𝗪𝐄𝐋𝐏. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓, 𝐲’𝐚𝐥𝐥! 😭🔥📚
This year? A roller coaster. 🎢✨
We laughed. We cried. We unplugged the lights. We replugged the lights. We prayed over the plumbing. 🙃
Closed it all out the only way we know how-with 𝐀𝐑𝐓. 𝗪𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐊𝐄𝐘. & 𝗪𝐀𝐘 𝐓𝐎𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐒 (sorry to our accountant 😬). But if it ain’t a little chaotic, is it even Semicolon??
Now it’s time to let the space breathe (and maybe let ComEd and the pipes do therapy together 😭).
We’ll see y’all back in 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔-with a space that actually works and vibes that only we can bring.
‘Til then, make sure y’all show BIG love to all the Black woman–owned (@burstintobooks@callandresponsechi@zorasplace@dabookjoint@honeyandhuebookstore ) and indie bookshops in the city! Alllll of em. Pull up, spend money, talk books, be cute. 💅🏾
And don’t worry-we’re still out here shipping, delivering, popping up, and talking loud about books wherever y’all are 👀
#SemicolonChi #ReadingIsARevolutionaryAct
Happy Monday! Soooo… y’all know the kinda year we’ve had 🙃
And this building been beefin’ with us HEAVY-lights tweaking, servers dying, random smells + floods like…okay haunted much? 😭👻
So we gotta step away and let ComEd + whoever else get the space allll the way TOGETHER 😩
Our last day in the shop ‘til 2026 is November 2nd
But before we shut it down, we’re going out with TWO big vibes:
🎃 Halloween Clear the Shelves (sponsored by @calculatedgenius !) Fri 10/31 • 4–8PM -Free books for the lil’ trick-or-treaters -Cocktails + wild deals for grown folks -Put your costume on! (we wanna see y’all do the MOST 🤩)
🎨 ‘The Lines That Don’t Connect’ -Nov 1 & 2 • 2–5PM -NAH (@childofgenius ) is turning the whole shop into ART🔥 -Pull up + vibe with us
✨ HOW TO HOLD US DOWN for the holidays✨ 📚 @bookshop_org for books 🎧 @librofm for audiobooks (Actually keeps the lights on 😅)
We’ve been cooking up MAJOR community moves for 2026 and we cannot WAIT to pop out and show y’all 👀✨
Thanks for riding with us through every plot twist 📚❤️
Shoutout to @ewrks_ for the 🔥graphic!
#SemicolonChi #ReadingIsARevolutionaryAct #SeeYouIn2026
✨WEST TOWN ART WALK✨
Our featured artist this year is NAH (@childofgenius ), a Chicago-born visual artist whose work thrives in the spaces between what’s said and what’s left unsaid.
Her signature unconnected lines mirror the gaps we live between-between past and present, struggle and survival, loss and becoming. Each piece asks what it means to hold stories that don’t quite meet, yet still make something whole.
Through acrylic, ink, and motion, NAH traces a map of memory, connection, and reclamation-reminding us that even the lines that don’t connect still belong to the same story.
Stop by Semicolon Books during West Town Art Walk to have some wine with us and experience her latest work in our windows!
📍1355 W Chicago Ave
🗓️ October 3-5
#WestTownArtWalk #SemicolonBooks #NAHCreate #ChicagoArtists #BlackWomenArtists #TheLinesThatDontConnect
𝐀 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬-
Last September, my car was taken. It sounds simple when I say it like that, but the ripple was devastating. Inside that car was access to everything pertaining to our business and business accounts-our lifeline. Within days, we were locked out of our own money. Weeks later, we were fighting just to keep accounts open. And in the months that followed, we had to make impossible decisions.
We closed our Michigan Ave shop.
We announced our brand closure in January.
I truly didn’t think we’d make it back.
As a single-owned small business, there’s no safety net—no boardroom full of investors to absorb the hit. Every win, every loss, every impossible choice falls squarely on your shoulders. And sometimes, the weight feels impossible.
Even in the hardest moments, we’ve still been doing the work that matters-getting free books into the hands of hundreds of students and Chicagoland organizations. That part of our mission never stopped, even when everything else felt uncertain.
This year has been about clawing our way forward.
We worked with Kickstarter to fundraise and found our community standing with us.
We partnered with Muse Coffee to create a café concept for Semicolon.
I’ve been tearing the business apart and putting it back together with new priorities, new protections, and a renewed commitment to impact.
We’ve also been giving ourselves permission to ease into this new identity, taking a few extra breaths before each next step.
Now, we’re turning the page again—into The 𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐦.
A space to breathe, to sip, to slow down. A space that remembers the joy of stories without the pressure to constantly “sell.”
We’ve been tested. We’ve been stripped down. But we’re still here-different, steadier, and deeply grateful.
This is what it looks like to rebuild in public. This is the transparency and insight into small business that I’ve always leaned into. 🤷🏾♀️
We’ll be sharing our upcoming events, activations, and full schedule this Friday-but right now, I just want to pause and say thank you. See y’all soon ❤️ #SemicolonChi
✨ Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU ✨
From the beautiful Black women who put this amazing night together (@_senite , @shawnee_dez , @jamilawoods )…to the ones who lit up the stage and kept the vibes going (@raychjackson , @naira.bills , @m.e.h.music___ )…to the folks who danced, sang, and vibed with us all night-you reminded us that this little shop is so much bigger than books 📚 ❤️
It’s about community. It’s about connection. And it’s about showing up for each other, one verse, one note, one page at a time.
Thank you for keeping our story going. We’re looking forward to continuing the work and building more bridges, together. 🖤
#SemicolonChi #TheBridge
It’s National Black Business Month! ✊🏾
This week on the special edition series, we’re spotlighting @semicolonchi a vibrant Black-owned bookstore celebrating culture, creativity, and Black voices in literature.
If you haven’t visited yet, make sure to check out Semi-Colon Books for an inspiring space filled with art and stories that uplift our community.
Don’t forget to share and keep making a way.
#NationalBlackBusinessMonth #Sweet1withJordan #WaymakerMedia #SupportBlackBusiness #BlackOwnedChicago #BuyBlack #BlackBusinesses #blackowned
It’s Fridaaaayyyy and the shop STILL doesn’t have internet 😂😵💫
Comcast swears it’ll be fixed by Monday, buuuut we’re leaning all the way into our reading room vibes this weekend. So pull up, bring your own book, or grab one from the shelf and let’s read through it 🧘🏾♀️📚
See y’all soon! ❤️
#SemicolonChi
UPDATE 🚨
Another update for y’all — we’re going to stay closed a little longer than expected and will now reopen Wednesday, July 30th. We’re really sorry about the delay, but it is what it is 😅 Contractors are still doing their thing, and we want everything to be just right before we welcome you back. Thanks so much for your patience and we can’t wait for you to get the full experience soon! ❤️❤️❤️
Ya’ll looked too good not to share!! 😮💨🖤
HUGE thank you to @sulyiman_ for the portraits and to everyone who came out and made our Juneteenth grand reopening so so special. We just got a handful of the community portraits back and had to drop a lil sneak peek (tag yo peoples!)
Full galleries will be sent to your emails by Friday 7/11 the latest — keep an eye out 👀
Happy Sunday, y’all! We restocked the shelves with y’all in mind. These are just a few of the new pickups— classics, hidden gems, and everything in between 🙌🏿🤗 Come kick it and see what’s calling your name! ❤️
We tried to keep quiet… but these books live rent-free in our heads 😮💨📚 Staff picks we can’t shut up about — read them and you’ll see why! Come snag your next fave from us ✨
