Wedding season is upon us, and maybe you're feeling a lil' overwhelmed. You're not alone—Michelle Markowitz and Caroline Moss wrote a whole book about the trials and tribulations of planning for weddings. Based on the column of the same name that appeared in The Toast, Hey Ladies! is a laugh-out-loud read that follows a fictitious group of eight 20-and-30-something female friends for one year of holidays, summer house rentals, dates, brunches, breakups, and, of course, the planning of a disastrous wedding. This instantly relatable story is told entirely through emails, texts, DMs, and every other form of communication known to man.

They will celebrate the launch of this hilarious modern epistolatory masterpiece here on May 1, and you're invited!

HEY LADIES! was a series started in the summer of 2013 as a cathartic release for the many, many, many "HEY LADIES!" emails Moss and Markowitz found themselves on as they cleared our calendars to attend six (yes, six) weddings in one summer. The series, told entirely in email form, was published on The Toast (RIP). However, two original installments were located and made available to read. Check out the original, first-ever HEY LADIES! bachelorette party emails and the authors' personal favorite: Halloween costume planning. You can read them here.

On Wednesday May 3, Alanna Okun, writer, senior editor at Racked, and avid crafter, will be joined by four of her equally talented and crafty friends to talk about creativity, and her recent essay collection, The Curse of the Boyfriend Sweater. Bustle describes each essay as starting from a "specific space of creation—or with a focus on one of Okun’s beloved items—as a way of diving into deeper understandings of the writer’s life and the people in it. It’s a life organized around creation."

Okun will be joined by Sonia Chopra (Eater), Nick Mancusi, Nozlee Samadzadeh (Vox), and Rae Angelo Tutera (Bindle & Keep). You will also be able to buy a copy of Alanna's essays, generously donated by Flatiron Books.

HOUSEKEEPING

We're closing early at 3PM on Sat May 5th for a private event.

We're closing early at 6PM on Tues May 8th for The Moth StorySLAM.

Want to support us but unable to visit the store? Fear not! You can make a donation to the Bookstore Cafe online via this link: bit.ly/GivetoHWBC

We're thrilled to be Book Expo America's charity parter for another year! Visit their site to learn about registering for the conference, and come by booth 2551 for instructions on how to donate.