Past Events

Carlos Cumpián moderated a select trio of Latino and Latina authors, including Angelica Julia Dávila,  Miguel Marazana, and Paul Martínez Pompa, as they shared their stories, poems, and novel excerpts. The readings were powerful and varied, with each author taking time to tell stories of their art…

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The weather was great and the programming even better for the 40th Annual Printers Row Lit Fest. The carnival-like weekend of authors, books, and book lovers was one of the best in its storied history. Our board president, Amy Danzer, did expert work orchestrating talks and readings from a wide range of notable, worthwhile authors. Each of the two…

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The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame selected Timuel Black, Oscar Brown, Jr., and Harriette Gillem Robinet for official induction, with a ceremony that took place on Saturday, July 12 at the Woodson Regional Library’s auditorium. Emcee Jamie Nesbitt Golden led a lineup of presenters that included Jan Spivey Gilchrist, Keith…

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This past Saturday, June 28, was a near-perfect day for our three-hour Uptown Literary Walking tour. It was sunny and maybe a touch hot, at around 85 degrees, but we found some shade and resting places along the way.  About 30 of us divided into two groups. We were lucky to have Robert Loerzel, John Lillig, and Barry Jung help lead the tours,…

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As part of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Board Secretary Jane Hseu hosted a showcase of Chicago's Asian American literary community. Kundiman Midwest and its facilitator Helene Achanzar participated, with Maggie Su reading from her new novel Blob. Banyan: Asian American Writers…

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The Randall Albers Young Writers Awards Ceremony & Open Mic returned for its third year. On Saturday, May 17, we presented awards to young writers of both prose and poetry and listened as they read aloud from their work. We were joined by families, friends, teachers, and a host of notable Chicago writers. It was a touching and entertaining way…

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A sold-out audience was on hand for the April 29 screening of The Apprentice. Artist Mary Livoni's short film, The Apprentice, based on Stuart Dybek's short story by the same name, received a rousing ovation. At the conclusion of the screening, Mary and Stuart discussed the film, and the artistic process that led to its creation. The…

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We celebrated Chicago's many wonderful indie bookstores by...buying books at some of them. We visited stores in Chicago, Aurora, St. Charles, Glen Ellyn, Oak Park, Berwyn, and Geneva. ChiLoveBooks did a phenomenal job promoting and tracking all of the happenings. Many people used the site's map to route out a bookstore crawl. There was at…

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Elise Paschen, one of Chicago’s most important writers, released her sixth poetry collection, Blood Wolf Moon, on April 10, 2025. The following night, the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame helped celebrate her new release on the occasion of the Cliff Dwellers making her an honorary member. Rachel DeWoskin, Thea Goodman and Lisa Yun Lee formed a…

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On this day-long adventure through Chicago's South Side literary history, we witnessed more than 25 unique sites. On this five-hour tour of Chicago, we visited sites associated with events like The Great Chicago Fire and the Leopold & Loeb Murder Trial; places like “Millionaires Row” and Chess Records; institutions like the old…

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