As we continue to navigate this new reality, we are excited to announce the reopening of 826CHI’s super-spy storefront the Wicker Park Secret Agent Supply Co. for home delivery and curbside pickup.
After two months of being closed to the public to help promote the health and safety of the community, the Wicker Park Secret Agent Supply has partially reopened, selling 826CHI student-written publications and merchandise through our online store. Due to the stay-at-home order in place, we are only offering home delivery via the United States Postal Service and curbside pick-up every Wednesday from 10am-6pm.
Despite the uncertainty of our pandemic stricken world, Chicago students deserve to have their words and stories shine. Over the past 15 years, 826CHI has published thousands of books by student authors, and sells over 20 publications that contain illuminating poems, stories, essays, and memoirs written during 826CHI programs by students from across Chicago’s neighborhoods.
Throughout quarantine, 826CHI is releasing three new publications from students who participated in our After-School Tutoring & Writing, Young Authors Book Project, Teen Writers Studio programs. Happy as a Rollercoaster // Tan feliz como una montana rusa is now available online for e-book download and hard copy purchase. It’s a collection of poems, translated in English & Spanish, about feelings and emotions, where students were encouraged to share their own emotional journeys with the world. Our Young Authors Book Project Chaos Comes Naturally, an anthology of lyrical essays written by ninety 12th-grade students at George Washington High School in the East Side, will be available for e-book download and hard copy purchases on May 21st. Teen Writers Studio’s release date is to be determined.
We are thrilled o finally get our student publications back into the hands of the 826CHI community. Instead of shopping at larger retailers to stock your bookshelves, we encourage you to support local bookstores like the Wicker Park Secret Agent Supply Co. With a purchase of three student-written publications, shoppers will receive a free 826CHI gift as a token of our appreciation for your support. All proceeds sustain our tuition-free writing programs that enable us to amplify Chicago youth voices.