Past Events

Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Fit/Lit returns for the summer, and the new session is open to all ages.

What It Is: A community of Chicago book lovers reading Chicago literature and plotting excursions based upon local writers and their books. The idea is to read about and see more of Chicago to deepen our appreciation of our city’s history (literary and otherwise) while reaping the health benefits of some good walks (or bike rides).

How it Works: Register for the session (there is a totally optional suggested donation; donate for yourself, donate for your family, or…

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Independent Bookstore Day, a national celebration that usually features scavenger hunts, giveaways, frosted goodies, and so forth and so on, will, like everything else, be subdued in 2021 because of the corona virus. Although many stores are open, there are severe limits on the number of people that can gather safely, and hours of operation.

So...the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame facilitated a live “Inside for Indies” program featuring author Faisal Mohyuddin and also pop-ins at some of our cherished indpendent stores, including Women & Children First bookstore, Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore, Seminary Co-op Bookstore,…

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Our themed series of Chicago Classics continues, with a proper celebration of the start (hopefully) of a new baseball season. Our beloved baseball teams have inspired a whole canon of great literature, from memoirs to short stories to detective novels to plays like Bleacher Bums. An all-star lineup of readers will share some of their favorite Chicago baseball passages. Pulitzer Prize winner Ira Berkow, born and raised in Chicago and a New York Times columnist these past four decades, will lead a lineup of notable literary baseball people. John Freyer will give tribute to Chicago's contribution to…

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Carlos Cumpián will serve as the master of ceremonies for the evening, and a lineup of speakers that includes Jorge Valdivia and Richard Bray, will give short tributes. Donna Seaman will interview Sandra after her acceptance speech, with audience members invited to submit questions. More speakers and details will be added throughout the next couple of weeks. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required in advance.

Women & Children First have put together a list of Cisneros’ most popular titles for purchase. Browse here!

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Sandra Cisneros, the poet, short story writer, novelist, essayist, performer, and artist whose work beautifully and profoundly explores working class lives and landscapes, will receive the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame’s Fuller Award for lifetime achievement. The event is free and open to the public, but you must register in advance. A native Chicagoan, Cisneros started her illustrious career with the 1980 publication of the poetry chapbook Bad Boys, and soon rose to the top of the literary stratosphere with her 1984 young adult novel, The House on Mango Street. The coming-of-age story, which follows, in…

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In the first of several themed Chicago Classics this year, a group of extraordinary writers will read to us about love. Chicago natives Jacquelyn Mitchard, Peter Orner, and Dipika Mukherjee lead a lineup filled with authors with much to say on the subject. Each will treat us to a sampling of one of her or his own books as well as a favorite Chicago book. Michele Morano, whose recent memoir Like Love, takes a deep and fascinating dive into the subject, will emcee the event. The event, held virtually via Zoom, is free and open…

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This interactive seminar is open to the public, with a suggested donation of $25 for those who want to contribute. We want you to attend whether you decide to donate or not. Register through Eventbrite.

For Sterling North and Carl Kroch's recipe collection, So Red the Nose, Oak Park native Ernest Hemingway contributed a cocktail named for his book, Death in the Afternoon: “Pour one jigger absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly." Chicagoan Edgar Rice Burroughs contributed "Tarzan Cocktail" to that same…

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AmeriCorps Project YES!, a program of the Northwestern Settlement House, connects caring adults with youth in the West Town community through mentorship, including educational, service, artistic, and recreational activities, to support academic achievement. Its 14th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Literacy Fair will be held on Monday, January 18, 2021 from 12:30-4 p.m. The theme this year is “Today A Reader, Tomorrow A Leader,” a tribute to the power of literacy as a foundation for understanding and leadership. This event allows members of the community to interact, learn, and have fun while exploring the different aspects of literacy. Participants…

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The Chicago Writers Association presents its annual Book of the Year Awards in a virtual ceremony Saturday, January 16, starting at seven p.m. Elizabeth Wetmore (Valentine, Traditional Fiction), Katey Schultz (Still Come Home, Indie Fiction), Jaqueline Saper (From Miniskirt to Hijab, Traditional Nonfiction), and Mary Lang Sollinger (From Inspiration to Activism, Indie Nonfiction) lead the list of honorees. Jennifer Brown Banks will receive the Spirit Award for the work she has done as a writer, administrator, and advocate in the literary community. This is the 10th year for these awards,…

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The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame's major 2020 fundraiser features three live auctions, readings by Carlos Cumpian, Haki Madhubuti, and Toya Wolfe, and even some literary trivia. Auctioneers Brian Hieggelke and Elizabeth Gomez will entertain you as the bidding for original artwork, a vacation package, and a unique virtual cooking experience with Vu Tran heats up.

Bid early on a range of items, including books, artwork, dining certificates, conference registrations, and a lot more:

https://www.biddingowl.com/Auction/index.cfm?auctionID=25079

We will be adding new items daily from now until the Zoom event, so keep checking back.…

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