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Zora’s Place

@zorasplace

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📍Evanston’s Black feminist bookstore
📚 For Black stories, sisterhood & self-care
🙋🏾‍♀️ Author-owned: @ltinthecity
🚪Open Wed &Thurs 4-7/Fri & Sat 10-4

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

It’s officially #spookyseason and we’re celebrating with a cozy fall lineup! 🎃📚

This month at Zora’s Place:

10/10: Special election-themed storytime featuring our founder, @ltinthecity, author of Violet Goes Voting

10/21: Wednesday Night Write-In for all the writers

10/30: Drag Queen Bingo: Halloween Edition with @eve4prez

10/31: Fall Fest at @theauxevanston featuring trick-or-treating, a Halloween-themed storytime & so much more!

Register at the 🔗 in bi0! taken in Zora’s Place by @zorasplace

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14 days ago

is it still kinda chic to do this trend? 👀

Since opening last September (hard to believe we’re coming up one year!), we’ve had the pleasure of hosting numerous community events, author talks, book signings and more all in the name of Black feminism, Black families, Black (woman-owned) businesses and Black joy!

We love it here 🥰 taken in Zora’s Place by @zorasplace

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2 months ago

We had a TIME last week at our grand opening! 🥳🎉📚

From the music and live poetry from @unapologeticallypam and @demicodavis to the Black romance novel and Black woman-owned wine pairing hosted by @bychasitycooper, last Saturday was one for the books (pun very much intended)!

We look forward to welcoming you into the space & creating even more memories. See you soon! 🫶🏾

🎈: @balloonbabyph
🎥: @moremikigrace

#zorasplace #readrestresist #blackowned #blackownedbusinesses #blackownedbookstore #diversebooks #diversespines #blackfeministbookstore #buyblack #evanstonbusiness #evanston taken in Zora’s Place by @zorasplace

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a year ago

It’s not every day you get to read a book that you wrote in your own bookstore, so yea…I’ll be soaking in this moment until further notice. ✌🏾

VIOLET GOES VOTING is available wherever books are sold. But do yourself a solid and buy from a Black-owned bookstore, like oh, I don’t know… @zorasplace? 😏 taken in Zora’s Place by @zorasplace

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a day ago

TOMORROW: Our founder is leading a special election-themed Family Storytime in partnership with @lwvofil 🗳️

Join us for a reading of L’Oreal’s new book, Violet Goes Voting, plus grown-ups can check their voter registration and make sure they’re Election Day ready.

Learn more and register at the 🔗 in bi0! taken in Zora’s Place by @zorasplace

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9 days ago

All generations are welcome, encouraged, and essential! The Chicago Hoodoo Society invites you into community for our Conjure Kids Book Event! We'll be reading Magick Hoodoo Child by @ambsmcbride together at @zorasplace, a Black Feminist Bookstore.

This is "a heartwarming story about one girl’s magick-filled summer with her grandmother. She learns about hoodoo and rootwork culture, the traditions of her African ancestors, and finding beauty in nature."
Come read along & discuss with us!

Who Should Attend
Black folk / Hoodoos of all ages and experiences! You do not have to be a member of The Chicago Hoodoo Society to attend this event. However, we urge you to RSVP soon as seating is VERY limited.

Both the Chicago Hoodoo Society & Zora's Place team strive to create conditions that honor diverse bodily and energetic needs. You can learn more about event & building accessibility above!

#BlackSpirituality #HoodooHeritageMonth by @zorasplace

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11 days ago

Leadership doesn’t look the same for everyone, and there’s a lot we can learn from the different paths women take to get there 🩵

Join us for our next Women in Business event, She Leads It, featuring a conversation with local women leaders about leadership, growth, navigating challenges, and finding your own path.

Our panel features Tosha Wilson, Lea Pinsky, Mary Federowski, and Loreal Thompson Payton, with Candance Chow moderating the conversation.

📅 Thursday, November 5
⏰ 11:30 AM–1:30 PM
📍 The Aux

Come for an honest conversation, thoughtful perspectives, and the opportunity to connect with other women in Evanston’s business community.

Register at the link in our bio!

#EvanstonIL #EvanstonBusiness #WomenInBusiness #WomenInLeadership #EvanstonChamber by @zorasplace

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14 days ago

What does your body remember? 🤍

Sokana Collective’s 4th Annual Birth and… Monologues: The Stories Our Bodies Carry is approaching this fall with an expansion on the original event structure. Please mark your calendars for an afternoon that holds space for personal stories, and a panel discussion for us to explore care for our bodies.

As always, this is time for storytelling; stories that take us inside experiences of pregnancy, birth, abortion, fertility, loss, parenthood, identity, trauma, healing, and the emotions that live in between. Share who you have become because of your body’s experiences.

Sokana Collective is hosting in collaboration with @zorasplace and @theauxwellnesscollective!

🤍November 8th, 2026
🤍2223 Washington St, Evanston, IL

Monologue Submission
—> https://forms.gle/qjjY2GTUcqFwdprZ7

Reader Volunteer
—> https://forms.gle/7FHsLYFFhJU3MbKM6

Tickets are available
—> https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/4th-annual-birth-and-monologues-the-stories-our-bodies-carry

Zora’s Place is Evanston’s first Black feminist bookstore and named after Zora Neale Hurston. A community space that centers, celebrates, and shares Black stories.

The Aux Wellness Collective is a unique and inclusive community space designed to inspire, heal, and empower individuals on their journey to building a sustainable wellness lifestyle.

All links in bio 🔗🌳

#sokanacollective #theauxevanston #storytelling #zorasplace #evanstonevents by @zorasplace

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a month ago

Funny story, L'Oreal, owner of @zorasplace who graciously reached out to host me at her beautiful Blackity Black bookstore in Evanston, and I had been discussing this event for months but it never occurred to me to look up where the store was. I just assumed it was in or somewhere near Chicago. So when a subscriber reached out for event details, I was flabbergasted when she said "Girl that's NOT Chicago!" 😭 Welp. I figured less people would show up since it was an hour away and RAINING the day of the event. But I was excited to meet L'Oreal to share @carefreemag's story and this book with whoever did make it out.

But not only did people drive, take a train, and fly in from other states, but they brought their people with them! Moms came and brought their teenage daughters, the girls trekked in from Chicago w/ friends, @danicahhhhh, who was my ASL interpreter at @essencefest, came down to provide pro-bono ASL services 🌸 we shared our ideas on what it means to bloom, what it means to pollinate, and on the thorns (as one lovely attendee shared, "the gloom is necessary for the bloom"). I met so many women at different stages of their lives who are choosing differently for themselves and wanting to be in community who are doing the same 👸🏿👸🏿

Chicago/Evanston, what a beautiful way to end this leg of the tour. Your energy, presence, and vulnerability had me beaming at what we're building together. Thank you again, @ltinthecity, for bringing me in and creating space for Black women writers and readers ❤️

And thank you @gdemae for the gorgeous earrings! ✨

I'll be back!

#blackwomeninbloom
#booktour
#carefreemag
#coffeetablebook
#BlackAuthors by @zorasplace

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a month ago

September is our birthday month! 🎂💜

We turn ONE on September 20, and we’re celebrating all month long with stories, conversation, community and, of course, books.

Here’s what’s happening at Zora’s Place this September:

📚 SAT. 9/12 — Family Storytime Bring your little readers and join us for our monthly morning of stories, imagination and community.

🌸 SUN. 9/13 — Black Women in Bloom: Chicago Book Launch with @carefreemag  An afternoon celebrating Black women, blooming and the beauty of finding ourselves in nature and in community.

🐝 TUES. 9/15 — One of One: A Beyoncé Love Letter Experience An intimate evening of conversation and reflection celebrating Beyoncé’s cultural legacy with @antoniajadeking, author of Beyoncé: One of One, in conversation with @britticisms and @tonimo_24.

🎂 SUN. 9/20 — Zora’s Place One-Year Anniversary Open House Join us from 1–3 PM for cake, music, memories from Year One and a toast to everything we’re dreaming up for Year Two.

Come celebrate with us—and bring a friend! Registration and ticket links for all September events are at the 🔗in bi0. taken in Zora’s Place by @zorasplace

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Black Women In Bloom🌸 is coming to the Chicago area for a special Bloom Session on September 13th 📍 Get your tickets at the link in bio! 🔗

Join Anayo Awuzie (@anayotothe), editor of Black Women In Bloom and founder of Carefree Mag, for a gathering created to celebrate Black women, our stories, and our blooming seasons👩🏾‍❤️‍💋‍👩🏾

On September 13th, Anayo joins @ltinthecity, founder of @zorasplace , for an author conversation on the importance of Black women telling their stories and celebrating our journeys of becoming 🌸

Bloom Sessions are Carefree Media’s signature intimate literary gatherings —part essay reading, part community conversation, part creative ritual, and part celebration of Black Women In Bloom 🌸 Each gathering is an invitation to slow down, pour into ourselves and each other, and make space for our own becoming✨

Chicago, join us at one stop or both 😉 we’d love to see you there🌸

📍September 13th — ZORA’s Place 🌸

Grab your ticket at the link in bio!🔗 by @zorasplace

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