Fuller Award: Sandra Cisneros

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 a series of vignettes, a year in the life of Esperanza Cordero, quickly became one of the most adored books of her generation, an almost must-read at schools throughout the country. Her literary outpouring continued with an incredible array of poems, stories, memoirs, and essays, including her most recent work, A House of My Own: Stories from My Life (2015). Cisneros is the recipient of many of the literary world’s most prestigious awards, including the American Book Award, a MacArthur Fellowship, a Lannan Literary Award for Fiction, and an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction. The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame's honor reflects upon Cisneros’s rightful place as one of our greatest contemporary authors, and also acknowledges the enormous influence she has had on our literary and cultural life. Carlos Cumpián will serve as the master of ceremonies for the evening, and a lineup of speakers that includes Norma Alarcón, Jorge Valdivia, Sonia Saldívar-Hull, and Richard Bray, will give short tributes. Donna Seaman will interview Sandra after her acceptance speech, with audience members invited to submit questions. The complete speaker lineup will be posted soon. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required in advance.

The American Writers Museum, Chicago Public Library and National Museum of Mexican Art will co-present the award. Literature For All of Us, Guild Literary Complex, Chicago History Museum, Loyola University Chicago Creative Writing Program, Loyola University Women's Studies/Gender Studies, StoryStudio Chicago, Open Books, Sarabande Books, Make Literary Productions, the Chicago Poetry Center, Greater Reach Consulting, DePaul University English Department, the Hawkins Project, Josephinum Academy of the Sacred Heart, 826CHI, Vintage & Anchor Books, and Kaye Publicity are among the partners for the event. Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation has also provided support to the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. Register through Eventbrite.

Women & Children First will make all of Sandra's books available through their website. Please purchase books to support one of Chicago's finest independent bookstores, as well as the author.