This event has passed
Beloved Disciples by Mario Elías
Featured Book
Beloved Disciples
A dazzling gay love story where devotion sparkles in memory, obsession dances on the edge of reality, and a young man discovers the power of first love. Sim n fell in love the first night he stepped into the only gay club in his unnamed coastal hometown. Albi fell too, despite Sim n's quirks--the way he blinks to capture a memory, the way his hands fly when he talks, his inescapable toomuchness. Their first kiss comes on the beach, beneath mango trees. Blink. A season on their secret shore. Blink. The hidden garden Albi tends behind the rectory. Blink. Candles on a coconut cake for his twenty-sixth birthday. Blink. Blink. Blink.
This book will be available for purchase at the event.
About This Event
A dazzling gay love story where devotion sparkles in memory, obsession dances on the edge of reality, and a young man discovers the power of first love.
Simón fell in love the first night he stepped into the only gay club in his unnamed coastal hometown. Albi fell too, despite Simón's quirks--the way he blinks to capture a memory, the way his hands fly when he talks, his inescapable toomuchness. Their first kiss comes on the beach, beneath mango trees. Blink. A season on their secret shore. Blink. The hidden garden Albi tends behind the rectory. Blink. Candles on a coconut cake for his twenty-sixth birthday. Blink. Blink. Blink.
Featured Author
Mario Elias
Mario Elías is a multidisciplinary artist of Cuban and Syrian descent based in Chicago. His work spans fiction, nonfiction, photography, painting, and printmaking, often exploring themes of identity, memory, and cultural inheritance. His book Queering the Male Gaze reimagined masterpieces of the classical and modern canon through essays and self-portraiture, giving voice to the often-overlooked queer and female figures who shaped them. He is the founder of The KindaSuper Project, a philanthropic initiative offering free photography and video services to underserved communities. Beloved Disciples is his first novel.
In Conversation With
Jan Rattia
Jan Rattia is a Caracas-born artist and educator whose work examines belonging, representation, and otherness through contemporary photography and installation. Working across figuration, domestic interiors, and the landscape, his practice explores how images construct relational meaning—how they circulate, accumulate, and attach to specific histories and places. Rooted in personal narrative and cultural displacement, his work proposes a fluid understanding of home while critically engaging the aesthetic and political inheritances of the medium. Rattia stu ied at Bard College–International Center of Photography and Pratt Institute in New York, where he later served as Visiting Assistant Professor from 2021 to 2024. His work has been exhibited, published, and collected internationally, with solo exhibitions in New York, Houston, and Philadelphia, and is held in public and private collections, including the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. He is currently based in Chicago.
About the Venue
Women & Children First
Women & Children First believes in the transformative power of literature. As intersectional trans-inclusive feminists, we believe books are tools for liberation. Since 1979, we have celebrated and amplified underrepresented voices.
Visit store pageMore at Women & Children First
A Catalog Of Future Mercies by Serena Chopra
Please join us on Thursday, September 17th to celebrate the poetry collection A Catalog of Future Mercies by Serena Chopra. The author will be joined by Aditi Machado and Divya Victor. Please register for this free event. Advance registration is appreciated. In ghost stories and family history, this lyrical memoir explores mercy as resistance to generational violence.
A Spell of Heart & Havoc by Kristen Vale
We are excited to host local author Kristen Vale for a launch event celebrating the release of A Spell of Heart & Havoc ! For this event, Kristen will be joined in conversation by Danielle Jackson . The thief, the noblewoman, and the secrets they hide. Maerryl Kirim, a surly half-dwarf with the world on her shoulders, will do anything to save her deathly ill brother. Joining a guild of thieves to gather enough coin for his cure, she agrees to infiltrate a noble family. But acting as bodyguard for their haughty, spoiled daughter is no walk in the enchanted forest. Dove Wistrallo yearns for independence, not a babysitter. As the uncouth Maerryl loves to remind her, she lives a charmed life. . . though few know of the risky magical ability that Dove hides. Spending every moment together is infuriating—at first. But before long, the friction between the rogue and the lady becomes a spark they can’t ignore. Yet the clock is ticking for Maerryl to secure the family’s riches. Does their growing love stand a chance against Maerryl’s ruse, Dove’s secrets, and a den of thieves? Kristen Vale writes queer cozy fantasy romcoms filled with sweetness & spice. When not reading or writing, she can usually be found thrifting, playing D&D, or staring lovingly at trees. She lives in Chicago with her partner and her frenemy black cat, Opal. Danielle Jackson is an author, avid reader, lackluster-yet-mighty crafter, and accomplished TV binge-watcher. Danielle has had the unique experience of working on almost every side of the book business—as a publicist at a publisher, a managing editor of a book review website, a pop culture podcast co-host, an events coordinator at an independent bookstore, and now, an author. When she’s not writing, Danielle moderates and participates on industry panels and hosts a book club. Danielle lives in Chicagoland with her husband and daughters. Follow her on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky, @DJacksonBooks. Accessibility: This event is hosted at the bookstore, which is a wheelchair accessible space. Masks are strongly encouraged for this event. We have one industrial air purifier, two smaller air purifiers, and four ceiling fans throughout our space. Seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis. To request ASL interpretation for this event, please email events@womenandchildrenfirst.com by no later than 14 days before the event. For other access needs please email events@womenandchildrenfirst.com .
Les Portes by Meredith Nnoka
Please join us to celebrate the poetry collection Les Portes by Meredith Nnoka, with Ashley Keyser and Crissonna Tennison.