Quimby’s welcomes celebrates Independent Bookstore Day with Chicago-based artist Bianca Xunise on Saturday, April 27th at 3:30pm to celebrate the release of their book PUNK ROCK KARAOKE. Xunise will be joined in conversation by director, producer and author Jessica Hopper.

PUNK ROCK KARAOKE is the explosive new YA graphic novel from Ignatz Award-winning and nationally syndicated cartoonist Bianca Xunise (Six Chix, Be Gay Do Comics), following three friends and their Garage Punk band on their quest to make it big in Southside Chicago’s underground music scene. Drawn from Xunise’s passion for their city and extensive Punk knowledge, PUNK ROCK KARAOKE explores questions about authenticity, the importance of community, and what it means to succeed on your own terms. Complete with a zine-style guide to the real-life Punk icons referenced throughout the story, the book is sure to be a hit with listeners of The Linda Lindas and viewers of Netflix’s Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.

Asked about their inspirations for the project, Xunise said, “PUNK ROCK KARAOKE is a love letter to the diverse and rambunctious underground scene of the DIY music community. I hope that readers fall in love with the same community that allowed me to march to the beat of my own drum and are inspired to create spaces for each other in their own backyards.”

In PUNK ROCK KARAOKE, School is out for summer and Ariel Grace Jones is determined to make it one for the books! Together with their bestie bandmates, Michele and Gael, Ariel believes they’re destined to break into the music industry by singing lead in their garage punk band, Baby Hares. But before they can officially get into the groove, the realities of post grad life start to weigh on this crew of misfits. Ari begins to worry that it’s time to pull the plug on their dreams of making it big.

Just when all hope feels lost, a fellow punk and local icon takes an interest in their talent. It seems like he might be the only one Ariel can rely on as frustrations between bandmates reach at an all-time high, but is he really all he seems? And will Ariel and Michele’s friendship survive the journey?

“Incredibly grounded in its neighborhood and scene, this is a great ride from start to finish.” -Booklist

“A vibrant, inclusive, feminist, punk-rock homage, guide, and coming-of-age story” -Kirkus

“Stole my heart from the first page to the last. Endlessly funny and sincere.” -Tillie Walden, Eisner & Ignatz Award-winning cartoonist

Bianca Xunise is a cartoonist based out of Chicago, Illinois. Their work primarily focuses on the plight, joy, and daily struggles of misfits within the black community. In 2017 Xunise earned an Ignatz for Promising New Talent for their comic Say Her Name, an autobiographical story of police brutality and social justice. In 2020 Xunise earned their second Ignatz for their contribution to Be Gay, Do Comics published by IDW. Xunise has collaborated with Vogue, The Washington Post, The Nib, and Believer Magazine. They are also a contributor to the book How We Fight Supremacy: A Field Guide to Black Resistance along with Ta-Nehisi Coates, Tarana Burk, and Harry Belafonte. Bianca became the first nationally syndicated non-binary cartoonist when they joined the comic strip Six Chix in 2020 as their first black creator. Bianca is also the April Quimby’s artist-in-residence! CHECK OUT THE AMAZING BANNERS THEY DESIGNED IN OUR WINDOW! More info at https://linktr.ee/biancaxunise

Jessica Hopper is a director, producer and author based in Chicago. Most recently, Hopper directed and executive produced the upcoming four-part docuseries Women Who Rock, releasing summer of 2022 on Epix and Sky. She has written for Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, the Chicago Reader, Punk Planet and more. She ins the author of The Girls Guide To Rocking, The First Collection of Criticism By A Living Female Rock Critic, Night Moves. She is series editor of The American Music Series at the University of Texas Press. More info at jessicahopper.org.

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Tags: Bianca Xunise, Bianca Xunise Celebrates PUNK ROCK KARAOKE, Chicago, In Conversation with Jessica Hopper, Jessica Hopper, Quimby's Bookstore, West Town