It's Always March in Jarvis Square

In which we discuss an upcoming closure (March 19); Women’s History Month & Indie Press Month; 20% off new books through the end of the month; and the forthcoming Independent Bookstore Day

Dear Reader,

"Are you still taking books?" is one of the questions we hear most often from customers. The answer is yes, always yes!

Ideally, we'd love to get to a point where we never have to go out scouting for books, because our amazing customers keep us supplied with gently used books that will appeal to our other amazing customers. In the meantime, we'll keep hunting—and we'll be closed on Wednesday, March 19, for just that reason.

Got books to trade for store credit? Please get in touch!

We Love Women and Indie Presses

At the beginning of March, we dutifully swapped out our Black History Month display for a Women’s History Month display, even though both subjects are central to this store’s mission (carrying really good books) all year round.

When we heard that March is also Indie Press Month, we thought, “Hey, we should make a display for that!” Then we looked around the store and realized we already did; it’s called our new book section. And our front table at the moment. And quite a few of our face-out remainders and used books.

We’ve written before about our decision to highlight small and scholarly presses in our new stock. (It, too, is built into that “carry really good books” mission.) But for a little extra celebration, we’re discounting new books by 20% through the end of March.

To tempt you, here’s a non-exhaustive list of independent publishers we carry:

• 11:11 Press

• AK Press

• Anvil Press

• Archipelago Books

• Arsenal Pulp 

• Astra House

• Atelos

• Beacon Press

• Belladonna* Collaborative

• Beauty School Editions

• Bibiloasis

• Black Ocean

• Black Sun Lit

• Blank Forms

• Book*hug

• Burnside Review

• Chicago Review Press

• Cipher Press

• City Lights

• Coach House Books

• Coffee House Press

• co*im*press

• Contra Mundum Press

• Copper Canyon

• Corbett vs. Dempsey

• Dalkey Archive

• Diode Editions

• Dorothy: A Publishing Project

• Dzanc Books

• Ellipsis Press

• Essay Press

• Exact Change

• Flood Editions

• Fonograf Editions

• Foundlings Press

• Futurepoem

• Gaudy Boy

• Graywolf

• Green Integer

• Green Linden Press

• Hanuman Editions

• Haymarket

• Head of Zeus

• Host Publications

• Lithic Press

• Litmus Press

• McPherson & Company

• Meekling Press

• Melville House

• New Directions

• Nightboat Books

• Nightwood Editions

• Ode Books

• Open Letter

• Punctum Books

• PM Press

• Riot in Your Throat

• Row House Publishing

• Saturnalia Books

• Selva Oscura Press

• Semiotext(e)

• Serpent’s Tail

• Snuggly Books

• Sublunary Editions

• Tender Buttons Press

• Tupelo Press

• Ugly Duckling Presse

• The Feminist Press

• The 3rd Thing

• The Unsung Masters Series

• Verge Books

• Verso 

• Wakefield Press

• Wave Books

• Winter Editions

• Wonder

• World Poetry

Independent Bookstore Day is Saturday, April 26th

It’s our first Independent Bookstore Day as a real store! This is always an exciting day for book lovers, and more so for Chicagoans, because of the Chi ❤️ Books Indie Bookstore Crawl.

We’re so excited not only to be on the map this year, but on the northern bus route! Although we’re practically located right under the Jarvis el tracks (and probably within a few blocks of your home, if you’re reading this), not all the participating bookstores are so close to public transportation. If you’re trying to knock out 10 or 15 stores to get your yearlong 10% or 15% discount, you might want a little help getting around. For $65 + some annoying fees, you can get a ride to 11 stores between downtown and the northern suburbs, including ours.

Tickets are available here, and the buses will board at After-Words Bookstore at 23 E. Illinois.

Looking forward to seeing you soon,

Kate & Michael