Women & Children First Bookstore

06/14/2026

We’re feeling 𝓼𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓵 over our upcoming event with fatimah asghar as we look at photos from all our past events with them, dating back to before their first full-length book had even come out!

We’re excited to add Eve L. Ewing and jamila to the lineup for this July 7th event, two people we have also had the pleasure of hosting many times over the years. Ticket link in bio 🫀

06/12/2026

Attention Chicago romance readers, especially historical romance lovers! We are very excited to celebrate the release of Sophia Benoit’s THE VERY DEFINITION OF LOVE, a hilariously fun, romping regency romance on Wednesday, June 24th at 7pm! Sophia will be joined in conversation with Jen Prokop, co-host of the Fated Mates podcast. This event is free to attend, but we’d love it if you registered at the link in our bio, just so we can keep an accurate count. We’ll see you then!! ✨🩷💫📖

06/12/2026

A belated May wrap-up! Great books were read, riveting conversations were had, and delicious cake was eaten 🙂‍↕️

06/11/2026

Hayley Kiyoko fans, please come forward! This Midsommarfest weekend, we have some adorable merch to give away in celebration of the new Girls Like Girls movie releasing on June 19th!

Stop on in, mention the movie, and grab your bracelets, flag, and temporary tattoos! ❤️

06/10/2026

June has been busy, which is why we are 10 days in and finally putting up our June events post… Here’s what we have going on for the rest of the month, regarding events! Reproductive politics of abolition, a journey in to q***r parenting, meditations on climate justice, a debut about q***r yearning and indie musicians, some absolutely banging poetry lineups, a le***an end-of-the-world love story, a debut from a former WCF bookseller exploring rural identity and forbidden desire and much more! More info found on our website & link in bio, but we hope to see you at one of these events soon!

06/05/2026

Did you know that Women & Children First is the bookseller for this year's Nebula Awards? Join us tonight for the public autograph session with some of our most favorite voices in science fiction and fantasy!

Nebula Finalists and VIP Guest Autographing RSVP – Free Tickets Crowne Plaza Chicago Ohare Hotel & Conf Ctr, Rosemont, IL Friday, June 5 • 8 PM – 10 PM We’re delighted to celebrate our Nebula finalists and VIPs at an autographing session that is free and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Join us for a ter...

06/04/2026

Happy Pride! Our June events calendar is here and it's jam-packed with delight. From romance to poetry to graphic novels and more! Save all the dates and find your people at your local feminist bookstore.

Email from Women & Children First Tickets on sale for Fatimah Asghar's Daughter of the Mountains! June 2026 Dear Friends of Women & Children First, Summer is here! The Andersonville Farmers Market is

06/01/2026

In collaboration with we are so excited to host Terry Tempest Williams on Monday, June 15th, for an event celebrating The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary. From the first chapter, this incredible work invites us to explore abundant beauty in the natural world, especially in our turbulent times and instability. This free event will be hosted at Harold Washington Library and we will have books available for purchase! The event starts at 6pm CT and more information can be found on our website: https://womenandchildrenfirst.com/event/2026-06-15/offsite-harold-washington-library-terry-tempest-williams

06/01/2026

WCF SUMMER READING BINGO IS HERE!

The time of lounging on the beach with a book and a snow cone in hand has arrived! Naturally, we made yet another reading bingo card for you to tick away at all summer 🙂‍↕️

This year, we had our cards riso printed by the lovely folks at and we couldn’t be happier with how they came out! We have a limited amount of these risograph printed cards at the store and they won’t last long, so come on by to pick yours up! There’s also the digital graphic on the last slide and on our website: https://womenandchildrenfirst.com/bingo

The rules:

For each bingo, you will be entered to win a prize! Black out the whole card, and you get a very special invite to a pizza party! Entries can be made by submitting the online form (link in our bio & website) or by bringing in your completed and filled out card back to the store.

Bingo runs from now through September 8th! Happy reading and Happy Pride! ❤️

05/21/2026

One of the coolest things about our bookstore is how many of our current and former booksellers are published authors! Come celebrate the release of the debut novel by one of our favorite former booksellers, Rylan Hynes! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/book-event-grafting-by-rylan-hynes-tickets-1990041142628?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true