Join the Book Cellar Book Club as we meet to discuss the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck.

Wine and beer are half-off all day on book club days! All are welcome to attend our meetings.


Start time: Wednesday, September 02, 2009 At 07:00 PM

Come out for a night that spells F-U-N! It's the annual Book Cellar Spelling Bee! Our celebrity judges include Random House rep Bridget Piekarz and Chicago writers Claire Zulkey and Billy Lombardo. Stacey Ballis is tonight's emcee.

Merriam-Webster and Time Out Chicago are contributing prizes for this year's bee. Don't miss it! (Otherwise, you'll misspelling!)

Start time: Thursday, September 03, 2009 At 07:00 PM

Do you or your book club need some ideas for what to read next? Do you want to start a book club but aren't sure what to read first? Join us for a night with some of our favorite publishing representatives as they share their picks for great book club books. And trust us, they know their stuff!

Start time: Wednesday, September 09, 2009 At 07:00 PM

The Sierra Club Book Group meets to discuss Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution—And How It Can Renew America, by Thomas Friedman.


Start time: Thursday, September 10, 2009 At 07:00 PM

The Birth Network Book Group meets to discuss Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born, by Tina Cassidy.

Start time: Friday, September 11, 2009 At 07:00 PM

Come to The Book Cellar for another installment of the reading series Second City, Third Person, hosted by Brian Costello. It's the only reading series focusing exclusively on third-person stories, written and read by talented Chicago writers.

Tonight's reading features Kyle Beachy, Zach Dodson, and Alexis Thomas. Don't miss it!




Start time: Saturday, September 12, 2009 At 07:00 PM

Join the Gapers Block Book Club as they discuss Echo Maker, by Richard Powers.

On a remote Nebraska road, 27-year-old Mark Schluter flips his truck in a near-fatal accident. His older sister Karin returns reluctantly to their hometown to nurse Mark back from a traumatic head injury. When he emerges from a protracted coma, Mark believes that this woman--who looks, acts, and sounds just like his sister--is really an identical impostor.

Start time: Monday, September 14, 2009 At 07:30 PM

For this month's Local Author Night, we welcome four fantastic writers:
* Tasha Alexander, author of A Fatal Waltz, A Poisoned Season, and Only to Deceive. Her latest novel, Tears of Pearl (a Lady Emily Mystery), hits shelves on Sept 1.
* Claire Zulkey, all-star blogger and writer and friend o' The Book Cellar. Her debut young adult novel, An Off Year, comes out on Sept. 3.
* Scott Blackwood, author of We Agreed to Meet Just Here, which won the 2007 AWP Award for the Novel and was published earlier in '09.
* Joan Naper, author of Beautiful Dreamer, a historical novel published earlier this year.

Start time: Wednesday, September 16, 2009 At 07:00 PM

The Literary Writers Network presents a reading and Q&A with Chicagoan Stephanie Kuehnert, author of the new novel Ballads of Suburbia. Ms. Kuehnert will also be signing copies of her book, which Booklist called "....an intensely real and painfully honest novel of high-school anxiety" and New City dubbed “an American Beauty for the teen set.”

This special event will also feature brief readings by LWN writers Stephen Markley (Publish This Book), April Galarza (associate ed. of 10,000 Tons of Black Ink), and Nancy Werking Poling (Out of the Pumpkin Shell).

Don't miss it!

Start time: Thursday, September 17, 2009 At 07:00 PM
Url: http://www.literarywritersnetwork.blogspot.com/

Not everyone finds their soulmate at the office.... Join us for DATE & DASH, a Chicago-based dating service! At Date and Dash events, ladies sit at the tables, and guys move from one woman to the next as soon as a whistle blows.

After each "date," participants circle "yes" or "no" on their cards to indicate if they'd be interested in seeing their "date" again.

A few days later, participants receive an e-mail connecting them with their "yes" matches...

Spaces are limited, so sign up today!

Start time: Saturday, September 19, 2009 At 05:00 PM
Url: http://www.dateanddash.com

Visit us during Applefest an apple-themed extravaganza put on by the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce, featuring "apples by the bushel, cider by the gallon...live music, children’s games, cooking classes, tastings, farm-fresh fruits and vegetables and specialty vendors."


Start time: Saturday, September 19, 2009 At 10:00 AM

Stop by the Sulzer Library for a reading by Liz Kessler, author of the bestselling Emily Windsnap series. The books follow the adventures of a girl who discovers she is half-mermaid.

We will be selling Ms. Kessler's books at this event. Hope to see you there!

Start time: Monday, September 21, 2009 At 09:00 AM
Url: http://www.lizkessler.co.uk/

Joyland is an online hub of new short fiction. Editors from seven cities select and post stories by authors from their city, giving readers a chance to get to know local writers and giving local writers a way to form a working community. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation selected Joyland as one of the Top 100 Cultural Creations of 2008, calling it "the go-to spot for readers seeking the best voices in short fiction."

Tonight Levi Stahl, Joyland's Chicago editor, will introduce a new batch of writers from Chicagoland whose work has been published by Joyland in the past year. Please join us for this special reading!





Start time: Friday, September 25, 2009 At 07:00 PM
Url: http://www.joyland.ca/home/vancouver

The KATES have taken the name of their first home--Kate the Great's Book Emporium--and moved to The Book Cellar where they continue to boast uproarious solo performance pieces, side-splitting monologues, and absurdly entertaining characters.

If you are looking for an intimate night of comedic storytelling, different from anything you'll see at a typical comedy club or late night bar, the hilarious Kates are for you!

Performers include: Sarah Clark, Jennifer Ann Coffeen, Jillian Erickson, Kelsie Huff, Jant Kane, Tamale Sepp, Kendra Stevens, and Amy Sumpter.

Start time: Saturday, September 26, 2009 At 07:00 PM

With novels like Beverly Cleary’s "Fifteen" and Lois Duncan’s "When the Bough Breaks," we started to see a totally new trend—books that dealt with the lives and dramas of adolescent girls on their own, real-world terms. "Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading" by Lizzie Skurnick is a humorous, nostalgic, and thoughtful look-back at these important and, for many adolescent girls, life-changing books.

Start time: Sunday, September 27, 2009 At 02:00 PM

Join us for Books on the Chopping Block, presented by City Lit Theater Company.

An ensemble of professional actors presents a live concert reading from the top ten most frequently challenged books of 2008. The performance runs 50 minutes and is followed by a brief discussion. Don't miss it!

Start time: Monday, September 28, 2009 At 07:00 PM
Url: http://www.citylit.org/home/index.html

The "Demon Dog of American Crime Fiction," James Ellroy, comes to the Harold Washington Library. In addition to writing short stories, essays, and screenplays, Ellroy is the bestselling author of many books, including L.A. Confidential, The Black Dahlia, Hollywood Nocturnes, American Tabloid, My Dark Places, and The Cold Six Thousand. At this event, Ellroy will be signing books and answering questions. There will also be a screening of The Feast of Death, a documentary about his life and work by producer/director Vikram Jayanti.

We will be selling books for the Demon Dog at this event. Hope to see you there!

Start time: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 At 06:00 PM

Join Never Too Old, a YA book club for adults, as they discuss Madeline L'Engle's classic story, A Wrinkle in Time.


Start time: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 At 08:00 PM