Gerber/Hart is excited to host authors James Klise and Kim Oclon on Saturday, May 6th at 1:00 PM. Both I’ll Take Everything You Have and The War on All Fronts are LGBTQ+ YA coming of age stories set in the Midwest. Join us to hear from these authors and make sure to get your copies from Women & Children First Books at the event!
Learn more and register for the event here:
James Klise and Kim Oclon Author Talk
I’LL TAKE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE
Sixteen-year-old Joe Garbe discovers a thrilling queer community during a life-changing summer in 1930s Chicago but gets caught up in the city’s crooked underbelly in this riveting coming-of-age story. Suspenseful and surprising, I’LL TAKE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE is a crime and caper-filled love letter to Chicago history, queer history, and film noir. Readers will fall in love with the genuine yet naïve Joe Garbe in this vivid portrayal of queer self-discovery and a timeless story of creating a bright future with chosen family in a close-minded world.
THE WAR ON ALL FRONTS
In the summer of ’67, Anthony and Sam’s relationship faces even greater challenges when Anthony enlists in the Army and Sam learns about the antiwar movement when he enrolls at the University of Wisconsin.
JAMES KLISE
James Klise’s novel The Art of Secrets won the Edgar Award for Best Teen Mystery and a Booklist Editor’s Choice Award, among other honors. His first book, Love Drugged, was an ALA Stonewall Honor Award winner, as well as finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. He lives in Chicago, where he works as a high school librarian. His short stories have appeared in many journals, including StoryQuarterly, New Orleans Review, Ascent, and Southern Humanities Review. I’ll Take Everything You Have is his third novel.
KIM OCLON
With a BA in screenwriting and MFA in Fiction, Kim taught high school for six years and co-founded the school’s first gender-sexualities alliance. A reader all her life, Kim’s first literary loves were Sweet Valley Twins and The Babysitters Club. Kim lives in East Dundee, IL with her husband and two kids. She is a network representative for SCBWI. THE WAR ON ALL FRONTS is her second novel.