Events and News

Events

Summer (2021) Fit/Lit

Friday, June 4 through Saturday, September 4
Evenings and Weekends, Mostly

Discord Channel Link
Registration is free and open to the public; donations to help fund the program are welcome.

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…

“The Lookout”

Saturday, June 12, 2021
7 p.m. CDT

via Zoom
Advanced Registration Required

Cyrus Colter's 1970 short story "The Lookout," in which aspiring socialite Mildred stalks a Woodlawn street to witness the goings on at a party to which she was not invited, will be dramatized in…

Chicago Voices: Summer Fiction Workshop

Thursday, June 24 to Thursday, July 22
4-5 p.m. CST

Via Zoom
Registration Required

Jerakah Greene, recent recipient of the Pen America 2021 Emerging Voices Fellowships, will lead this summer's Chicago Literary Hall of Fame virtual creative writing workshop for high school students. "Chicago Voices" is free,…

Nighthawks

Sunday, August 1, 2021
7 p.m.

Oak Park Brewing Company
155 S. Oak Park Ave.
Oak Park, IL 60302

Edward Hopper's painting Nighthawks, which hangs in the Art Institute, has been the subject of much literary exploration. Stuart Dybek and Joyce Carol Oates are among the authors who've used…

Chicago Writers of the Federal Writers’ Project

Saturday, August 14, 2021
7 p.m.

Online; ongoing.

The Illinois unit of the Federal Writers Project employed some of Chicago’s finest literary minds, most before they were known to the general public. Richard Wright, Nelson Algren, Studs Terkel, Margaret Walker, Sam Ross, Arna…

Induction Ceremony (Class of 2019 & 20)

Sunday, September 19, 2021
6:30-7:45 p.m.

City Lit Theater
1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.
Chicago, IL 60660

In this, our 11th season, the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame will induct and honor two new classes, the 2019 class (we postponed last year's ceremony due to the pandemic) and the 2020 class (selection…

Fuller Award: Reginald Gibbons

Thursday, September 30, 2021
5-7:30 p.m.

Newberry Library
60 W. Walton Street
Chicago, IL 60610

Reginald Gibbons's prolific writing career has included publication of ten full-length poetry collections; a short story collection and a novel; numerous essays, reviews, columns, and translations; and as editor a myriad of anthologies. His…

Fuller Award: Luis Alberto Urrea

Tuesday, October 26, 2021
6-8:30 p.m.

National Museum of Mexican Art
1852 W. 19th Street
Chicago, IL 60608

A 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction and member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame, Luis Alberto Urrea is the critically acclaimed and best-selling author of 17 books, winning numerous awards for his…

2021 Online Auction Fundraiser

Friday, December 10, 2021
7 p.m.

via Zoom

The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame's major 2021 fundraiser will again feature live auctions, readings, and literary trivia. Bid early on a range of items, including books, artwork, dining certificates, conference registrations, and a lot…

Sanfilippo Foundation — Artist Spotlight — Donald G. Evans and the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame

Friday, April 16, 2021

Gregory Leifel, Executive Director of the Sanfilippo Foundation, talks with Donald Evans, Founding Executive Editor of the CLHOF, about the beginnings of the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame and the decade following their award ceremony…

Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation Awards Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Operational Grant

Monday, November 23, 2020

The board of the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation has approved a three-year grant to the Chicago Literary Hall Of Fame to support general operations. The Donnelley Foundation makes "multi-year, general operating grants to…

1001 DONORS IN CHICAGO

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Here’s what we’re asking:

Give a minimum of $10. (Give more if you’re able, but understand that lots of small donations WILL make a difference)

Most importantly, we’d like to hear from you!…

CHLOF Named Finalist for Oak Park and River Forest Spotlight Award

Tuesday, October 9, 2018
5:00 - 7:00pm

Nineteenth Century Club
178 Forest Avenue
Oak Park, Illinois

Decal sent to the CHLOF by the Oak Park - River Forest Chamber of Commerce

The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame has been selected as a finalist for the Oak Park - River Forest Chamber of Commerce Spotlight Award in the Community Character category. The winners will be announced at the OPRF Chamber of Commerce's annual Spotlight Awards ceremony, October 9, 5:00pm at the historic Nineteenth Century Club on Forest Ave., just north of Lake Street in Oak Park. For more information about the event, click here.

The OPRF Chamber of Commerce describes the awards on their website:

"The 3rd Annual Business Spotlight Awards recognizes and celebrates businesses and community organizations across six categories of leadership. The program is open to all businesses in the Oak Park, River Forest and surrounding communities.

Community Character

This is a business or organization reflective of our community - unique, creative, smart, one-of-a-kind, supportive, fun, successful. The kind that epitomizes the spirit of who we are."

Representatives of the CLHOF will attend the October 9 event.

"The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame is honored to be named a finalist for an Oak Park - River Forest Chamber of Commerce Spotlight Award," said Donald G. Evans, Founding Executive Director of the CLHOF. "We work hard to celebrate and preserve Chicago's great literary heritage through our events, website, literary tours, and outreach programs such as sponsoring Margot McMahon's Gwendolyn Brooks sculpture in Brooks Park, and the "From the Porch" poetry workshops for children, inspired by that sculpture."

Chicago Community Trust Acting Up Award

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Chicago, June 20, 2018 – The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame (CLHOF) has been awarded a Chicago Community Trust (CCT) Acting Up grant to help fund its proposed “From the Porch of Gwendolyn Brooks” program.…

CLHOF Installs Sculpture of Gwendolyn Brooks in Brooks Park.

Thursday, June 7, 2018

Gwendolyn Brooks Park
4542 S. Greenwood Ave.
Chicago, IL 60653

The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, in partnership with sculptor Margot McMahon, Chicago Park District, the Poetry Foundation, and Brooks Permissions, celebrated the landmark installation in Brooks Park. The installation…

CLHOF Receives IACA Support Grant

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

The Illinois Arts Council Agency (IACA) has awarded the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame a grant of $1,000 from Federal funds for general operating support. The Illinois Arts Council Agency is a government…