Past Events

The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame’s 14th class officially joined the canon of our city’s all-time literary greats at an induction ceremony and reception hosted by the stupendous Chopin Theatre. Nella Larsen, Bette Howland, and Finley Peter Dunne were honored and celebrated for their important literary contributions to Chicago and beyond. Larsen, born in the Levee District in 1868, published just two novels in her lifetime, but regard for her work has only increased over the decades. A librarian and active part of Harlem’s interracial arts scene, Larsen received critical acclaim for both novels, in particular the…

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In keeping with our commitment to encouraging and promoting young writers in and around the city, the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame hosted an awards ceremony honoring the winners of the Randall Albers Young Writers Award. The event was held at the Harold Washington Library Center and featured a presentation of awards along with readings from our winners. A reception followed.

About Randall Albers

Professor and Chair Emeritus of Fiction Writing at Columbia College Chicago, Randall Albers was founding Producer of the long-running Story Week Festival of Writers, received the Columbia College Teaching Excellence Award, and, as chair…

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After Hours Press, co-publisher of Wherever I’m At: An Anthology of Chicago Poetry, hosted a one-hour reading at the Harold Washington Library Poetry Festival on Saturday, April 29. The reading also celebrated the release of the new issue of After Hours magazine, Issue #45.  Featured poets were Marvin Tate, Viola Lee, Nina Corwin, and Patrick Reardon.  All were included in either the anthology or the magazine.  The event was free and open to the public.

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Wherever I'm At: An Anthology of Chicago Poetry features a large variety of artists from throughout the Chicago area. The poems move around, from Hyde Park to the West Side to the Gold Coast to Evanston, etc. Perhaps no neighborhood, or adjacent suburb, boasts better representation than Oak Park. The village boasts an enormously talented artistic community and heritage, some transplants, some natives. On Thursday, April 27, we celebrated Poetry Month at the Oak Park Public Library's main branch with a discussion about Oak Park and the poetic arts. Al DeGenova, Patricia McMillen, Rebecca Morgan Frank…

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Carlos Cumpian emceed a reading centered around our Chicago poetry anthology, Wherever I’m At. Cynthia Gallaher, Ruben Quesada, Raúl Niño, Paul Martínez Pompa, Mike Puican and Vincent Romero each read a selection of poems. All of the participants contributed poems to the anthology. There was also a short open mic that included a reading by Mary Hawley.

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For more than a century, the Cliff Dwellers Club has promoted and celebrated fine arts in Chicago. It's fitting that the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame partnered with the Cliff Dwellers to put on a special celebration in honor of Poetry Month. Several contributors to Wherever I'm At: An Anthology of Chicago Poetry, including Naoko Fujimoto, Elise Paschen and Kathleen Rooney read poems and discussed their art. In addition, the Club mounted a modest exhibit of Wherever I’m At visual artists that included works by Mary Livoni and Chuck Walker.

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The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame celebrated the arrival of a new baseball season and spring with Opening Day, a festive themefest of song, story, poetry, and comedy at Mrs. Murphy & Sons on Friday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m.

This themefest included performances of songs like Go, Cubs, Go, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and Centerfield; baseball readings of poetry and prose; and a live auction of Cub tickets, copies of the anthology, Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting Till Next Year autographed by various combinations of players and authors; and other baseball…

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Harriette Gillem Robinet, the acclaimed author of 11 historical novels for young adults, received the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame's Fuller Award at a ceremony on Tuesday, March 14. The ceremony took place at Dominican University's Blake Recital Hall; a reception with appetizers and drinks followed. Speakers included Linda Robinet, Nora Brooks Blakely, Athena Williams, Frank Lipo, Glennette Tilley Turner, and Tsehaye Geralyn Hébert. In addition, Timothy Rey and several Beye Elementary School students read two very short stage adaptations based on the author's work. The event was free and open to the public.

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For the third straight year, but the first in person, the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame hosted an evening that was part cocktail party, part bartending seminar, and part plain old excuse to enjoy pleasant company. Throughout the festivities, we highlighted Chicago literature and its strong association with the drinks we made and consumed. We focused on margaritas this time around.

The $100 registration fee included appetizers and drinks--there were three unique cocktails created--as well as a small pdf cocktail recipe book featuring a smattering of drinks with Chicago literary associations.

Hosts Mike Burke and Robert Charles…

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The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame hosted its end-of-the-year Fundraiser Party on Saturday, December 3 from 2-4 p.m. at Roscoe Village’s Beat Kitchen, “home to every genre of music, hosting some of the biggest names in live music & comedy.”

The Fundraiser Party was a perfect opportunity to celebrate the season while supporting an organization that organizes events and programming to honor, preserve, and celebrate Chicago's great literary heritage, as well as to help foster new voices.

There were light appetizers, a cash bar, lots of mingling and throughout the afternoon, there were many chances to win prizes. The…

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