Past Events

Independent Bookstore Day

Saturday, April 25, 2026
All Day

Throughout Chicago and suburbs.

The annual Independent Bookstore Day is a great excuse to get out and visit favorite stores, new stores, and old stores you've been meaning to check out. The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame will go around to a bunch of stores, take some pictures, and send updates via social media on what is transpiring throughout the indie bookstore…

Randall Albers Young Writers Awards: 2026 Recognition Ceremony

Saturday, April 18, 2026
1:30 p.m.

Harold Washington Library Center
Reception Hall
400 S. State Street
Chicago, IL 60605

The fourth annual RAYWA recognition ceremony brought together this year’s prize winners. Each of the eight prize-placing authors (four in prose and four in poetry) read their winning entries before receiving their plaques, certificates, and checks. Final judges Timothy David Rey and Megan Stielstra presented the honors. A…

Algren Birthday Celebration

Sunday, March 29, 2026
1-3 p.m.

Green Mill
4802 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL

The Nelson Algren Committee's annual celebration of Chicago Literary Hall of Fame inaugural inductee Nelson Algren was back for its 36th year. The event honored and amplified the life and writing of the Chicago author whose books like The Man With the Golden Arm and The Neon Wilderness capture the true, often dark character of…

Great Chicago Books Club: Grady Chambers’s Great Disasters

Friday, March 27, 2026
7 p.m.

Private Residence
Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL (Streeterville)

Grady Chambers’s debut novel, Great Disasters, is a deeply introspective novel in which the narrator reflects back on his adolescence as a way to figure out how his life evolved. The story centers around a tight-knit group of private high school friends, living in the Chicago Gold Coast neighborhood. “What happened to make us all what…

The Song of the Lush: CLHOF’s Annual Cocktail Party Fundraiser

Saturday, February 28, 2026
7 p.m.

Colvin House
5940 N. Sheridan Road
Chicago, IL 60660

The theme of this year’s cocktail fundraiser was a play on Willa Cather’s great 1915 novel, The Song of the Lark, a title which is taken from Jules Breton’s 1884 painting. In the novel, Thea Kronborg, a voice artist prodigy, has moved to Chicago to further her training as an opera singer; once there, she finds inspiration in the…

Winesburg, Ohio (New Edition) Release

Saturday, February 14, 2026
7 p.m.

Tangible Books
3326 S Halsted Street
Chicago, IL 60608

Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, originally published in 1919, is widely considered one of the quintessential story collections of the past century-plus. Now that it is in the public domain, Maudlin House released a new edition, with a Kevin Maloney introduction and Dmitry Samarov illustrations (including the cover). Dmitry is a…

Great Chicago Books Club: Tony Fitzpatrick’s The Sun at the End of the Road: Dispatches from an American Life

Friday, February 6, 2026
7 p.m.

Zoom

Tony Fitzpatrick published his essay collection, The Sun at the End of the Road, just weeks before his death. Tony was celebrated as a visual artist, radio personality, boxer, and actor, but too often his accomplishments as a writer were overlooked. He was a fantastic writer--this last book is proof of that. It's a kind of memoir told in a…

Shards of Me and My…Monologues and Poems

January 21–January 25, 2026

Kimball Arts Center
1757 Kimball Avenue
Chicago, IL 60647

Lengendary poet and poetry ambassador, Marc Kelly Smith, will workshop a production of his one-man show in late January at the Kimball Arts Center. Marc wrote and will perform the poems and monologues that comprise the show; Kevin Coval directs and Mark Eleveld produces. Tickets for the five shows are a suggested donation of $20 each. For…

2025 Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Silent Auction

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

The 2025 Silent Auction will be live Midnight Tuesday October 21st to Wednesday December 3rd. Proceeds help the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame continue to stage events to honor, preserve, and celebrate, Chicago's literary heritage. Your bids will help us celebrate our city's literary history-past, present, and future-and showcase its…

2025 Fuller Award Ceremony for Jackie Taylor

Monday, October 20, 2025
6:30 p.m.

Black Ensemble Theater
4450 N. Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60640

Jackie Taylor, the author of more than 100 plays and musical bios, thousands of poems, a screenplay, and two books, was honored as the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame’s 2025 Fuller Award recipient for her lifetime achievements. Taylor was celebrated at a ceremony on Monday, October 20, at her Black Ensemble Theater (4450 N. Clark Street). Ron…