Friday 1/30: The American Library Association sets up the 2015 Chicago Midwinter Meeting at McCormick Place until Tuesday, February 3. You don’t have to be a librarian to attend, but you will need to register.
Chicago radio personalities make their voices heard and faces seen at Funny Ha-Ha’s “Radio Sweethearts” edition. Your $5 donation benefits SitStayRead, an organization dedicated to improving literacy rates for at-risk children. The Hideout, 6:30 p.m.
Women & Children First throws a celebration of their own in honor of the release of Lydia’s Party. Author Margaret Hawkins will read from the novel at the Swedish History Museum. 7 p.m., free.
The Book Cellar welcomes See How Small author Scott Blackwood in conversation with Chicago Tribune literary editor Elizabeth Taylor. 7 p.m., free.
Quimby’s Bookstore coordinates with ALA’s 2015 Chicago Midwinter Meeting for Making Magic Happen, where librarians, zinesters, and comics makers gather to share their tips about successfully developing community and planning events. Free and open to the public starting at 7 p.m., followed by pizza at Dimo’s.
Saturday 1/31: Focused on Chicago in the fifty years following the Civil War, Freedom’s Ballot: African American Political Struggles in Chicago from Abolition to the Great Migration chronicles three generations of African American activism that transformed twentieth-century politics. Author Margaret Garb speaks about her book at The Newberry Library’s Ruggles Hall, 1 p.m.
Pack your pajamas and head to Quimby’s for the bookstore’s fourth annual Zlumber Party (zine slumber party). The store will close to the public at 10 p.m., and invites all you “creative weirdos” to spend the night working on your zines (coffee and snacks provided!). RSVP by e-mailing info@quimbys.com or calling 773-342-0910.
Sunday 2/1: Curated, edited, and introduced by Dr. Cornel West, The Radical King contains twenty-three sections of essays by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. himself. Join Dr. West at University of Chicago’s Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, where he speaks about the content of the collection and what it means for an increasingly revolutionary image of King. 2 p.m., free.
Tuesday 2/3: Hopleaf hosts live lit event Tuesday Funk, this month featuring Other Broken Things author Christa Desir. 7:30 p.m., free.
Wednesday 2/4: Looking for a laugh? Second City executive vice president Kelly Leonard discusses Yes, And, the comedy institution’s latest publication that garners its title from eight principles of improvisational technique. The Virgin Hotel, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday 2/5: Poet, artist, and activist Jennifer Tamayo performs at the Poetry Foundation as part of the Harriet Reading Series, which features authors who have been published on the foundation’s blog. Author of Poems Are the Only Real Bodies and YOU DA ONE, Tamayo currently serves as managing editor at Futurepoem. 6:30 p.m., free.
