About this Event
Every seashell has a story. Join Ladies Who Lit and author Rowan Beaird for an evening celebrating the release of her latest novel, Tenderness. The evening will feature a 1970s-inspired capsule collection of modern and vintage garments curated by our host Leah Zeigler, owner of Petals and Jackets. Sip and shop before settling in for a seashell jewelry tray workshop led by Chicago-based visual artist Brie Hines. Rowan will read a selection from Tenderness while we personalize our shells. Ticket price includes sips and light bites provided by All Together Now, your take-home craft, and a personalized signed copy of Tenderness.
Weather permitting, we intend to host the workshop and reading portion of the evening outdoors on P&Js private rear patio. If the weather doesn't cooperate, we will pivot that portion of the evening's programming next door to portion to Engine Coffee. Please bring a jacket with hope that Mother Nature delivers on a perfectly crisp fall evening for us!
ABOUT TENDERNESS:
On a remote island off the coast of Virginia, family and friends gather to celebrate the wedding of Shay O’Connor and Andrew Pruitt. From the moment the guests arrive, all they can whisper about is the bride, who recently left the headline-making cult Synanon. Why would someone like Shay, an Ivy League graduate with a wealthy, doting fiancée, join Synanon? And has she really escaped their grasp?
Told from the interwoven perspectives of Shay’s brother William, her longtime friend Joel, and Shay herself, Tenderness is a slow-burn mystery that excavates dark family histories and romantic regrets. As the wedding day approaches, Joel and William pull at the loose threads of Shay’s story, and it becomes clear there is an even greater threat on the island than the secrets each character is keeping from one another.
Set in the tinderbox of the 1970s, Tenderness is a lit match, bringing hidden truths to light and asking if we can ever see ourselves or the people we love for who they truly are.
ABOUT ROWAN BEAIRD:
Rowan Beaird is the author of two novels: The Divorcées and Tenderness. Her novels have been named best books by Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, People, The Independent, and the Chicago Review of Books. Her short fiction has appeared in The Kenyon Review, The Southern Review, and The Common, among others, and she is the recipient of the Ploughshares Emerging Writer Award. She lives in Chicago with her husband and daughter.
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ABOUT LADIES WHO LIT:
Ladies Who Lit is Chicago-based culture club rooted in literary fiction by women. We treat reading as a cultural practice, and book club as an evolving art form that emerges at the intersection of literature and lived experience. Our events are curated as opportunities to connect monthly book selections to contemporary cultural events throughout the city, and our discussions unfold across screenings, exhibitions, performance, shared meals, and more.
In addition to ongoing, monthly members-only programming, Ladies Who Lit produces bespoke literary events through the LWL lens that are open to the public.
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ABOUT THE BRIE SHOW
Brie Hines is a painter located in Chicago with a degree in Graphic Design and Business. The Brie Show is Brie's culmination and exploration of her creative endeavors. Though she dabbles in fashion, art direction, and photography, her heart lies in painting.
Her art represents a hyper-femininity and often fixates on the experience of her paintings being seen as parallel to the way it feels to be seen as a woman. Her art is painted with acrylics either on canvas or recycled wood placed in vintage frames. Her emphasis on using vintage items in her work is a tool used to enhance her storytelling. Beyond the modernity of her paintings in used frames; she also creates an interesting contrast in her visual style, carefully mixing her love of the ethereal feel from renaissance art with her love of the boldness of pop-art.
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ABOUT PETALS & JACKETS
Our brand curates vintage fashion and home goods mixed with modern items sourced from mindful makers and women-owned businesses in Chicago and around the world.
Our goal is to create a one-stop space to enhance your lifestyle and personal style with slow fashion and intentional living: Clothing, Jewelry, Art, Beauty, and Home.
We’re passionate about helping women develop an aesthetic that tells your story, sparks conversation, inspires creativity, and evokes pure joy.
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Example of the seashell jewelry tray craft workshop led by The Brie Show.
Source: Pinterest, mystical shell paintings by Cécile Giovannini
Event venue & nearby stays
petals & jackets, 1105 North Ashland Avenue, Chicago, United States
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