Banned Books Week is the first week of October this year, and we’ll be wrapping up the festivities with our Adult Scholastic-Style Book Fair: Banned Books Edition!

Featuring our favorite banned + challenged books and authors, including James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Ray Bradbury, and modern authors at the forefront of literature and expression, as well as what we consider the books that need protecting in the future, we’re celebrating the fact that we have the FREEDOM to read here at Book + Bottle.

Come say gay, challenge the patriarchy, discuss identity, and be critical about race.

We’ll have some themed drink specials, and as always, we will have our Book Bundle going, where if you buy 4 books you get 10% off.

Our resident writer Andi Pignato runs our wonderful writer’s retreat every single Thursday, but this one is extra special. She will be providing a variety of prompts inspired by our favorite banned books - so get the juices flowing (and maybe let the mimosas flow) and come in ready to write the next banned book!

Sadly, due to scheduling, we won’t be able to host this event this year! But, we will be open 12-7PM Sunday with our banned book cocktails live, and with plenty of amazing books for sale!

Burned books, challenged topics, restricted pages. This isn’t a dystopian novel like 1984 (which is an often banned or challenged book) - this is how people have tried to censor literature just this past summer.

We at Book + Bottle champion reading and always want to be a source of expression and different perspectives, so for Banned Books Week we are hosting a discussion + Q & A about the history of banned books and a talk about our favorites and why. We will be opening early and partnering with FL Humanities to provide an informative conversation about the why and how of banned books.

Come and get settled in, grab a coffee (or mimosa), and gain some knowledge!

Banned Books Week is from September 18th to the 24th, and we are kicking it off BIG this year! Our Adult Scholastic Book Fair earlier this year went swimmingly well, and we are doing it all over again but with banned books as our central focus.

We will be converting the inside with two tables: one will have all of our favorite banned + challenged books and authors, including James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Ray Bradbury, and modern authors at the forefront of literature and expression.

The other table will be The Future of Banned Books; newer releases (fiction and otherwise) that push the boundaries and feature important issues. We will also have an entire We Say Gay table (because of course we will)!

We will also be premiering our Banned Book Cocktails!
As always, we will have our Book Bundle going, where if you buy 4 books you get 10% off. But for this one day only, if you buy 6 books, you will get one of our Banned Book Stickers + Banned Book Button of your choice while supplies last!

Cheers to local, creative Founders!

Babe Crafted will be moderating a panel of local Founders sharing stories and insight into how they've built successful, unique businesses. We'll also have a Q&A!

Meet Our Panelists:

• Alyssa Gay of Alyssa Gay Creative // Alyssa and her team create buzz-worthy brands and digital marketing strategies designed to take your business to the next level.

• Amanda Hill of Wild Roots // Amanda grew up in the sticks of North Central Florida, nature was both her playground and greatest teacher. It's often said that plants make people happy. Amanda knows this to be true and quit her desk job in 2017 to create her ultimate happy place: a plant shop!

• Christina Jones of Christina Jones Photographer & ColorJoy Stock // Christina Jones is a Tampa-based natural light photographer, helping female entrepreneurs and creatives tell their brand story online. She has been married to her best friend Gary for 8 years and is the mama to Solomon and Olivia. When she’s not taking photos, she loves to spend time with her family, watch a good movie and visit new spots around town.

• Lisa Gilmore of Lisa Gilmore Design // Lisa’s creativity is fueled by color, pattern and an interesting juxtaposition of objects. She utilized her design skills at a prominent interior design firm in Chicago before returning to Florida in 2011 to launch her business. She shares her love of interior design by showcasing her unique, creative aesthetics in commercial, hospitality, retail and luxury residential environments. Gilmore’s interiors are known for being liveable spaces with a glamorous edge.

• Taylor Prater of Made Coffee // Taylor co-founded Made Coffee to promote a healthy, active lifestyle and curate a portable beverage MADE for their Florida family. Made specializes in canning Cold Brew and Nitro Brew ready to drink coffee. Prater’s focus is on the quality of the liquid in the can and the beautiful aesthetic that surrounds it. Currently they’re in distribution to 80 retailers around Tampa Bay and Sarasota.

Note:

- Programming subject to change

- Refunds are not available

2022 COVID Safety Guidelines:

If you are experiencing any symptoms (see below for examples*), please refrain from joining in person. If you have been exposed to anyone with COVID, please refrain from joining us in person.

*Symptoms: - Fever or chills- Cough- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing- Fatigue- Muscle or body aches- Headache- New loss of taste or smell- Sore throat- Congestion or runny nose- Diarrhea- Nausea or vomiting

About Babe Crafted:

Babe Crafted is a membership and business development club for women entrepreneurs in Tampa Bay and beyond founded by Gina DeFord in 2018. Our 145+ members are a diverse group of ambitious, creative entrepreneurs in different industries and stages of business who rally for one another. We help biz owners bust out of their comfort zone Wonder Woman-style and get the support, education & accountability they’ve been searching for. Learn more and join our membership at babecrafted.com.

Originally planned to be a New Year reset workshop and meditation, local author Vanessa Autrey will be taking us through a guided meditation, journaling prompts, and a breathing exercise to reinvigorate ourselves for the rest of the year. We believe that there is power in taking charge of your year no matter the date, so March 6th we will be checking in with our 2022 aspirations.

Author of Balancing Burnout, Autrey is a wellness expert, passionate about self-healing and self-care. She is a green tea sipping, St. Pete yogi with a taste for Beaujolais and butter croissants.

In this powerful, straight-from-the-heart take on burnout, Autrey shows readers simple practices and philosophies to cultivate self-awareness. The Art of Balancing Burnout is a raw, well-aimed inspiration to encourage its readers. It is an opportunity to reflect, recalibrate and redirect toward a happier, healthier, more fulfilled life.

Included with the ticket:

• a cup of tea

• a petite book + bottle notebook

• a copy of “Balancing Burnout”

• a guided mediation and journaling session

A heartfelt and informative event with Jennifer Lee, founder of Modern-Wealth and author of “Squeeze the Juice: Live with Purpose, then Leave a Legacy,” on how to squeeze the juice out of life! We will be writing letters of gratitude to our loved ones, be it friends or family, in an interactive workshop led by the very talented and knowledgeable author. Writing your family love letters is an opportunity to communicate values, stories, experience, knowledge, and family history. To be given the awesome opportunity to communicate your most important messages is a gift.

Often, we don’t get the chance to say the things we really want or need to the ones we love the most. That was why Jennifer created the idea of a love letter with the hope that people would start to feel comfortable about articulating their values, wishes, and wants for their life and financial future to the ones they love the most.

"Squeeze the Juice: Live with Purpose, then Leave a Legacy," comprised of a unique blend of Jennifer’s own life experiences and her many years of career expertise, is an interactive, thought-provoking passages that encourage the reader to prepare for their financial future. It is designed to tackle major life events like divorce, losing a loved one, or transitioning a business by taking the emotion out and empowering the reader to prepare financially sooner rather than later to live life to the fullest.

Included . . .

• a mimosa or coffee

• a workshop notebook

• a copy of “Squeeze the Juice”

• the love letter seminar

More about Jennifer . . .

Jennifer Lee, AIF®, AWMA® is the founder of Modern-Wealth; a Sarasota-based financial firm with a focus on helping individuals experiencing transition.

Originally from Maryland, Jennifer brought her over 27 years (44 years if you count going into the office with her father as a child) of expertise in the financial services industry to Florida. Jennifer has found that a relationship with an advisor is most critical at the intersections in life where emotions collide with financial events. She enjoys facilitating her clients through challenges as they experience life’s upsets such as divorce, the loss of a spouse, or business to retirement transition. Whether you are experiencing divorce, a business client expanding or selling your operation, or a couple wanting to make sure they have provided for their family, Modern-Wealth may be a good fit. Jennifer provides a fresh perspective to the financial planning process by digging deep to understand what drives her clients. At Modern-Wealth, they build long-lasting relationships. As part of their process, they encourage clients to communicate their values to the most important people in their lives by writing a family love letter. This led her to write “Squeeze the Juice: Live With Purpose-Then Leave a Legacy.”

Foolish Mortals, the honor of your presence is requested to a "ceremony" that is being held, as we are saying goodbye to some dying liquid from various places where they have dwelled.

For these are not just "Halloween Wines" with scary labels or names, they all have backstories, legends and lore with horrific claims......

Led by our wine expert Heidi, we will be tasting some of our favorite spooky wines. Costumes are encouraged — the staff will be dressed appropriately. Please arrive early, at 6:30PM. Class will begin promptly at 7PM. This class will last until 8:30 or 9PM. 

What you can expect:

• A line up of SIX extra spooky haunted wines.

• A handout with information on each wine with room for you to take notes.

• Palate cleanser snacks

• A guided tasting by Book + Bottle's wine experts

Cheers to local, creative Founders!

Join Babe Crafted and Book + Bottle for a night of wine, networking and celebrating our amazing local entrepreneurship community.

Book + Bottle will have a selection of wines on tap and a special event menu!

Babe Crafted will be moderating a panel of St. Pete and Tampa-based Founders to chat about building successful businesses and we'll have a Q&A!

[Stay tuned for our lineup of panelists]

This event is complimentary to attend, but our attendance cap is 30 to keep our guests safe. If you RSVP, please keep your RSVP updated.

Masks will be required when not eating/drinking. 

We'll have a raffle at $5 a ticket to benefit CASA St. Pete, too! 

See you soon, friend.