About Us

For a one-of-a-kind Chicago museum experience downtown, visit the American Writers Museum

As one of the most unique Chicago museums downtown, our mission is to celebrate the enduring influence of American writers on our history, identity, culture, and daily lives.

American writing is distinctive, diverse, and comes in many forms from across the nation. As the only museum devoted to American writers and their works, AWM connects visitors with their favorite authors and writings from more than five centuries, while inspiring the discovery of new works of every type – poetry, lyrics, speeches, drama, fiction, nonfiction, journalism, and more.

The authors and works we present are not meant to be a definitive list of who is the greatest or most influential. Instead, we present authors and works as part of a continuum that will grow and change. We hope you will visit us often to see what authors and works come next!

The American Writers Museum owes its existence to the vision, passion and tenacity of its founder, Malcolm O’Hagan. We are forever indebted to Malcolm for his generosity and his enduring belief that America’s great writers deserve a home all their own.

The American Writers Museum wishes to thank Werner Hein, AWM co-founder, and Mayer Brown, Pro Bono law firm, for their immeasurable wisdom and guidance throughout the creation of the museum. WIth Werner’s leadership, and Mayer Brown’s commitment, the museum was provided the resources and professional counsel to meet every challenge.

The American Writers Museum wishes to extend a special thanks to Amaze Design for their creativity and commitment, and for transforming a simple idea into a rich, layered and brilliantly realized cultural destination.