Guild Literary Complex: "Cocktails & Conversation"

Date: Friday,May 30th, 2025

Doors: 5:00PM to Venue | 5:30PM to Chase House

Showtime: 6:00PM

Tickets: Advanced - $20 | Day of Show - $25

‘Service charges apply to ALL ticket purchases (online and box office)’ - Credit card only at door

About Guild Literary Complex: "Cocktails & Conversation":

Authors, Eric Charles May (Bedrock Faith) and author, Nancy Johnson (People of Means) are in discussion about craft, their perspectives as two writers of color, career longevity and more specifically the role that Chicago plays as a peripheral "character" in their books. Join us for cocktails and a lively conversation with these two amazing authors in the lovely Chase Garden Gallery.

Both books will be available for sale and signing by the author.

Eric Charles May

Recently retired, Eric Charles May is an associate professor in the Creative Writing program at Columbia College Chicago and the author of the novel Bedrock Faith, the 2021 One Book, One Chicago selection by the Chicago Public Library, and a 2014 Notable African American Title by Publisher’s Weekly. A Chicago native and a former reporter for The Washington Post, May is a past recipient of the Chicago Public Library Foundation’s 21st Century Award, the past board president of the Guild Literary Complex, a member of 2nd Story, a curatorial board member of the Ragdale Foundation, and a selection committee member for the Harold Washington Literary Award. His fiction has also appeared in the magazines Fish Stories, F, Hypertext, Solstice, and We Speak Chicagoese. In addition to his Post reporting, his nonfiction has appeared in Sport Literate, the Chicago Tribune, and the personal essay anthology Briefly Knocked Unconscious by a Low-Flying Duck.

Nancy Johnson

A native of Chicago’s South Side, Nancy Johnson worked for more than a decade as an Emmy-nominated, award-winning television journalist at CBS and ABC affiliates in markets nationwide.

Her debut novel, The Kindest Lie, has been reviewed by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, and is featured on Entertainment Weekly’s Must List. It was a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection and has been named one of the most anticipated books of 2021 by Newsweek, O, the Oprah Magazine, Shondaland, NBC News, Marie Claire, ELLE, The Chicago Tribune, The New York Post, Good Housekeeping,

Parade, Refinery29, and more. Booksellers nationwide selected her novel as an Indie Next pick and librarians chose it for LibraryReads. Nancy’s work has been published in Real Simple and O, The Oprah Magazine, and has received support from the Hurston/Wright Foundation, Tin House, and Kimbilio Fiction.

Her latest book, People of Means, a propulsive novel about a mother and daughter each seeking justice and following their dreams during moments of social reckoning—1960s Nashville and 1992 Chicago.

A graduate of Northwestern University and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Nancy lives in downtown Chicago and leads corporate and internal communications for a large health care nonprofit. The Kindest Lie is her first novel.

Golden Hour at Epiphany:

Stop by Epiphany for our live music series concerts, and be sure to hit Golden Hour before-hand for drinks and lite-bites! Doors open at 5pm Thursday - Saturday for Golden Hour with 1/2 priced bottles of wine and other specials!

Come early to EXPLORE and DISCOVER your own EPIPHANY… our art galleries are open and there is free entertainment before the show!

Full Concert Calendar Here

Golden Hour Menu + Music Schedule

Please note that outside food or beverages are not permitted in the venue.