Betsy and Abby delightedly took ownership of Booked in the spring of 2023 after meeting as booksellers under the store's previous owner. Our story since then has been one of travel (to book conferences), parties (for books and for Hot Moms), songs (written mostly on the fly, by us), and learning (about how to run a book store).
Shortly after our debut as Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie at our very first book conference, we launched Booked Club in the summer of 2023 and Sunday Smut Club later that fall. We've hosted events at the store for authors like Samira Ahmed, James Ponti, Diana Sudyka, and Alex Willan. We've co-hosted NPR's Sarah McCammon, CNN's Bill Weir, Alice Waters, and others through various partnerships. Our list of partners in Evanston is long and broad--we love supporting local schools, nonprofits, and our Main-Dempster Mile neighbors through special events, book donations, and more.
Some of the events we hosted in 2024!
In fall 2024, we hosted our first Hot Moms Night, a party featuring DJ Modern Love (local Hot Mom Norah Utley) and custom work for attendees by Lucy Knisley (also a local hot mom, and Booked's Author-in-Residence).
In 2025, we started Cooked at Booked, our potluck dinner book club, brought Hot Moms Night back, and are gearing up for a busy second half of the year.