Wallo267 Book Signing
Wallace “Wallo267” Peeples spent twenty years in and out of the prison system before restarting his life and catapulting himself to unforeseen levels of social impact, cultural influence, and success. Now he shares his story with the trademark honesty that’s made him an inspiration to those who need it most.
Kwame Mbalia book signing event!
Kwame Mbalia book tour for Jax Freeman And The Fantom Shriek
60-90min event for kids! Reading and book signing!
Black Crossword x Semicolon Event
BlackCrossword X Semicolon - A game night you don’t want to miss!!
Bring a Friend. Play a game. Have a time!
This event will include a Q&A and live puzzling and games where guest can win prizes!
Save the date for Oct 12th @ 6pm-8pm
* This event will be at our Westtown location - 1335 w Chicago Ave, Chicago Illinois 60642
WE WILL REST! The Art of Escape
“Through mantras, meditations, and stories, WE WILL REST! The Art of Escape affirms that we are enough, that we deserve justice, and that we must imagine—and build—a liberated future through rest.”
Relax & chill while learning about the practice of resting at Semicolon Books!
*This event will be located at our Mag Mile location, 400 N Michigan Ave, Chicago Illinois Suit 100
About the book:
WE WILL REST! The Art of Escape teaches us how to escape from grind culture and dehumanizing systems with this visionary guide from the author of the New York Times INSTANT bestseller Rest Is Resistance
. WE WILL REST! asks and answers the question: How do you find rest in a Capitalist, White Supremacist, Patriarchal, Abeleist System? And, this book – really, a piece of art – invites us all to develop, discover and experiment with our own liberation as we answer this question.
Rest is a spiritual practice – as well as a racial justice and a social justice issue – to combat capitalism and white supremacy. This is one of the first books to provide readers with healing meditations, poetry, and stories on this important topic. Tricia is the founder of The Nap Ministry and is known as The Nap Bishop. She conceived and executed the first of more than 100 Collective Napping Experiences in May 2017 and there are now immersive workshops, a Resurrect Rest School, public art and museum installations, lectures, and a combined social media following of over 400,000 engaged followers.
About the author
Tricia Hersey is a multidisciplinary artist, theologian, escape artist and founder of The Nap Ministry. She is the global pioneer and originator of the “rest as resistance” and “rest as reparations” frameworks, and collaborates with communities all over the world to create sacred spaces where the liberatory, restorative, and disruptive power of rest can take hold. Tricia’s work is seeded within the soils of Black radical thought, somatics, Afrofuturism, womanism, and liberation theology. She is a Chicago native who believes in daydreaming, porch sitting, and poetry.
Launch event w/ Julian Randall for The Chainbreakers
Join the Semicolon team for a fun event to celebrate the launch of this middle grade fantasy with Chicago’s own, Julian Randall!
In this action-packed fantasy, thirteen-year-old Violet Moon must rescue her father and save her enchanted underwater world—perfect for fans of The Marvellers and Tristan Strong series.
All Violet Moon has ever wanted is to be a Reaper captain like her father. Born on the Tides of the Lost, a magical world beneath the waves of the Atlantic Ocean, Violet has spent her life at her father’s side rescuing souls lost in the water.
But when a rescue mission turns to disaster after the arrival of the dreaded Children of the Shark, weaponized ghost-sharks who steal the souls for themselves, her father is seized and pulled down into the darkness of the Depths. With no choice for Violet but to inherit the captain's powers and helm the ship as the next in line, it'll be up to her to save her father—if he even still lives—and stop the Children of the Shark before they devour the world.
Julian will be in conversation with Chicago author, Rena Barron!
RSVP below and make sure you’re in the building for this one!
About the Author
Julian Randall is a Living Queer Black poet from Chicago. His poetry and essays are published in the New York Times Magazine, POETRY, The Atlantic, and Vibe. He is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize. Julian holds an MFA in Poetry from Ole Miss. His first book, Refuse, won the Cave Canem Poetry Prize and was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award. He was also a contributor to the #1 New York Times-bestseller Black Boy Joy. Julian has previously worked as a youth mentor, teaching writing workshops to children on house arrest. Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from Zafa is his debut children's novel. Follow him on Twitter!
Julian Randall is a Living Queer Black poet from Chicago. His poetry and essays are published in the New York Times Magazine, POETRY, The Atlantic, and Vibe. He is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize. Julian holds an MFA in Poetry from Ole Miss. His first book, Refuse, won the Cave Canem Poetry Prize and was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award. He was also a contributor to the #1 New York Times-bestseller Black Boy Joy. Julian has previously worked as a youth mentor, teaching writing workshops to children on house arrest. Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from Zafa is his debut children's novel. Follow him on Twitter!
Rena Barron grew up in small-town Alabama, where stories of magic and adventure sparked her imagination. After penning her first awful poem in middle school, she graduated to writing short stories and novels by high school. Rena loves all things science fiction and fantasy, ghosts, and superheroes. Rena is the author of the young adult fantasy series Kingdom of Souls, which the School Library Journal called a ‘masterful tale,’ in a starred review. Rena is also the author of the superhero middle grade contemporary fantasy series set in Chicago, Maya and the Rising Dark, a 2021 Ignyte Award Finalist.
Visit her online at www.renabarron.com.
‘Interrupting Violence’ Book Talk and Signing
Join the Semicolon team for this necessary event with one of Chicago’s own, Cobe Williams!
USA Today Bestseller
Part memoir and part call to action, Interrupting Violence is a blueprint for cities across America looking for a new way to address community violence. Readers will be energized by the book Kirkus Reviews calls a "heartfelt, authentic guide for combatting community violence.”
For over a decade, Cobe Williams has been a violence interrupter, a highly trained conflict resolution expert working to stop the killing. Alongside thousands of workers across the country, many of whom he trained, Cobe intervenes in street conflicts before they result in murder. Interrupting Violence follows his evolution from gang leader to vanguard of a social justice movement. More than a memoir, Interrupting Violence spans three generations of trauma to portray a radically optimistic vision for addressing urban violence.
Born into the notorious Black Disciples, Cobe became a drug dealer, hustler, and shot-caller. His father, an influential gang member, was murdered before Cobe turned eleven. Five men, his father’s so-called friends, beat him to death in the lobby of a public housing project. Cobe spent years seeking answers about what happened that night.
As Cobe rose through the ranks of the Black Disciples—at one time commanding over one hundred men throughout the city while still in high school—a gang war turned his world upside down. Its escalation overshadowed his ascent. Stoked by police, who fanned the conflict’s flames, the war would engulf Cobe’s friends and family, nearly costing him his life. Ultimately, Cobe would end up behind bars for attempted murder, a crime he didn’t commit.
Interrupting Violence follows Cobe as he undertakes his redemption journey, offering new hope for the nation’s most violent communities. As the country wrestles with the inequities exposed by the coronavirus pandemic and the complex intersections of urban violence, racial injustice, police brutality, and poverty in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, this book provides an inspiring blueprint. Cobe’s story demonstrates how the country can resolve the issues plaguing our inner cities, taking readers into an often misunderstood and misrepresented aspect of the Black experience in America.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Cobe Williams is the Director of National Programs for Cure Violence Global (CVG), where he trained over five thousand workers in violence prevention. He appeared in the film The Interrupters and People, Vice, Ebony, and The New Yorker. He received a standing ovation at his TEDx event. He serves as a community ambassador for basketball star Joakim Noah's Foundation. He is a first-time author, with a BA from Northeastern Illinois University and is pursuing a masters in social work. He currently lives in Chicago.
Josh Gryniewicz is an author, storyteller, comic book writer, and health communicator. He was a contributing author to Beyond Suppression: Global Perspectives on Youth Violence and Crime & Society and a regular columnist with PopMatters. In 2018, he founded Odd Duck, a storytelling for social change communication consultancy, which has advised over fifty violence prevention programs throughout the country. He is the former communication director for Cure Violence. He currently lives in Chicago.
Learn more at their website: https://www.interruptingviolence.com/
Please register for this event below:
‘Plantas’ by Alexa Soto Book Signing!
Join the Semicolon team for this fun event with cookbook author and creator of the @alexafueldnaturally platform, Alexa Soto!
With Plantas, Alexa Soto elegantly pays homage to Mexico’s storied legacy of plant-based cooking while deftly adapting its soulful repertoire to modern times. I may still be a card-carrying carnivore, sure, but I now find myself craving dishes like her mole negro with roasted oyster mushrooms even more than my beloved carne asada.
– Jorge Gaviria, James Beard Award-winning author of MASA
A celebration of traditional Mexican recipes with a vibrant vegan twist for a modern audience from Alexa Soto.
Join Alexa Soto as she highlights the beauty of traditional Mexican cuisine with a plant-based twist for simple, affordable, and healthful vegan meals from breakfast to postre.
Paired with Alexa’s own gorgeous photography, Plantas is a joyful, welcoming guide to enjoying the traditional food of Mexico in a modern, sustainable way, a celebration of the array of fruits and vegetables that make up the staples of this beloved cuisine. Perfect for full-time vegans and those looking to incorporate more plants into their diet alike, Plantas is full of weeknight meals, snacks, salsas and cocktails that will simplify dinner and inspire your next taco night, including:
Salsas and garnishes like Guacasalsa, Abue’s Salsa Habanero Piña, and dairy-free Chipotle Crema
Taco dishes from Taquitos de Jamaica to Jackfruit Mushroom Carnitas Tacos
Main courses such as Hearts of Palm Ceviche Tostadas, Tamales de Elote, Cauliflower Al Pastor and Lasagna de Mole
Dessert showstoppers like Tres Leches Cake, Churros and Chocoflan
plus cocktails, coffee drinks, and nonalcoholic beverages to round out every meal
Full of traditional flavors, modern spins, stories passed down through Alexas’ family and tips for bringing more plants into your life, Plantas is your resource for vibrant, decadent, and healthy meals with beloved Mexican flavors and ingredients that inspire and highlight the natural beauty and bounty of cooking with plants.
A celebration of traditional Mexican recipes with a vibrant vegan twist for a modern audience from Alexa Soto, creator of the @alexafuelednaturally platform.
This ticket comes with a copy of the book to be picked up and signed at the event, as well as VIP signing line access.
The registration form below is for those who would like to attend the event WITHOUT an included book. This registration is free and books will still be available for purchase onsite!
The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat
Join the Semicolon booksellers and author Edward Kelsey Moore to chat about this great book-turned-movie!
ABOUT THE SUPREMES AT EARL’S ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT
SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STREAMING ON HULU • A warmhearted, “complex, believable, and always intriguing story” (The New York Journal of Books) that celebrates female friendship and second chances
This diner in Plainview, Indiana is home away from home for Odette, Clarice, and Barbara Jean. Dubbed “The Supremes” by high school pals in the tumultuous 1960s, they’ve weathered life’s storms for over four decades and counseled one another through marriage and children, happiness and the blues
Now, however, they’re about to face their most challenging year yet. Proud, talented Clarice is struggling to keep up appearances as she deals with her husband’s humiliating infidelities; beautiful Barbara Jean is rocked by the tragic reverberations of a youthful love affair; and fearless Odette is about to embark on the most terrifying battle of her life.
With wit, style and sublime talent, Edward Kelsey Moore brings together three devoted allies in a warmhearted novel that celebrates female friendship and second chances.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Edward Kelsey Moore lives in Chicago, where he has enjoyed a long career as a cellist. His short fiction has appeared in several literary magazines, including Indiana Review, African American Review, and Inkwell. His short story “Grandma and the Elusive Fifth Crucifix” was selected as an audience favorite on National Public Radio’s Stories on Stage series.
Between Friends and Lovers
Join the Semicolon booksellers and one of our favorite Chicago authors, Shirlene Obuobi, for a reading and signing of this story of love and friendship!
Kennedy Ryan meets Carley Fortune in this swoonworthy story of love and friendship in the age of social media—where what you see might not be all you get.
To thousands of Instagram followers Josephine Boateng is the dazzling Dr Jojo, and her opinions on health and self-love matter. Her message: be smart, be significant, and do not put up with foolish men.
Off camera, Jo’s story is more complicated. She’s grappling with depression and the pressures of her career, and her love life is nonexistent thanks to a decade-long, unrequited crush on her best friend, romcom heartthrob Ezra Adelman. But when Ezra shows up to his thirtieth birthday party with her childhood bully on his arm, Jo realizes enough is enough. She has to take her own advice and prioritize herself.
No one is more shocked than Malcolm Waters when his debut novel transforms him into a literary darling, the type that gets invited to a swanky penthouse party to discuss film opportunities. Rubbing elbows with the elite of entertainment will be great for his career. The only problem: he’s terrible with people, and even worse at networking.
Just when he’s ready to admit defeat, he’s rescued by none other than Dr Jojo. He’s been following her on social media for years, and she’s even more impressive in real life. And to his bewilderment, the admiration seems mutual.
But Jo, Ezra, and Malcolm exist in a world where the lines between private and public are as blurred as the lines between friendship and love. The question is, can they risk defining those lines to create something real?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, SHIRLENE OBOUBI
I’m a Ghanaian American cardiologist, cartoonist, and author who grew up in Chicago, Illinois; Hot Springs, Arkansas; and the Woodlands, Texas. I appeared on Good Morning America to promote my debut novel, On Rotation and am a regular contributor to The Washington Post. When I’m not in the hospital, I can be found drawing comics, writing on my phone, and talking to everyone who will listen about love stories and women’s heart health.
Kiley Reid 'Come and Get It' Event
Join the Semicolon team for an exciting evening with the acclaimed author Kiley Reid! We'll be discussing her latest book, Come and Get It, and having a few good laughs moderated by Greta Johnsen of WBEZ.
This event will be held at the beautiful Haymarket House space!
Register below:
ABOUT ‘COME AND GET IT’
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
National Bestseller
USA Today Bestseller
A Good Morning America Book Club Pick
An Indie Next Pick
A LibraryReads Pick
From the celebrated New York Times bestselling author of Such a Fun Age comes a fresh and provocative story about a residential assistant and her messy entanglement with a professor and three unruly students.
Kiley Reid is the author of Such a Fun Age, which was a New York Timesbestseller and longlisted for the Booker Prize. Her writing has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Playboy, The Guardian, and others. Reid is currently an assistant professor at the University of Michigan.
Greta Johnsen has hosted Nerdette, an interview podcast that's a joyful break from the news, since 2013. She also curates Nerdette's Book Club and co-hosts the official Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon podcast for HBO. Previously, she worked at NPR stations WBEZ in Chicago and KUAC in Alaska. In her free time, she likes to read as many books as possible, cook food that is only occasionally photogenic, knit squishy apparel, and hang out with her earful corgi.
PublishHER Women’s History Month Bookfair
LH ROOFTOP X SEMICOLON BOOKS
PublisHER Book Fair
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2024 | 4-7PM | LH ROOFTOP
In celebration of Women's History Month, a time dedicated to recognizing and honoring the remarkable contributions of women throughout history, we are thrilled to announce a unique collaboration. We're partnering with Semicolon Books, the largest Black-woman owned bookstore in Chicago, to host an inspiring book fair dedicated to women authors. This special event is set to take place at LH Rooftop (LHon21) on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, from 4 to 7 p.m.
The evening will feature a diverse range of books focusing on self-help, money management, creativity, and light fiction. These titles have been handpicked to inspire, educate, and entertain, reflecting the rich experiences and insights of women from various backgrounds and walks of life. Whether you're looking to embark on a journey of personal growth, seeking advice on financial empowerment, exploring your creative potential, or simply in the mood for a compelling story, you'll find something to captivate your interest.
To complement the literary exploration, we will offer sophisticated cocktails, meticulously crafted for this occasion. The highlight of the evening will be a specialty cocktail, called The Bookwork — made with Ketel One Citron, apple liqueur, and pineapple juice — garnished with an apple slice and gummy worm. Attendance is free and open to the public, making it an accessible event for all who wish to join in the celebration. Please note that while the event itself is complimentary, books and cocktails will be available for purchase.
We invite you to join us for this meaningful celebration at LH Rooftop (LHon21) as we honor Women's History Month. Bring your friends, your curiosity, and your thirst for both knowledge and fun cocktails, and let's make this event a memorable one. Together, let's raise a glass to the women who have shaped our past, are influencing our present, and will inspire our future.