- This event has passed.
Independent Bookstore Day
April 27 @ 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Yet again, Chicagoland proves itself to be the dream destination for book lovers and readers of all ages! More than 40 independent bookstores in the greater Chicago area—from Lake Forest to Beverly, and Naperville to the Loop—are collaborating on our annual Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl, which encourages book lovers to indulge in bookstore tourism by visiting 10 or more stores in a single day. The Understudy is proud to be one of them.
The annual challenge is being held again on Independent Bookstore Day (IBD), which is a one-day national party celebrating indie book stores on the last Saturday in April. Each store creates its own unique events—including guest authors, special kids’ story times, readings, contests, giveaways, and special sales.
How to Participate…
Select your first bookstore and receive a passport and your first stamp.
Now check out the map—which lists all the participating stores—and start planning your route!
Additional bookstores you visit throughout the day will provide you with a stamp with no purchase required!
• Visit TEN stores in one day and get 10% off at all participating bookstores for an ENTIRE YEAR!
• Visit FIFTEEN stores in one day and get 15% off at all participating bookstores for an ENTIRE YEAR!
After visiting 10 or 15 participating bookstores, on your last bookstore visit show your passport and receive a limited edition pin!
Readers are encouraged to post a snapshot of themselves and their Independent Bookstore Day haul on social media with the hashtag #TEAMINDIE and #ChiLoveBooks.
This year we are adding three bus routes so readers can explore bookstores they’ve never seen before. One is going as north as Lake Forest. One will go as west as St. Charles/Geneva, and one will go south to the Beverly neighborhood. Tickets can be found HERE.
Other Events
Play Reading Club: Cardboard Piano
July 29 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Join our monthly play reading club! Each month, we gather to discuss a new, exciting or confounding play that has caught our attention. This month, we’re reading CARDBOARD PIANO by Hansol Jung ABOUT THE PLAY Northern Uganda on the eve of the millennium: The daughter of American missionaries and a local teenage girl steal into a darkened church to seal their love in a secret makeshift wedding ceremony. But when the surrounding war zone encroaches on their fragile union they…
Play Reading Club: Cardboard Piano
July 29 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
DIE, MOMMIE, DIE! by Charles Busch
August 5 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Join Hell In A Handbag and The Understudy for a reading celebrating the work of Charles Busch, featuring a fabulous lineup of Chicago talent Join Hell In A Handbag and The Understudy for a reading celebrating the work of Charles Busch, featuring a fabulous lineup of Chicago talent. Ex-pop singer Angela Arden is trapped in a hateful marriage with film producer Sol Sussman. Desperate to find happiness with her younger lover, an out-of-work TV actor named Tony Parker, Angela murders…
DIE, MOMMIE, DIE! by Charles Busch
August 5 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
A Taste of RED with A Red Orchid Theatre
August 6 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Hang out with our friends from A Red Orchid Theatre on Aug 6th for the latest installment of their series A Taste of Red. A Red Orchid Theatre invites you to take a peek behind the curtain and see how their team goes about exploring a play. What gets their ensemble excited about a script? How do actors, directors, playwrights, and designers all approach the same text differently? What defines a quintessential A Red Orchid production? Stay tuned for more…
A Taste of RED with A Red Orchid Theatre
August 6 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Midsommer Flight presents The Favourite
August 12 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
The Favourite by Marie-Catherine Desjardins de Villedieu New translation by James Hyett In partnership with Hedgepig Ensemble Theatre’s Expand the Canon series Directed by LaKecia Harris Featuring Chad Bay, Amy Malcom, Stephanie Mattos, Jack Morsovillo, Koshie Mills, Ebby Offord, and Joshua Pennington Written in 1664, The Favourite (Le Favori) is a French verse play about the transactional nature of relationships. It was the first play by a woman performed for King Louis XIV. Brimming with social commentary and humor,…