The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, The Phantom Collective, Snickersnee Press, and the Newberry Library’s program in Chicago Studies, in collaboration with the read more

Our Great Chicago Books Club on Sunday, March 10, will feature Rosellen Brown’s The Lake on Fire, the author’s first fictional foray into the Chicago landscape after nearly a quarter century living in…  read more

The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame invites middle school students to attend a poetry workshop led by Jerikah Greene at Little Black Pearl's Carver 47 Cafe. Inspired by the life and work…  read more

The Caxton Club's newly-released Chicago By the Book maps out a history of our city through some of its most important literature. For this panel discussion, which includes moderator Donald G. Evans, author…  read more

The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame invites high school students to attend a poetry workshop led by National Youth Poet Laureate Patricia Frazier at Little Black Pearl's Carver 47 Cafe. Inspired…  read more

Part of the larger Chicago Black Renaissance, the literary movement started in the 1930s and continued to foster important African-America authors through the 1950s. On this bus tour, we’ll visit some of the…  read more

Our Great Chicago Books Club on Sunday, May 5, will feature Jane Hamilton’s Disobedience, the author’s fourth novel, and one featuring a discovered affair in a Chicago household. The story explores a mother's…  read more

Oak Park, a sleepy conservative village when Ernest Hemingway was a child, has evolved in the last century to become a bedrock of liberal thought. This tour explores Oak Park's significance in literature for more…  read more

In its heyday, when debates raged in Bughouse Square and ideas bounced about the Dil Picke Club, Chicago's Gold Coast featured a wide array of vibrant, joyous, and culturally significant literary spots. Even…  read more

On Thursday, May 9, author Sara Paretsky will receive the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame's Fuller Award for lifetime achievement at the Newberry Library. A host of speakers, including Lori Rader Day, read more

Downtown Chicago, with important cultural institutions like the Chicago Cultural Center, Harold Washington Library, Art Institute, and the Fine Arts Building, features a wide array of historic literary…  read more

The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame invites high school students to attend a poetry workshop led by National Youth Poet Laureate Patricia Frazier at Little Black Pearl's Carver 47 Cafe. Inspired by the life and work of read more

All students, parents, teachers and friends will be invited to view Rana Segal’s documentary Gwendolyn Brooks: The Oracle of Bronzeville at the Carver 47 Cafe. The 20-plus minute film captures the sculptor read more

Printers Row Lit Fest is maybe our country's greatest literary festival, a weekend of bookselling, author discussions, readings, music, and generally a coming-together of nearly every player in our community. The read more

Downtown Chicago, with important cultural institutions like the Chicago Cultural Center, Harold Washington Library, Palmer House, and the Fine Arts Building, features a wide array of historic literary sites. In this part of…  read more

The author of Chicago: City on the Make and The Man with the Golden Arm spent much of his life near the Polish Triangle, and both he and his characters bopped about the Wicker Park…  read more

The Bughouse Square Debates are free and open to the public, and happening in conjunction with Newberry Library's annual book fair. The afternoon is an homage to Bughouse Square's history of lively debate and…  read more

Our Great Chicago Books Club on Sunday, July 28, will feature Audrey Niffeneggers’s The Time Traveler’s Wife, the author’s debut novel and a long-standing bestseller.  The Newberry Library, which is the start…  read more

The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame’s roll of inductees includes a large number of writers whose careers were made in whole or part through their work as journalists. Ben Hecht, Mike Royko, Fanny Butcher, Carl…  read more

This fundraiser will feature a large assortment of used books, including a large number of collectible copies. Among the featured books will be many editions signed by Chicago authors. We'll also have baked goods for…  read more

This Great Chicago Books Club installment features a recent poetry collection that is already a Chicago classic. Nate Marshall will be the honored guest as we discuss Wild Hundreds, a book that explores…  read more

Ernest Hemingway, native of Oak Park and inaugural inductee into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, recounted in A Moveable Feast his legendary travels and acquaintances as a struggling young author in 1920s…  read more

Sterling Plumpp will receive the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame’s Fuller Award for lifetime achievement at a ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 19 at the Poetry Foundation. On hand to pay tribute…  read more

On the cusp of the September equinox, we will gather for a proper send off to another summer—in literary style. This is an informal gathering—bring your own blankets, grills, food, etc.; I know there will…  read more

Our Great Chicago Books Club on Sunday, Sept. 29, will feature Renee Rosen's Windy City Blues the author’s historical novel exploring Chicago’s legendary Chess Records.

The event will be held in a…  read more

The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame will induct its newest class of three writers on Thursday, Oct. 24 at Cliff-Dwellers, this event will be held at Cliff Dwellers. Though this is a private club, the event…  read more

Our year's final Great Chicago Books Club will be a rare Saturday night (Nov. 16) affair,  featuring James McManus's Positively Fifth Street, a non-fiction account of the author's forays into the world's biggest…  read more

A party  to show our gratitude for all the support we've received throughout the year, from volunteers, to partners, to board members, to authors and scholars. There will be food, drink, and a plenty of conversation. At the party, we'll recap our 2019 accomplishments and unveil our 2020 calendar.