20190429

May 9th 6pm AC Frieden and The Pyongyang Option



Join us at after-words as we host the author A.C. Frieden.  He will be in conversation with journalist Jenna Gibson.  The event celebrates the publication of his third installment of the Jonathan Brooks thrillers, The Pyongyang Option.

As one of the few Western authors to have traveled to North Korea, Frieden will share his research experiences in that reclusive country.
Frieden will be joined by Jenna Gibson, the Korea columnist for The Diplomat magazine, a leading current-affairs periodical for the Asia-Pacific region. Gibson is a PhD candidate at University of Chicago and is the former Director of Communications at the Korea Economic Institute of America. Prior to that, she earned a M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and lived two years in South Korea as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant.

Frieden and Gibson will help demystify North Korea and shed light on its ruthless regime and the volatile US-North Korea relationship.


Kirkus Reviews calls The Pyongyang Option “exhilarating…unpredictable and entertaining.”
The event is free, with a reception (food and wine) following the presentation. A portion of the book sales will benefit the Swiss Benevolent Society of Chicago.

Book synopsis:
New Orleans attorney Jonathan Brooks is desperate to rebuild his law firm after Hurricane Katrina. Short on clients, he takes the only work he can find: a murky business deal in Ukraine.

But after he lands in Kyiv, his client’s executive vanishes. Suspecting foul play, Jonathan enlists the help of a U.S. diplomat. But the next day they are brutally ambushed. Injured and racing against the clock, Jonathan embarks on a frantic search for clues through the back alleys of Kyiv to an abandoned town near Chernobyl.

Meanwhile, Jonathan’s ex-wife Linda, a journalist, lands in North Korea to report on historic nuclear disarmament talks. She begins probing local officials, not realizing that she and Jonathan are both on a collision course with a deadly web of hackers, spies and assassins.

To uncover the truth and save them both, Jonathan may have only one option: to go to Pyongyang with as much leverage as possible and try to make it out alive.
Free event, open to the public.  Food and drink available. Co-sponsors of this event are: Down & Out Books, Avendia Publishing and the Swiss Benevolent Society of Chicago

Book Trailer:

20190416

April 27th is Independent Book Store Day!

We hope you will come out and support us and other local shops that are keeping the word alive. 
FREE Cookies and water while supplies last…and if that wasn’t enough, we have an author event.
Return to President Obama’s White House in this New York Times bestselling anthology for young women by young women, featuring stories from ten inspiring young staffers who joined his administration in their 20s with the hope of making a difference.

They were teens when Barack Obama announced he was running for president.
They came of age in the Obama Era. And then they joined his White House. Smart, motivated, ambitious–and ready to change the world.

Kalisha Dessources Figures planned one of the biggest summits held by the Obama White House–The United State of Women. Andrea Flores fought for the president’s immigration bill on the Hill. Nita Contreras traveled the globe and owned up to a rookie mistake on Air Force One (in front of the leader of the free world!).

Here are ten inspiring, never-before-told stories from diverse young women who Got. Stuff. Done. They recall–fondly and with humor and a dose of humility–what it was like to literally help run the world.

For More information check out their website: https://www.yesshecanbook.com/

Seven of the authors of Yes She Can! 10 Stories of Hope & Change from Young Female Staffers of the Obama White House will be at after-words to share their experiences, answer your questions, and sign your books.  Meet Molly, Kalisha, Andrea, Taylor, Jenna, Elle and Nita from 2-4pm. 

The first 30 people to attend the event get a free copy of the book. Free book vouchers will be given to the attendees 30 minutes before the start of the panel.  The vouchers can then be redeemed after the Q&A for signing. Only one voucher per attendee.  Only one voucher will be given per family.   
Thanks for your cooperation.

Please RSVP via email to: bdvorkin@aol.com.