Randall Albers Young Writers Award Ceremony

In keeping with our commitment to encouraging and promoting young writers in and around the city, the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame will host an awards ceremony honoring the winners of the Randall Albers Young Writers Award. The event will be hosted at the Harold Washington Library Center and feature a presentation of awards along with readings from our winners. Refreshments will be available and the event is open to the public. Event is FREE but registration is required.

Register now.

 

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 of the Fiction Writing Department, fostered innovative interdisciplinary and community-based arts work in Chicago, and led development of abroad programs in Moscow, Prague, Florence, Bath, and Rome. A Story Workshop® Master Teacher, he has been a visiting professor at England’s Bath Spa University, has lectured at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and has presented at numerous national and international conferences on the teaching of creative writing. His fiction, creative nonfiction, and scholarly work have appeared in Prairie Schooner, Chicago Review, TriQuarterly, Writers Digest, Writing in Education, Brevity, F Magazine, and Briefly Knocked Unconscious by a Low-Flying Duck, among others. With Steve May, he authored the lead article in Creative Writing and Education, edited by Graeme Harper; and two chapters from his novel-in-progress, All the World Before Them, have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

As an educator, volunteer, advocate, and mentor, Randall has long supported helping young writers find, develop, and amplify their voices, finding ways for their words and voices to gain a wider audience and full inclusion into local arts and letters. 

Randall’s tireless efforts to enhance the city’s literary profile and honor the great diversity and legacy of Chicago writers through encouragement, education, and philanthropy has earned him a cherished place in the hearts and minds of Chicago Literati. 

 

The Randall Albers Young Writers Award

With the start of the new year, the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame (CHLOF) institutes a new award: the Randall Albers Young Writers Award. 

The award has the dual value of both honoring one of Chicago’s most beloved literary dignitaries, Randall Albers, as well as recognizing, supporting, highlighting, and celebrating the literary gifts of Chicago’s youth.

The Randall Albers Young Writers Award is open to all Chicago-area students currently enrolled in grades 9–12. This year’s inaugural awards will honor young writers of fiction and nonfiction. 

Submissions deadline: 5:00 pm Central Standard Time on April 3, 2023. 

A $500 prize will be awarded to the 2023 1st Place winner, with finalists receiving the following amounts:

• 2nd Place: $250
• 3rd Place: $150
• 4th Place: $100

Each winner will also receive a writing consultation with one of the editors for DePaul’s Blue Book: Best American High School Writing 2023, and their winning pieces may be eligible for inclusion in the publication. The winner and finalists will be listed on our website and will have the opportunity to read from their entries during the award ceremony.

For guidelines and how to enter, visit: https://chicagoliteraryhof.org/projects/albers_award

Please direct any questions to albersaward2023@chicagoliteraryhof.com.

 

To Support the Randall Albers Young Writers Award

Please consider supporting Chicago’s young writers by making a tax-deductible donation here, or by sending a check to: Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, 4043 N. Ravenswood Ave., #222, Chicago, IL 60613. (Please note your preference to designate your donation to the Randall Albers Young Writers Award.)