Date: 
Sun, 06/04/2023 - 2:00pm to 4:00pm

The book launch of acclaimed screenwriter Guinevere Turner’s When the World Didn’t End, a memoir of her childhood growing up with the infamous Lyman Family cult, will be held Sunday, June 4, 2-5 p.m. at Whiskey Girl, 6318 N. Clark in Chicago. RSVP for the free event here: http://evite.me/UAYqEECMas
 
Kirkus Reviews calls Turner’s book, out this month from Crown/Random House, “...[R]eflective, vivid, and confessional, a rich combination full of striking imagery… . A moving portrait of a bizarre childhood written with emotional nuance and bittersweet deliverance.”

Turner is a writer, director and actor who has been working in film and TV since her 1994 debut film Go Fish, which she wrote, produced and starred in. Go Fish was a groundbreaking lesbian film that inspired a generation of filmmakers. Turner’s co-star in the film, V.S. Brodie, will interview Turner during the event, which will also feature DJ Lora Branch, food, and cash bar. Women & Children First bookstore will have books for sale.

Booklist called the book, “A harrowing, emotional read as well as an invaluable chronicle of growing up in a cult.” Jessica Bruder, author of Nomadland, said: “Turner’s mesmerizing, devastating account of growing up in the Lyman Family cult is a coming-of-age story like no other. Rendered in astounding detail from her childhood journals, her story reads like a novel and deserves wide attention in an age of fringe groups going mainstream.”
 
Turner teamed up with director Mary Harron to write the films American Psycho, The Notorious Bettie Page and the 2019 film Charlie Says. She was a writer and story editor on Showtime’s The L Word, and she played the recurring character Gabby Deveaux on that show. She has written and directed seven short films, two of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
 
She can be seen in film roles that include The Watermelon Woman, Chasing Amy, American Psycho and The L Word. Her latest screenplay, Charlie Says, was directed by Mary Harron and released in May of 2019. Guinevere has taught screenwriting at Sarah Lawrence College, Columbia University, University of Georgia, UCLA and NYU.
 
The event is free, but RSVP is encouraged: http://evite.me/UAYqEECMas