Carnation Bookhouse

Carnation Bookhouse Carnation Bookhouse is a q***r pop-up bookstore bringing q***r stories and the books we need to take action to locations around Urbana-Champaign, IL.

So nice to have beautiful weather at the Champaign Farmer’s Market! It’s going to be a gorgeous day again today, come ou...
09/29/2026

So nice to have beautiful weather at the Champaign Farmer’s Market! It’s going to be a gorgeous day again today, come out and take a look at what we have? We’ll be there from 3-6 p.m.

Pic 1: A picture of the Carnation Bookhouse table from last Tuesday. Shapes of Love and Herculine are the two books on the table in the foreground.

Pic 2: A selfie of Sam, the Carnation Bookhouse owner, in the booth. Sam is a white nonbinary person with glasses and greenish faded hair.

It was a great night at Ephemera Music Collective last night, be sure to check out the future ones! There’s an open mic ...
09/28/2026

It was a great night at Ephemera Music Collective last night, be sure to check out the future ones! There’s an open mic portion and then a featured artist, and a vendor and community group at the event. This is a mask required event and it’s really nice not to have to worry about getting sick from doing what I love, which is talking books!! ☺️

This week we have another busy week ahead!

Tuesday: Champaign Farmer’s Market
Wednesday: Quiet Qu**rs
Saturday: Urbana Farmer’s Market

We will see you there!!

Pic 1: A selfie of Sam, a white nonbinary person with black and bleached hair in a face mask, next to the Carnation Bookhouse booth.

Pic 2: A picture of the Carnation Bookhouse table at Ephemera on Sunday.

Pic 3: A picture of the books laid out on the table, a mixture of fiction and nonfiction.

Pic 4: A close up of the book So What If I’m a P**a on the shelf.

Three books and three snippets of book descriptions. All of these are on my TBR and in the shop, so come get them before...
09/25/2026

Three books and three snippets of book descriptions. All of these are on my TBR and in the shop, so come get them before I succumb to temptation to keep them all for myself!

📖 Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt: “A dark, unflinching haunted house novel that takes readers from the well of the literary gothic, up through Brighton’s q***r scene, and out into the heart of modern day trans experience in the UK.”

📖Shapes of Love by L.V. Peñalba: “Loveless meets This Time It’s Real in this aroace story about challenging the idea that romance is the ultimate life goal and finding where you fit in when you don’t follow society’s script.”

📖So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole: “Whip-smart and immersive, this Jamaican-inspired Young Adult fantasy follows a gods-blessed heroine who’s forced to choose between saving her sister or protecting her homeland—perfect for fans of Iron Widow and The Priory of the Orange Tree.”

Tonight is the last night market of the season! 😭I’m sad it’s over so soon but it’s been a blast! Come check us out for ...
09/24/2026

Tonight is the last night market of the season! 😭

I’m sad it’s over so soon but it’s been a blast! Come check us out for the last night market tonight in the Lincoln Square Mall parking lot from 6-9 p.m.

After more than 24 hours of doing absolutely nothing I’m finally getting over this allergy attack. Plowing is no joke yall.

I’ll be out there with Dani, who will be making your journaling dreams come true. Please come so I won’t buy more journals.

Picture 1: a picture of the Carnation Bookhouse booth at a previous night market.

Picture 2: a picture of the Carnation Bookhouse table covered with books at a previous night market.

EDIT: It’s time for Quiet Qu**rs Read-Up! But there’s a bit of a change in plans, sorry y’all. Me (Sam) who sets up the ...
09/23/2026

EDIT: It’s time for Quiet Qu**rs Read-Up! But there’s a bit of a change in plans, sorry y’all. Me (Sam) who sets up the Carnation Bookhouse table, is having seasonal allergies. Like I’m sneezing A LOT, congested and the whole nine. Negative for covid and flu, but I don’t want to bring any possible germs to tonight just in case it’s something else, or worry people. I’m going to rest tonight and hope it passes for the last night market tomorrow. So we are rescheduling for next Wednesday!!

Amy’s Place Address: 120 N. 1st St. Champaign, IL 61821

I’m really sorry I can’t be there tonight. I’m trying to live my values, so that means doing my best not to get people sick. It’s been a couple of weeks of bad luck but I’m hoping we’ll be on the upswing soon. Thanks for understanding.

Picture ID: A flyer with books in the background, a green background and white text that reads: “Books • Drinks • Lo-Fi • Reading. Carnation Bookhouse Quiet Qu**rs Read-Up, Rescheduled to Sept 30 from 6-9 p.m. Amy’s Place, 120 N. 1st St. Champaign, IL 61821. Read a book + make a friend!”

It’s time for Quiet Qu**rs Read-Up! But there’s a bit of a change in plans, sorry y’all. Me (Sam) who sets up the Carnat...
09/23/2026

It’s time for Quiet Qu**rs Read-Up! But there’s a bit of a change in plans, sorry y’all. Me (Sam) who sets up the Carnation Bookhouse table, is having seasonal allergies. Like I’m sneezing A LOT, congested and the whole nine. Negative for covid and flu, but I don’t want to bring any possible germs to tonight just in case it’s something else, or worry people. I’m going to rest tonight and hope it passes for the last night market tomorrow. If you still want to go read Amy's Place tonight please do! I know some people are still going.

Amy’s Place Address: 120 N. 1st St. Champaign, IL 61821

I’m really sorry I can’t be there tonight. I’m trying to live my values, so that means doing my best not to get people sick. It’s been a couple of weeks of bad luck but I’m hoping we’ll be on the upswing soon. Thanks for understanding.

Picture ID: A flyer with books in the background, a green background and white text that reads: “Books • Drinks • Lo-Fi • Reading. Carnation Bookhouse Quiet Qu**rs Read-Up, Wednesday, September 23 from 6-9 p.m. Amy’s Place, 120 N. 1st St. Champaign, IL 61821. Read a book + make a friend!”

I refreshed my stickers recently after working on some of these drawings for a long time!! Did you know that all of the ...
09/22/2026

I refreshed my stickers recently after working on some of these drawings for a long time!! Did you know that all of the stickers are drawn either by myself or by another artist friend Emery Smith? All of the ones in these pictures I drew using ProCreate.

Today we’ll be at the Champaign Farmer’s Market from 3-6 p.m. Come say hello and take a look!

Picture 1: A sticker sheet of pierced and tattooed fruit, and a sticker that says “fruity.”

Picture 2: a stack of books. The spines spell out write read protect trans books. The colors of the books look like the trans flag (blue, pink and white)

Picture 3: a sticker that looks like a traditional mom tattoo, with a red heart and banner. But instead of saying mom it says My TBR (my to be read).

Picture 4: a cat with ear piercings holding a red book.

09/21/2026

Mark your calendars! We’re hosting a book swap The Space! So excited to announce this one! Bring your q***r books to The Space and exchange them for other books, or give them to Carnation for store credit.

Here are the details:
October 11 from 3-5 p.m.
Free to participate, just bring your books! Only thing you pay for is delicious food and drink from The Space.

What if they aren’t q***r but they’re political or would be interesting to q***r people (e.g. diverse representation)? That’s cool too, feel free to bring them!

The video is of me making a collage flyer advertising this event. It repeats the same info in this caption! The flyer has a piece of brown paper on half of it, book stickers, and a sticker that says “fruity.” Underneath fruity, Sam wrote “books.”

***rbooks

TODAY!! Lots of books arrived for the shop, come check them out today from 7-noon at the Urbana Farmer’s Market.Book cov...
09/19/2026

TODAY!! Lots of books arrived for the shop, come check them out today from 7-noon at the Urbana Farmer’s Market.

Book covers shown in photo:
- Exit Party
- Beyond They/Them
- Shadow Life
- She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat volumes 1 and 2
- Pride
- Julian is a Mermaid
- Tell Me I’m Worthless
- Martyr!
- The Skin and Its Girl
- Hell Followed With Us
- The Spirit Bared its Teeth
- Compound Fracture
- Taiwan Travelogue
- Awakened
- The Salvage
- The Halls of the Dead
- Shapes of Love
- Queen of Faces
- So Let Them Burn

Address

401 S. Vine Street
Urbana, IL
61801

Website

,

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Carnation Bookhouse posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Carnation Bookhouse:

Shortcuts

Share

Category