagement across the Great Lakes region.
The award will be presented to Lynn Mooney and Sarah Hollenbeck, owners of Women & Children First, during the Heartland Fall Forum in October, an annual conference celebrating independent bookstores and the vibrant literary culture of the Midwest.
Founded in 1979, Women & Children First has been a Chicago staple for over four decades, committed to amplifying underrepresented voices and hosting events that inspire conversation and activism.
“All bookstores can change lives, but none more than Women & Children First. I have no doubt their popular story times for little ones have helped to create new readers. The books they display and groups and authors they host help readers find their place in the world, find their people, find a safe space, find comfort, understand issues and advocate for those issues. They can also simply help you find an entertaining book to read on the beach. They are a shining example of a bookstore with a mission.”
- Anne Hellman, Macmillan
“Women & Children First has always occupied a special role in the heart of Chicago’s bookselling community and the region, creating a unique, inclusive, and welcoming space for feminists and feminist literature. In the 40 years when I’ve been a shopper, a visiting author, and sometime-staffer there—and now a comrade in bookstore ownership with them!—I have watched founders Ann Christophersen and Linda Bubon, and then their successors Lynn Mooney and Sarah Hollenbeck, courageously confront challenges and consistently lead through their example. In the last few years especially—through COVID and crazy politics—through challenges to bookstore business models and unrelenting online competition—Lynn, Sarah, and their passionate staff of committed booksellers have continued to question received wisdom, call out injustices, and ensure that marginalized and underserved voices have a home where they can speak out loud and clear. Women & Children First is simply one of the finest mission-driven bookstores in this country.”
- Nina Barrett, owner, Bookends & Beginnings
“Women and Children First is one of those bookstores that you walk into and just exhale a little bit because you know you are among people who care about everyone who stops by. They care about the books of course, but it is the fact that everyone can find sanctuary there that comes through the loudest. Lynn, and the entire team at Women and Children First are the kind of people that make this bookstore such an integral part of their community.”
- Tim Smith, Schuler Books
“Women & Children First bookstore, under the leadership of Lynn Mooney and Sarah Hollenbeck, has thrived as a cornerstone business in the Andersonville community by fostering a love for reading and creating a safe, inclusive space for diverse voices. They curate a wide range of literature that champions marginalized communities and don’t shy away from addressing controversial topics. Through thought-provoking author events, community discussions, and a commitment to social justice, Lynn and Sarah ensure that the bookstore remains a vibrant hub for open dialogue and critical conversations. Their leadership keeps both the love of reading and the spirit of activism alive.”
- Laura Austin, Andersonville Chamber of Commerce
"Women and Children First helped to transform Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood and build a national movement around the support of locally owned, independent businesses."
- Ellen Shepard, Executive Director of Community Allies
"Women and Children First has played such a huge role in my and my family’s life. From figuring out how to navigate Chicago as a newly arrived baby lesbian wide-eyed at all the possibilities on that bulletin board, to raising my boys at story time where one of them earned the nickname the mayor of storytime because he would take over the explanation of rules and recite them by heart, to being sworn in as State Representative in the children’s section, first Ann and Linda and now Sarah and Lynne have been a constant. And my story isn’t unique. A good bookstore is so much more than a place to find something to read and over the years, Women and Children First has embodied that maxim for so many folks."
- Illinois State Representative Kelly Cassidy
For more information, please contact Larry Law at [email protected] or February Spikener at [email protected].
The award will be presented to Lynn Mooney and Sarah Hollenbeck, owners of Women & Children First, during the Heartland Fall Forum in October, an annual conference celebrating independent bookstores and the vibrant literary culture of the Midwest.
Founded in 1979, Women & Children First has been a Chicago staple for over four decades, committed to amplifying underrepresented voices and hosting events that inspire conversation and activism.
“All bookstores can change lives, but none more than Women & Children First. I have no doubt their popular story times for little ones have helped to create new readers. The books they display and groups and authors they host help readers find their place in the world, find their people, find a safe space, find comfort, understand issues and advocate for those issues. They can also simply help you find an entertaining book to read on the beach. They are a shining example of a bookstore with a mission.”
- Anne Hellman, Macmillan
“Women & Children First has always occupied a special role in the heart of Chicago’s bookselling community and the region, creating a unique, inclusive, and welcoming space for feminists and feminist literature. In the 40 years when I’ve been a shopper, a visiting author, and sometime-staffer there—and now a comrade in bookstore ownership with them!—I have watched founders Ann Christophersen and Linda Bubon, and then their successors Lynn Mooney and Sarah Hollenbeck, courageously confront challenges and consistently lead through their example. In the last few years especially—through COVID and crazy politics—through challenges to bookstore business models and unrelenting online competition—Lynn, Sarah, and their passionate staff of committed booksellers have continued to question received wisdom, call out injustices, and ensure that marginalized and underserved voices have a home where they can speak out loud and clear. Women & Children First is simply one of the finest mission-driven bookstores in this country.”
- Nina Barrett, owner, Bookends & Beginnings
“Women and Children First is one of those bookstores that you walk into and just exhale a little bit because you know you are among people who care about everyone who stops by. They care about the books of course, but it is the fact that everyone can find sanctuary there that comes through the loudest. Lynn, and the entire team at Women and Children First are the kind of people that make this bookstore such an integral part of their community.”
- Tim Smith, Schuler Books
“Women & Children First bookstore, under the leadership of Lynn Mooney and Sarah Hollenbeck, has thrived as a cornerstone business in the Andersonville community by fostering a love for reading and creating a safe, inclusive space for diverse voices. They curate a wide range of literature that champions marginalized communities and don’t shy away from addressing controversial topics. Through thought-provoking author events, community discussions, and a commitment to social justice, Lynn and Sarah ensure that the bookstore remains a vibrant hub for open dialogue and critical conversations. Their leadership keeps both the love of reading and the spirit of activism alive.”
- Laura Austin, Andersonville Chamber of Commerce
"Women and Children First helped to transform Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood and build a national movement around the support of locally owned, independent businesses."
- Ellen Shepard, Executive Director of Community Allies
"Women and Children First has played such a huge role in my and my family’s life. From figuring out how to navigate Chicago as a newly arrived baby lesbian wide-eyed at all the possibilities on that bulletin board, to raising my boys at story time where one of them earned the nickname the mayor of storytime because he would take over the explanation of rules and recite them by heart, to being sworn in as State Representative in the children’s section, first Ann and Linda and now Sarah and Lynne have been a constant. And my story isn’t unique. A good bookstore is so much more than a place to find something to read and over the years, Women and Children First has embodied that maxim for so many folks."
- Illinois State Representative Kelly Cassidy
For more information, please contact Larry Law at [email protected] or February Spikener at [email protected].