Spring Forum Registration is Closed! We have hit capacity.
To join the waitlist please email [email protected]
To join the waitlist please email [email protected]

Wednesday, April 17, 2024 - Bookstore Tour and Reception
Thursday, April 18, 2024 - Spring Forum & Wait Wait.. Don't Tell Me
We are excited to see you in person again and enjoy the impressive literary landscape Chicago has to offer. We are hosting two days of events! The first is a Chicago bookstore tour and Spring Forum that includes education, author events, reception and special programming at the Historic Fine Arts Building in Chicago! Registration will be opening soon. Please watch for a a program announcement, we expect to fill up quickly.
Thursday, April 18, 2024 - Spring Forum & Wait Wait.. Don't Tell Me
We are excited to see you in person again and enjoy the impressive literary landscape Chicago has to offer. We are hosting two days of events! The first is a Chicago bookstore tour and Spring Forum that includes education, author events, reception and special programming at the Historic Fine Arts Building in Chicago! Registration will be opening soon. Please watch for a a program announcement, we expect to fill up quickly.

This is a very special Spring Forum. We are partnering with NPR and Wait Wait Don't Tell me for a very special event.
WE ARE SOLD OUT OF TICKETS TO WAIT WAIT.. DON'T TELL ME!
The first 60 attendees to register will receive a ticket to a live recording of NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. The recording will take place in the Studebaker Theatre in the Fine Arts Building following Spring Forum.
WE ARE SOLD OUT OF TICKETS TO WAIT WAIT.. DON'T TELL ME!
The first 60 attendees to register will receive a ticket to a live recording of NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. The recording will take place in the Studebaker Theatre in the Fine Arts Building following Spring Forum.
About Wait Wait.. Don't Tell Me
WWDTM is NPR's weekly news quiz hosted by Peter Sagal. Have a laugh and test your knowledge with today's funniest comedians and a celebrity guest. Check out past episodes. Wait Wait.. Don't Tell Me Podcast Directory >>
WWDTM is NPR's weekly news quiz hosted by Peter Sagal. Have a laugh and test your knowledge with today's funniest comedians and a celebrity guest. Check out past episodes. Wait Wait.. Don't Tell Me Podcast Directory >>
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Chicago Bookstore Bus Tour
1:30 pm CT - Bus Pick-Up at The Chicago Athletic Association
Madison Street Valet Entrance at 71 E. Madison Street
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm CT - Bus Tour
Join us for a special tour of some of the most iconic bookstores Chicago has to offer. The tour will end with a reception at Bookends & Beginnings in Evanston, IL.
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm CT - Reception at Bookends & Beginnings
7:15 pm CT - Bus Drop Off at The Chicago Athletic Association
1:30 pm CT - Bus Pick-Up at The Chicago Athletic Association
Madison Street Valet Entrance at 71 E. Madison Street
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm CT - Bus Tour
Join us for a special tour of some of the most iconic bookstores Chicago has to offer. The tour will end with a reception at Bookends & Beginnings in Evanston, IL.
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm CT - Reception at Bookends & Beginnings
7:15 pm CT - Bus Drop Off at The Chicago Athletic Association
Bookstore Bus Tour Schedule
Bus 1 Schedule
1:30 pm – First Pick-Up Chicago Athletic Association 12 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603 2:00 pm – 2:45 pm - Stop 1 Volumes Bookcafe 1373 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60622 3:00 pm – 3:45 pm - Stop 2 City Lit Books 2523 N Kedzie Blvd, Chicago, IL 60647 4:00 pm – 4:45 pm - Stop 3 RoscoeBooks 2142 W Roscoe St, Chicago, IL 60618 5:00 pm – Stop 4 Bookends & Beginnings 1620 Orrington Ave, Evanston, IL 60201 7:00 pm – Final Pick-Up Bookends & Beginnings 1620 Orrington Ave, Evanston, IL 60201 Final Drop Off Chicago Athletic Association 12 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603 |
Bus 2 schedule
1:30 pm – First Pick-Up Chicago Athletic Association 12 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603 2:00 pm – 2:45 pm - Stop 1 Unabridged Bookstore 3251 N Broadway, Chicago, IL 60657 3:00 pm – 3:45 pm - Stop 2 The Book Cellar 4736 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60625 4:00 pm – 4:45 pm - Stop 3 Women & Children First 5233 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640 5:00 pm – Stop 4 Bookends & Beginnings 1620 Orrington Ave, Evanston, IL 60201 7:00 pm – Final Pick-Up Bookends & Beginnings 1620 Orrington Ave, Evanston, IL 60201 Final Drop Off Chicago Athletic Association 12 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603 |
Bookstores on the Bus Tour
Bookends & Beginnings | 1620 Orrington Ave, Evanston, IL 60201
About Bookends & Beginnings: Bookends & Beginnings is the independent bookstore Nina Barrett has dreamed of opening since she moved to Evanston in the late 1980s, but for a while both she and Evanston went in other directions. During the period when two large chain bookstores faced off downtown, Nina was raising two children and freelancing articles, essays, and reviews to Chicago and national publications. She published three books with Simon & Schuster, the first of which—I Wish Someone Had Told Me: A Realistic Guide to Early Motherhood—remains in print with Chicago Review Press. When she briefly tried to escape the world of words by getting a professional chef’s degree in 2007, she still wound up as a food reporter. Her “Fear of Frying” series for Chicago NPR affiliate WBEZ earned three James Beard Award nominations and two actual awards, in 2012 and 2013. (read more) |
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Spring Forum
Fine Arts Building
410 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60605
10:00 am CT - 4:00 pm CT - Spring Forum Programming
6:30 pm CT - Live recording of NPR's Wait Wait.. Don't Tell Me!
Please note the Fine Arts Building is an historic building and their are some accessibility issues on the third floor.
Spring Forum is an opportunity to experience the literary landscape Chicago has to offer. Spring Forum programming will consist of a panel led education discussion of Bookselling and Publishing Perspectives on AI, led by Shay Carroll of Microcosm Publishing. Followed by Meet the Authors, Keynote Author Event, Author Reception and ending with a very special event with NPR's Wait Wait.. Don't Tell Me.
Schedule
Thursday, April 18, 2024
10:00 am CT - Arrivals and welcome at Exile in Bookville (2nd floor)
11:00 - 11:30 am CT - Lunch (3rd floor | The Annex: Studio B)
12:00 - 12:45 pm CT - Education (3rd floor | The Annex: Studio C)
Applications, Implications, and Ethical Considerations of AI in Bookselling
Educators: Shay Carroll (Microcosm Publishing), Joanna Parzakonis (this is a bookstore and Book Bug) Moderated by Larry Law (GLIBA)
Join us for a thoughtful discussion on the ever-evolving impact of AI in the bookselling industry. We will cover important topics including; the longevity and accuracy of AI over time, the ethical issues of AI, the impact of AI on workflow streamlining and discover the ethical considerations when deploying AI for content creation. Join us for a dynamic discussion that will hopefully equip you with a better understanding of the ethical dimensions and practical applications of AI in bookselling and publishing.
Lunch Sponsored by Sourcebooks and The Air He Breathes
1:00 - 2:00 pm CT - Meet the Authors (3rd floor | The Annex: Studio C)
Featuring: Ananda Lima, Geneva Bowers, Julian Randall, Rekha S. Rajan, Tracie McMillan
2:15 - 2:45 pm CT - Keynote Author Event (3rd floor | The Annex: Studio C)
Featuring: Cristina Henríquez in conversation with Christie Tate
3:00 - 4:00 pm CT - Author Reception (3rd floor | VIP Bar above the Studebaker Theater)
Author Reception Sponsored by HELVETIQ and Beer Hiking Chicago : The Tastiest Way to Discover the Windy City
Featuring Jessica Sedgwick and Daniel Ochwat.
4:00 pm CT - Break
6:30 pm CT - Wait Wait.. Don't Tell Me Live (1st floor)
• Galley and Giveaway Room Located on the 3rd Floor in The Annex: Studio A
• Bathrooms are located on the 3rd Floor in the VIP Bar above the Studebaker Theater and on the 5th floor
Fine Arts Building
410 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60605
10:00 am CT - 4:00 pm CT - Spring Forum Programming
6:30 pm CT - Live recording of NPR's Wait Wait.. Don't Tell Me!
Please note the Fine Arts Building is an historic building and their are some accessibility issues on the third floor.
Spring Forum is an opportunity to experience the literary landscape Chicago has to offer. Spring Forum programming will consist of a panel led education discussion of Bookselling and Publishing Perspectives on AI, led by Shay Carroll of Microcosm Publishing. Followed by Meet the Authors, Keynote Author Event, Author Reception and ending with a very special event with NPR's Wait Wait.. Don't Tell Me.
Schedule
Thursday, April 18, 2024
10:00 am CT - Arrivals and welcome at Exile in Bookville (2nd floor)
11:00 - 11:30 am CT - Lunch (3rd floor | The Annex: Studio B)
12:00 - 12:45 pm CT - Education (3rd floor | The Annex: Studio C)
Applications, Implications, and Ethical Considerations of AI in Bookselling
Educators: Shay Carroll (Microcosm Publishing), Joanna Parzakonis (this is a bookstore and Book Bug) Moderated by Larry Law (GLIBA)
Join us for a thoughtful discussion on the ever-evolving impact of AI in the bookselling industry. We will cover important topics including; the longevity and accuracy of AI over time, the ethical issues of AI, the impact of AI on workflow streamlining and discover the ethical considerations when deploying AI for content creation. Join us for a dynamic discussion that will hopefully equip you with a better understanding of the ethical dimensions and practical applications of AI in bookselling and publishing.
Lunch Sponsored by Sourcebooks and The Air He Breathes
1:00 - 2:00 pm CT - Meet the Authors (3rd floor | The Annex: Studio C)
Featuring: Ananda Lima, Geneva Bowers, Julian Randall, Rekha S. Rajan, Tracie McMillan
2:15 - 2:45 pm CT - Keynote Author Event (3rd floor | The Annex: Studio C)
Featuring: Cristina Henríquez in conversation with Christie Tate
3:00 - 4:00 pm CT - Author Reception (3rd floor | VIP Bar above the Studebaker Theater)
Author Reception Sponsored by HELVETIQ and Beer Hiking Chicago : The Tastiest Way to Discover the Windy City
Featuring Jessica Sedgwick and Daniel Ochwat.
4:00 pm CT - Break
6:30 pm CT - Wait Wait.. Don't Tell Me Live (1st floor)
• Galley and Giveaway Room Located on the 3rd Floor in The Annex: Studio A
• Bathrooms are located on the 3rd Floor in the VIP Bar above the Studebaker Theater and on the 5th floor
Featured Authors
ABOUT Cristina Henríquez
Cristina Henríquez is the author of The Great Divide, The Book of Unknown Americans, The World In Half and Come Together, Fall Apart: A Novella and Stories. She has been longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Real Simple, The Oxford American, The American Scholar, and elsewhere. She earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She lives in Illinois. ABOUT THE GREAT DIVIDE
Cristina Henríquez The Great Divide Pub: March 5, 2024 Ecco | HarperCollins 9780063291324 An epic novel of the construction of the Panama Canal, casting light on the unsung people who lived, loved, and labored there, by Cristina Henríquez, acclaimed author of The Book of Unknown Americans It is said that the canal will be the greatest feat of engineering in history. But first, it must be built. For Francisco, a local fisherman who resents the foreign powers clamoring for a slice of his country, nothing is more upsetting than the decision of his son, Omar, to work as a digger in the excavation zone. But for Omar, whose upbringing was quiet and lonely, this job offers a chance to finally find connection. Ada Bunting is a bold sixteen-year-old from Barbados who arrives in Panama as a stowaway alongside thousands of other West Indians seeking work. Alone and with no resources, she is determined to find a job that will earn enough money for her ailing sister’s surgery. When she sees a young man—Omar—who has collapsed after a grueling shift, she is the only one who rushes to his aid. John Oswald has dedicated his life to scientific research and has journeyed to Panama in single-minded pursuit of one goal: eliminating malaria. But now, his wife, Marian, has fallen ill herself, and when he witnesses Ada’s bravery and compassion, he hires her on the spot as a caregiver. This fateful decision sets in motion a sweeping tale of ambition, loyalty, and sacrifice. Searing and empathetic,The Great Divide explores the intersecting lives of activists, fishmongers, laborers, journalists, neighbors, doctors, and soothsayers—those rarely acknowledged by history even as they carved out its course. |
ABOUT ANANDA LIMA
ANANDA LIMA is a poet, translator, and fiction writer born in Brasília, Brazil, now living in Chicago, IL. She's the author of the poetry collection Mother/land, winner of the Hudson Prize. Her work has appeared in The American Poetry Review, Poets.org, Kenyon Review Online, Gulf Coast, Pleiades, The Common, Witness, and elsewhere. She has been awarded the inaugural WIP Fellowship by Latinx-in-Publishing. She has an MA in Linguistics from UCLA and an MFA in Creative Writing in Fiction from Rutgers University, Newark. Craft: Stories I wrote for the Devil is her fiction debut. ABOUT Craft: Stories I Wrote For the Devil
Ananda Lima Craft : Stories I Wrote for the Devil Pub: June 18, 2024 Tor Books | Macmillan 9781250292971 An intoxicating and surreal debut collection of contemporary, Kafkaesque stories all told through the lens of a Brazilian-American writer who spent a night with the devilAt a Halloween party in 1999, a writer slept with the devil. She sees him again and again throughout her life and she writes him stories about beautiful and impossible things. Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil is an intoxicating and unsettling linked collection that lures readers into surreal pockets of the United States and Brazil where they’ll find bite-size Americans in vending machines and the ghosts of people who are not dead. With a singular voice in the narrative-bending tradition of Kafka, Cortázar, and Bulgakov, Lima speaks to Brazilian-American immigrant experiences–of ambition, fear, heartbreak, and home–with equal parts warmth and agitation. Strange, intimate, haunted, and hungry--Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil is a powerful experience: once read, you’re as much a part of the stories as they’re a part of you. The collection includes: “Rapture,” “Ghost Story,” “Tropicália,” “Antropógaga,” “Idle Hands,” “Rent,” “Porcelain,” “Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory,” and “Hasselblad.” |
ABOUT GENEVA BOWERS
Geneva Bowers is a self-taught illustrator based in Western North Carolina. She loves manipulating color and adding whimsy with a touch of realism and calm. She has worked with Netflix, DreamWorks, Disney, and more. She is the illustrator of the board books GLOW and CURLS. genevab.com @gdbee ABOUT HoverGirls
Geneva Bowers HoverGirls Pub: August 6, 2024 Bloomsbury YA | Macmillan 9781547611195 Jalissa and Kim Vasquez are cousins who move to the city of Los Aguaceros together. Kim dreams of becoming a famous model and fashion designer, while Jalissa is just trying to hold herself together after a breakdown the year before. When a curious incident on the beach leaves them with supernatural powers and monsters start attacking the city, Kim decides that using their powers to stop them is the perfect way to become famous. But being heroes isn’t as easy as it seems—and Los Aquaceros is in more danger than they imagine. This beautifully illustrated and hilarious YA graphic novel is an expanded and revised edition of the popular web comic, perfect for fans of Heartstopper and Check, Please! |
ABOUT JULIAN RANDALL
Julian Randall is a contributor to the #1 New York Times bestseller Black Boy Joy and his middle-grade novel, Pilar Ramirez and the Escape From Zafa, was published by Holt in 2022. He has received fellowships from Cave Canem, Tin House, and Milkweed Editions. He is the winner of the 2019 Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award from the Publishing Triangle, the 2019 Frederick Bock Prize, and a Pushcart prize. His poetry has been published in The New York Times Magazine, Ploughshares, and POETRY. His first book, Refuse, won the Cave Canem Poetry Prize and was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award. He lives in Chicago. ABOUT The Dead Don’t Need Reminding
Julian Randall The Dead Don't Need Reminding : In Search of Fugitives, Mississippi, and Black TV Nerd Shit Pub: May 7, 2024 Bold Type Books | Hachette Book Group 9781645030263 This brilliant, adult nonfiction debut from the acclaimed MG author and poet weaves two personal narratives of recovery and reclamation, spliced with a dazzle of pop-culture The Dead Don’t Need Reminding is a braided story of Julian Randall’s return from the cliff edge of a harrowing depression and his determination to retrace the hustle of a white-passing grandfather to the Mississippi town from which he was driven amid threats of tar and feather. Alternatively wry, lyrical, and heartfelt, Randall transforms pop culture moments into deeply personal explorations of grief, family, and the American way. He envisions his fight to stay alive through a striking medley of media ranging from Into the Spiderverse and Jordan Peele movies to BoJack Horseman and the music of Odd Future. Pulsing with life, sharp, and wickedly funny, The Dead Don’t Need Reminding is Randall’s journey to get his ghost story back. |
ABOUT Rekha S. Rajan
Rekha S. Rajan, EdD. has been an educator for more than 20 years. She holds a doctorate and master's in education from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City and a master's in early childhood education from Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois. Rajan is the author of six books for teachers. Her book Integrating the Performing Arts in Grades K-5 (SAGE, 2012) includes over 60 lesson plans on how to connect the arts with STEM subjects. Her work has been featured on NPR, the National Head Start Association, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the California Alliance for Arts Education, and the National Endowment for the Arts. She lives in Chicago, Illinois, with her family. ABOUT Wildfire Rescue: A Branches Book (Disaster Squad #1)
Rekha S. Rajan Wildfire Rescue: A Branches Book (Disaster Squad #1) Pub: August 6, 2024 Scholastic 9781338828849 The Disaster Squad is ready to save the day in this action-packed early chapter book series perfect for fans of the Magic Tree House series, or for kids who aren’t quite ready to read I Survived! Pick a book. Grow a Reader! This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow! Meet the Disaster Squad! Leela, Jaden, and the rest of the Jackson family travel the country and respond to natural disasters, helping people in need and rescuing animals along the way. In this first adventure, the Jacksons are called to Northern California, where wildfires are raging through the forests. Smoke-filled skies, trapped animals, evacuation mandates... There are people and animals in danger! Will the Disaster Squad be able to keep their cool and lend a helping hand? With action-packed adventure and artwork on every page, Disaster Squad is the perfect series for any newly independent reader! |
ABOUT TRACIE MCMILLAN
Raised in rural Michigan, Detroit- and Brooklyn-based writer Tracie McMillan has written for publications including the New York Times; Washington Post; Los Angeles Times; Mother Jones; Harper’s Magazine; Slate; and National Geographic. After putting herself through New York University and training under legendary reporter Wayne Barrett, she was the managing editor of the award-winning magazine City Limits from 2001 to 2005. A one-time target of Rush Limbaugh and a 2012-13 Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow, McMillan is also the author of the bestselling The American Way of Eating (Scribner, 2012). McMillan’s work has been recognized by the Sidney Hillman Book Prize, the James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards, and Investigative Reporters and Editors, among others. ABOUT THE WHITE BONUS
Tracie McMillan The White Bonus : Five Families and the Cash Value of Racism in America Pub: April 23, 2024 Henry Holt and Co. | Macmillan 9781250619426 Award-winning journalist Tracie McMillan combines gripping memoir, top-notch original reporting, and rigorous research to measure the cash value of being white in America. When we talk about racism in America, we usually talk about what’s been denied to people of color. But what if we started measuring what white people get? In The White Bonus, McMillan examines the monetary value of whiteness in this country through her own experiences and a broader societal examination. McMillan had a turbulent and difficult upbringing, and her early adulthood was marked by real hunger and struggle, but she was able to get by and move up. When her reporter’s curiosity prompted her to measure her white privilege in her experience of upward mobility, she realized she needed to look at not only social advantages, but also money. The White Bonus follows three generations of McMillan’s family, tracing the sources of their wealth. That personal narrative tethers a wider investigation into the laws and norms that give white Americans more opportunity than minorities. Measuring their cumulative material effect on her life, McMillan also expands the investigation beyond her own family, alternating her story with profiles of five other subjects of various classes and places, taking a look at their respective white bonuses. McMillan showcases an ecosystem of institutions and practices that are supposed to treat all Americans the same but usually only benefit white people. For readers of Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility, Richard Rothstein’s The Color of Law, and Stephanie Land’s Maid, The White Bonus will address the white working-class experience as it relates to race, quantifying the amorphous problem of racial privilege and investigating what we can do about it. |
Recommended Hotel Accommodations
It doesn’t get more Chicago than this 1893 icon of old-world design and good cheer.
With echoes of banging billiard balls, tossed poker chips and clinking glasses resonating through the halls, our 1893 Venetian Gothic landmark is a living, breathing ode to Chicago’s rich story—where the spirit of play reigned supreme.
Reserved for the elite and privileged for 122 years—until we opened the doors and welcomed everyone—today Chicago Athletic Association is both a novel downtown destination on the doorstep of Millennium Park and a historic monument to the big-shouldered spirit that defines our beloved city. Ours is never, ever the same place twice.
With echoes of banging billiard balls, tossed poker chips and clinking glasses resonating through the halls, our 1893 Venetian Gothic landmark is a living, breathing ode to Chicago’s rich story—where the spirit of play reigned supreme.
Reserved for the elite and privileged for 122 years—until we opened the doors and welcomed everyone—today Chicago Athletic Association is both a novel downtown destination on the doorstep of Millennium Park and a historic monument to the big-shouldered spirit that defines our beloved city. Ours is never, ever the same place twice.
Come visit us at 410 S. Michigan Avenue located on the second floor in the historic Fine Arts Building. At Exile in Bookville (a nod to Liz Phair’s 1993 debut album Exile in Guyville) we believe that books and music are synonymous and carry that over into our store. We have a growing selection of vinyl for sale and a personal collection for your listening pleasure. Come be our guest DJ! Check out our recommended reads, some of which come from talented booksellers, authors, and other book and music folk from across the multiverse. Read! Listen! And thank you for supporting Exile in Bookville!
—Javier Ramirez and Kristin Enola Gilbert
—Javier Ramirez and Kristin Enola Gilbert