American Writers Festival 2026 Reading List

ABCs of a Young King’s Greatness by Lora McClain-Muhammad
Celebrate the greatness of the young kings and Black boys in your life with this inspiring ABC coloring book.

Storytime: Lora McClain-Muhammad
Featured writer: Lora McClain-Muhammad
June 7, 1:45 p.m.
Children’s Library

ABCs of Black Girl Magic by Lora McClain-Muhammad
Celebrate your inner Black girl magic from A to Z with this inspiring coloring book for Black and Brown girls.

Storytime: Lora McClain-Muhammad
Featured writer: Lora McClain-Muhammad
June 7, 1:45 p.m.
Children’s Library

The American Short Story: The Nineteenth Century edited by John Stauffer
A landmark short story collection: More than 100 short stories by 51 different 19th-century writers redefine the great American literary form.

Masters of the American Short Story
Featured writers: Lauren Groff and John Stauffer; Moderator: Peter Coviello
June 7, 1:00 p.m.
Pritzker Auditorium

Angel Down by Daniel Kraus
The critically acclaimed author of the “crazily enjoyable” Whalefall returns with an immersive, cinematic novel about five World War I soldiers who stumble upon a fallen angel that could hold the key to ending the war. Winner of the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction.

Adaptations
Featured writers: Daniel Kraus and Susan Orlean
June 7, 12:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

Annie Allen: 75th Anniversary Edition by Gwendolyn Brooks
The groundbreaking work by Gwendolyn Brooks which made her the first Black person to win the Pulitzer Prize in any category. This new edition features the original collection of poems, as well as tribute poems and essays by nationally respected writers.

BrooksDay 2026
A birthday celebration for Gwendolyn Brooks!
June 7, 3:30 p.m.
Third Floor Stage

Apostles of Change: Latino Radical Politics, Church Occupations, and the Fight to Save the Barrio by Felipe Hinojosa
Unraveling the intertwined histories of Latino radicalism and religion in urban America, this book examines how Latino activists transformed churches into staging grounds for protest against urban renewal and displacement.

Social Change, Faith, and the Making of Latino Chicago
Featured writers: Lilia Fernández and Felipe Hinojosa. Presented by the Newberry.
June 7, 2:20 p.m.
Third Floor Stage

Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz
A cozy near-future novella about a crew of leftover robots opening their very own noodle shop. It is a 2026 Nebula Award Finalist for Best Novella.

SFWA Nebula Award Finalists
Featured writers: Amy Chu, Somto Ihezue, and Annalee Newitz; Moderator: Tananarive Due
June 7, 4:00 p.m.
Pritzker Auditorium

Awake: A Memoir by Jen Hatmaker
A brutally honest, funny, and revealing memoir about the traumatic end of her twenty-six-year-long marriage, and the beginning of a different kind of love story.

Religion, Memoir, and Influence
Featured writer: Jen Hatmaker; Moderator: Carey Cranston
June 7, 12:00 p.m.
Pritzker Auditorium

Bad Company by Sara Paretsky
Meet Lily. Once the CIA’s most effective field agent, she’s now the target of a Company womanhunt designed to silence her. She’s in her 70s. Can she call on her old field skills to save her life? (Available November 10, 2026).

Free Speech Today
Featured writers: Jacob Mchangama and Sara Paretsky
June 6, 2:00 p.m.
American Writers Museum

Beneath a Broken Sky by Joshua Moehling
A tense, atmospheric thriller about one detective’s search for a mysterious killer in the chaos following a deadly storm…

Writing Thrillers
Featured writers: Mindy Mejia and Joshua Moehling; Moderator: Tracy Clark
June 7, 12:00 p.m.
Multipurpose Room

Bibb Country: Unearthing My Family Secrets of Land, Legacy—and Lettuce by Lonnae O’Neal
A deeply personal and fiercely reported exploration of several generations of Lonnae O’Neal’s family, descendants of both enslavers and enslaved, set against the sweep of American history.

Black & Published: Live Podcast Taping
Featured writers: Jabari Asim, Deborah D. Douglas, and Lonnae O’Neal; Host: Nikesha Elise Williams
June 7, 3:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

Black & Published hosted by Nikesha Elise Williams
This podcast brings you the journeys of writers, poets, playwrights, and storytellers of all kinds to discuss what it means to be a writer, dissect the writing process, and demystify the steps between concept and publication.

Black & Published: Live Podcast Taping
Featured writers: Jabari Asim, Deborah D. Douglas, and Lonnae O’Neal; Host: Nikesha Elise Williams
June 7, 3:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

A Black Queer History of the United States by C. Riley Snorton and Darius Bost
A sweeping and introductory Black queer history of the United States centering queer and trans contributions to the Black freedom movement from slavery to Black Lives Matter.

America at 250: Untold Stories
Featured writers: Darius Bost, Anna O. Law, and C. Riley Snorton; Moderator: Valerie Gugala
June 7, 2:00 p.m.
Video Theater

The Book of Red Flags: Dating Signs They Aren’t It by Jenny Gorelick
For singles striving to mingle, The Book of Red Flags is a beacon in the modern dating darkness, detailing all the hilarious signs they aren’t it.

The Book of Red Flags
Featured writer: Jenny Gorelick; Moderator: Ton Johnson
June 7, 12:00 p.m.
Video Theater

Boston in 50 Maps by Andy Woodruff
See Boston from a new perspective in these fifty-plus new, original maps. These clear and colorful maps make The Hub’s history, urban plans, and lore easy-to-read and engaging.

Writing Maps
Featured writers: Stentor Danielson and Andy Woodruff; Moderator: David Weimer
June 7, 3:00 p.m.
Video Theater

Brawler: Stories by Lauren Groff
A stunning, fierce collection from a master of the short story and one of the most important writers of our time. Read alone, each story in Lauren Groff’s electric collection is an individual triumph, bold, agile, and packed with power. Read together, they hum in exhilarating resonance.

Masters of the American Short Story
Featured writers: Lauren Groff and John Stauffer; Moderator: Peter Coviello
June 7, 1:00 p.m.
Pritzker Auditorium

Brown in the Windy City: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Postwar Chicago by Lilia Fernández
The first history to examine the migration and settlement of Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in postwar Chicago.

Social Change, Faith, and the Making of Latino Chicago
Featured writers: Lilia Fernández and Felipe Hinojosa. Presented by the Newberry.
June 7, 2:20 p.m.
Third Floor Stage

Carmilla Volume 3: The Eternal by Amy Chu, art by Soo Lee
The final chapter of this Bram Stoker Award-winning graphic novel reimagination of Sheridan LeFanu’s classic Carmilla!

SFWA Nebula Award Finalists
Featured writers: Amy Chu, Somto Ihezue, and Annalee Newitz; Moderator: Tananarive Due
June 7, 4:00 p.m.
Pritzker Auditorium

Cincinnati in 50 Maps edited by Nick Swartsell, cartography by Andy Woodruff
Broken up into five sections―Mapping the Past, the Shape of Cincinnati, Communities and Culture, Getting Around, and Health and Environment―these visual representations show both the commonalities and the contradictions of an ever-changing American city.

Writing Maps
Featured writers: Stentor Danielson and Andy Woodruff; Moderator: David Weimer
June 7, 3:00 p.m.
Video Theater

City of Black Souls: Chicago, Ethiopianism, and the Black Apocalyptic Imagination by Kai Parker
Uncovers the history of how, from the late-19th to the mid-20th century, Black Protestants in Chicago created a transnational religious movement that connected the Black struggle for freedom in the United States to the global Black fight against Western imperialism.

Faith, Connection, and Social Change in Black Chicago
Featured writers: Reginald Blount and Kai Parker. Presented by the Newberry.
June 7, 12:40 p.m.
Third Floor Stage

Crazy Bitches by Roberta Beary
Includes 80 haibun selected from poems written over a 20-year period, 2004 through 2024. Four paintings by contemporary American artist Kevin Beary also appear in this collection.

Haibun Workshop
Featured writers: Roberta Beary and Lew Watts
June 7, 1:00 p.m.
Video Theater

A Curse of Beasts and Magic by Jeaniene Frost
Beauty and the Beast meets The Witcher, except Beauty IS the Beast in this compelling new Romantasy by bestselling author Jeaniene Frost.

Classic Tales Re-Told
Featured writers: Jeaniene Frost and Naima Simone; Moderator: Sara Benincasa
June 7, 11:00 a.m.
Reception Hall

Edge: A Detective Harriet Foster Thriller
When a tainted drug starts claiming lives across the city, Detective Harriet Foster and her team race to track down the source…before it takes one of their own.

Writing Thrillers
Featured writers: Mindy Mejia and Joshua Moehling; Moderator: Tracy Clark
June 7, 12:00 p.m.
Multipurpose Room

Eira by Lew Watts
“Eschewing a chronological narrative structure, it shifts from one haibun to the next using haiku to provide transition and surprising emotional turns.” —Tanya McDonald, Editor, Kingfisher

Haibun Workshop
Featured writers: Roberta Beary and Lew Watts
June 7, 1:00 p.m.
Video Theater

The End of My Life Is Killing Me: The Unexpected Joys of a Cancer Slacker by Annabelle Gurwitch
In this deftly comedic and deeply contemplative memoir, the New York Times bestselling author faces life’s biggest curveball only to find resilience in the most unlikely places.

Comedy & Memoir
Featured writer: Annabelle Gurwitch; Moderator: Chelsea Hood
June 7, 11:00 a.m.
Video Theater

Escape! by Stephen Fishbach
A propulsive debut novel following a has-been reality TV star and a disgraced producer who get one last shot at redemption on a show set on a remote island, only to discover that the plot twists are beyond what they ever imagined.

Suspense & Humor
Featured writers: Nicolas DiDomizio, Stephen Fishbach, and Tiffany Hanssen; Moderator: Erica Floyd
June 7, 3:00 p.m.
Multipurpose Room

Extended Stay by Juan Martinez
Haunting and visceral, Extended Stay uses the language of body horror and the gothic to comment on the complicated relationship between the Latinx undocumented experience and capitalism.

Horror Writing: Books & Podcasts
Featured writers: Quan Barry, Jeffrey Cranor, Joseph Fink, and Scott Hawkins; Moderator: Juan Martinez
1:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
In the town of Night Vale, there’s a faceless old woman who secretly lives in everyone’s home, but no one knows how she got there or where she came from, until now. Told in a series of eerie flashbacks, the story of The Faceless Old Woman goes back centuries… Interspersed throughout is a present-day story in Night Vale, as The Faceless Old Woman guides, haunts, and sabotages a man named Craig.

Horror Writing: Books & Podcasts
Featured writers: Quan Barry, Jeffrey Cranor, Joseph Fink, and Scott Hawkins; Moderator: Juan Martinez
1:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

The Far Side of the Desert by Joanne Leedom-Ackerman
A family drama and political thriller that explores links of terrorism, crime, and financial manipulation, revealing the grace that ultimately foils destruction.

Based on a True Story: Thrillers
Featured writer: Brian J. Morra; Moderator: Joanne Leedom-Ackerman
June 6, 4:00 p.m.
American Writers Museum

The First All-Star Game: Babe Ruth, FDR, and America at the Crossroads by Randall Sullivan
Deeply researched and filled with remarkable characters, Sullivan explores the history of an American obsession and captures the moment when both the sport and the nation found renewal in a single spectacle of hope.

Writing Baseball: The First All-Star Game
Featured writer: Randall Sullivan; Moderator: Joe Kilgallon
June 6, 1:00 p.m.
American Writers Museum

First Things First: Hip-Hop Ladies Who Changed the Game by Nadirah Simmons
This enlightening book reframes the history of hip-hop—and this time, women are given credit for all their trailblazing achievements that have left an undeniable impact on music.

Word is Bond: Hip-Hop Journalism
Featured writers: Syreeta Gates, Karen Good Marable, and Nadirah Simmons
June 7, 11:00 a.m.
Multipurpose Room

The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy’s Most Essential Freedom by Jacob Mchangama
Argues for a reinvigorated, global commitment to open dialogue. They offer a compelling case for how free speech can meet modern challenges without abandoning its foundational role in sustaining democracy, human rights, and shared understanding.

Free Speech Today
Featured writers: Jacob Mchangama and Sara Paretsky
June 6, 2:00 p.m.
American Writers Museum

God: A Human History by Reza Aslan
With thoughtful, accessible scholarship, Aslan narrates the history of religion as one long and remarkably cohesive attempt to know the divine by giving it human traits and emotions.

A Nation Wrestles with God
Featured writers: Reza Aslan and Ilan Stavans
June 7, 11:00 a.m.
Pritzker Auditorium

Good Grief, Pass the Bread, Mom Is Dead: A Memoir by Angela Nissel
Television writer, producer, and bestselling author of the acclaimed The Broke Diaries and Mixed charts her unexpected role as her terminally ill mother’s caretaker in this funny, moving, and unforgettable memoir.

Writing Across Mediums
Featured writers: Zakiya Dalila Harris and Angela Nissel
2:00 p.m.
Multipurpose Room

Grace Lee Boggs (Leaders Like Us Series) by Karen Su
Grace Lee Boggs was a Chinese American woman who went from earning a PhD in philosophy to becoming an activist in the Black Power movement in Detroit. She used ideas about revolution to inspire people to create a new world and imagine a new way of living.

Storytime: Karen Su
Featured writer: Karen Su
June 7, 12:15 p.m.
Children’s Library

The Grammar of God: A Journey into the Words and Worlds of the Bible by Aviya Kushner
Kushner tells the story of her vibrant relationship to the Bible, and along the way illustrates how the differences in translation affect our understanding of our culture’s most important written work.

The Spiritual Essence of Storytelling
Featured writers: Catherine-Esther Cowie, Tom Montgomery Fate, Runako Jahi, and Aviya Kushner. Presented by the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.
June 7, 11:00 a.m.
Third Floor Stage

Graphic Gwendolyn: a song in the front yard created by Brooks Permissions
One of Ms. Brooks’ most endearing and best loved poems. Graphic Gwendolyn is an exciting concept, an illustrated full-color poetry series featuring the work of the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet.

BrooksDay 2026: Children’s Library
Featured writers: Nora Brooks Blakely and Chicago elementary-aged students
June 7, 2:30 p.m.
Children’s Library

Great by Sara Benincasa
In this contemporary retelling of The Great Gatsby, a teenage girl becomes entangled in the romance and drama of a Hamptons social circle and is implicated in a scandal that shakes the summer community.

Classic Tales Re-Told
Featured writers: Jeaniene Frost and Naima Simone; Moderator: Sara Benincasa
June 7, 11:00 a.m.
Reception Hall

¡Habla Conmigo! by Stephanie Cohen
¡Ayuden a los niños pequeños a hablar! El libro de ¡Habla conmigo! utiliza un método probado, creado por una experta en el desarrollo del habla y lenguaje infantil.

Storytime: Stephanie Cohen
Featured writer: Stephanie Cohen
June 7, 1:00 p.m.
Children’s Library

Haibun: A Writer’s Guide by Roberta Beary, Lew Watts, and Rich Youmans
The first definitive book on haibun, one the most rapidly growing poetic forms in the English-speaking world. With dozens of examples, resources, and writing prompts, it will lead you to a new understanding and appreciation of this ever-evolving form.

Haibun Workshop
Featured writers: Roberta Beary and Lew Watts
June 7, 1:00 p.m.
Video Theater

Heirloom by Catherine-Esther Cowie
Moving from colonial to post-colonial St. Lucia, this debut collection brings to light the inheritances of four generations of women, developing monologues, lyrics and narrative poems which enable us to see how past dysfunction, tyranny and terror structure the shapes of women’s lives, and what they hand down to one another.

The Spiritual Essence of Storytelling
Featured writers: Catherine-Esther Cowie, Tom Montgomery Fate, Runako Jahi, and Aviya Kushner. Presented by the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.
June 7, 11:00 a.m.
Third Floor Stage

How to Train Your Evil Robot by Joy McCullough
A wildly funny picture book that helps kids make sense of the AI world they’re already living in—without any of the anxiety, and with all of the laughs.

Storytime: Joy McCullough
Featured writer: Joy McCullough
June 7, 3:15 p.m.
Children’s Library

Huntsman: A Mafia Romance by Naima Simone
Welcome to the dark world of The Hunted Kingdom where the daughters of modern-day mob families are reimagined fairytale princesses like you’ve never seen before. In Huntsman, family is power…and power is everything.

Classic Tales Re-Told
Featured writers: Jeaniene Frost and Naima Simone; Moderator: Sara Benincasa
June 7, 11:00 a.m.
Reception Hall

I Can Say Bye-Bye! by Stephanie Cohen
Wave, lift, and learn together! This fun lift-the-flap book helps little ones practice saying “hi” and “bye-bye” while building early social and speech skills.

Storytime: Stephanie Cohen
Featured writer: Stephanie Cohen
June 7, 1:00 p.m.
Children’s Library

Joyride: A Memoir by Susan Orlean
A masterful memoir of finding her creative calling and purpose that invites us to approach life with wonder, curiosity, and an irrepressible sense of delight.

Adaptations
Featured writers: Daniel Kraus and Susan Orlean
June 7, 12:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

The Last Senior Home in Bronzeville by Nikki Carpenter
A stage play that takes place present day, on the south side of Chicago, at Daley’s Senior Home. With Daley’s being the last senior home in the community, the residents find themselves at risk of being displaced, unless they all agree to fight back—senior citizen style. (Photo from September 2025).

Live Reading: The Last Senior Home in Bronzeville
Featured writers: Nikki Carpenter
June 6, 10:00 a.m.
American Writers Museum

Let Your Light Shine: Mobilizing for Justice with Children and Youth edited by Reginald Blount and Virginia A. Lee
Inspired by the contributions of leaders like Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, the authors present ways to engage in works of justice that offer life, meaning, and hope to our children and youth.

Faith, Connection, and Social Change in Black Chicago
Featured writers: Reginald Blount and Kai Parker. Presented by the Newberry.
June 7, 12:40 p.m.
Third Floor Stage

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
Populated by an unforgettable cast of characters and propelled by a plot that will shock you again and again, The Library at Mount Char it is at once horrifying and hilarious, mind-blowingly alien and heartbreakingly human, sweepingly visionary and nail-bitingly thrilling—and signals the arrival of a major new voice in fantasy.

Horror Writing: Books & Podcasts
Featured writers: Quan Barry, Jeffrey Cranor, Joseph Fink, and Scott Hawkins; Moderator: Juan Martinez
June 7, 1:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

The Long Way Home: Detours and Discoveries by Tom Montgomery Fate
In a travel memoir that ventures from his smalltown upbringing to vastly different cultures around the globe, Fate comes to define “home” not as a physical location, but as a way of belonging.

The Spiritual Essence of Storytelling
Featured writers: Catherine-Esther Cowie, Tom Montgomery Fate, Runako Jahi, and Aviya Kushner. Presented by the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.
June 7, 11:00 a.m.
Third Floor Stage

Looking for a Story: A Complete Guide to the Writings of John McPhee by Noel Rubinton
Brings McPhee’s entire career into focus—cataloging his works, including uncovering writing that has been rarely seen or never before connected with him, and telling the story of his remarkable journey as a writer.

Writing About Writers: John McPhee and Creative Nonfiction
Featured writer: Noel Rubinton; Moderator: Donna Seaman
June 7, 11:50 a.m.
Third Floor Stage

Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship: African Americans, Native Americans, and Immigrants by Anna O. Law
Presents a story of constitutional development that traces the confluence of the logics of slavery and settler colonialism in historical legal rulings and public policy about U.S. migration and citizenship.

America at 250: Untold Stories
Featured writers: Darius Bost, Anna O. Law, and C. Riley Snorton; Moderator: Valerie Gugala
June 7, 2:00 p.m.
Video Theater

A Murder Most Camp by Nicolas DiDomizio
The Guncle meets Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies in this fun, twisty mystery following a spoiled nepo baby forced to work at a struggling summer camp who stumbles into a real-life murder mystery he has no choice but to solve.

Suspense & Humor
Featured writers: Nicolas DiDomizio, Stephen Fishbach, and Tiffany Hanssen; Moderator: Erica Floyd
June 7, 3:00 p.m.
Multipurpose Room

My Name Was Gerry Sass by Tiffany Hanssen
The Sopranos meets Six Feet Under in My Name Was Gerry Sass, a thrilling debut crime novel about the killing of a hitman-for-hire, his daughter who wants revenge, and a priest who accidentally witnessed everything.

Suspense & Humor
Featured writers: Nicolas DiDomizio, Stephen Fishbach, and Tiffany Hanssen; Moderator: Erica Floyd
June 7, 3:00 p.m.
Multipurpose Room

A Nation Wrestles with God: American Prophets, Philosophers, and Firebrands edited by Ilan Stavans
In this anthology, you will find the stories, poems, letters, speeches, sermons, essays, song lyrics, comic strips, newspaper columns, and commentaries that awoke new generations to free religious thought, from the pre-colonial to the present day.

A Nation Wrestles with God
Featured writers: Reza Aslan and Ilan Stavans
June 7, 11:00 a.m.
Pritzker Auditorium

The Order of Odd-Fish by James Kennedy
Jo learns the scandalous truth about who she is, and she and Lily join the Order of Odd-Fish, a collection of knights who research useless information…but two villains are controlling their fate. Jo is inching closer and closer to the day when her destiny is fulfilled, and no one in Eldritch City will ever be the same.

The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival
Featured writers: James Kennedy
June 7, 4:00 p.m.
Video Theater

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
Urgent, propulsive, and sharp as a knife, The Other Black Girl is an electric debut about the tension that unfurls when two young Black women meet against the starkly white backdrop of New York City book publishing. Also a hit show streaming on Hulu!

Writing Across Mediums
Featured writers: Zakiya Dalila Harris and Angela Nissel
June 7, 2:00 p.m.
Multipurpose Room

Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism by Eve L. Ewing
By demonstrating that it’s in the DNA of American schools to serve as an effective and underacknowledged mechanism maintaining inequality in this country today, Ewing makes the case that we need a profound reevaluation of what schools are supposed to do, and for whom.

Poetry as Storytelling
Featured writers: Mayda del Valle, Eve L. Ewing, and Maggie Smith
June 7, 2:00 p.m.
Pritzker Auditorium

Partially Devoured: How Night of the Living Dead Saved My Life and Changed the World by Daniel Kraus
Uses a frame-by-frame deep dive into Night of the Living Dead to produce a kaleidoscopic cultural investigation of the film’s importance and to examine the author’s early life of rural isolation and local violence.

Adaptations
Featured writers: Daniel Kraus and Susan Orlean
June 7, 12:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

The Phoebe Variations by Jane Hamilton
A stunning coming-of-age novel about friendship, mothers, and finding one’s way in the world. Set in an Oak Park, IL-ish place in the 1970s. By the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Ruth and A Map of the World.

New Novels
Featured writers: Jane Hamilton and Sahar Mustafah; Moderator: Arionne Nettles
June 7, 4:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

Pittsburgh in 50 Maps by Stentor Danielson
Considers the boundaries of the city’s 90 distinct neighborhoods (plus Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood), the legacy of the steel industry, and how immigration continues to shape the city…Each colorful map offers a new perspective on one of America’s most consistently surprising cities and the people who live here.

Writing Maps
Featured writers: Stentor Danielson and Andy Woodruff; Moderator: David Weimer
June 7, 3:00 p.m.
Video Theater

Play with Me by Kat Chen, illustrated by Lorraine Nam
Many toddlers and preschoolers consistently ask for someone to play with them, and this book provides just that for the quieter moments of the day. Simple language and gentle questions will help children develop their social skills by practicing conversations, all while engaging them in fun and familiar topics.

Storytime: Kat Chen
Featured writer: Kat Chen
June 7, 11:30 a.m.
Children’s Library

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
A gripping, page-turning “masterpiece” (Joe Hill) set in Jim Crow Florida that follows Robert Stephens Jr. as he’s sent to a segregated reform school that is a chamber of terrors where he sees the horrors of racism and injustice, for the living, and the dead.

SFWA Nebula Award Finalists
Featured writers: Amy Chu, Somto Ihezue, and Annalee Newitz; Moderator: Tananarive Due
June 7, 4:00 p.m.
Pritzker Auditorium

Revive Me (Part Two): The Affair by J.L. Seegars
The next book in the New Haven series, interconnected standalones featuring second chances, fiery passion, and Black heroines who get their happily ever afters. This is part two of the Revive Me trilogy.

Romance: Writing Love Stories
Featured writers: Lucy Gilmore and J.L. Seegars; Moderator: Pamala Knight
June 6, 12:00 p.m.
American Writers Museum

The Righteous Arrows: A Cold War Spy Thriller (Book 2 of 2: Able Archers) by Brian J. Morra
Foreshadowing the global war on terror, former Air Force Intelligence officer Brian Morra illuminates the stubbornly persistent rivalry between the U.S. and Russia in this heart-stopping story of international espionage and war.

Based on a True Story: Thrillers
Featured writer: Brian J. Morra; Moderator: Joanne Leedom-Ackerman
June 6, 4:00 p.m.
American Writers Museum

River of Books: A Life in Reading by Donna Seaman
Recounts Seaman’s journey in becoming an editor for Booklist, a reviewer, an author, and a literary citizen, and lays bare how she nourished both body and soul in working with books.

Memoirs
Featured writers: Sarah Hartshorne, Bill Kurtis, and Walter Pryor; Moderator: Donna Seaman
June 7, 2:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

Route 66 Recipes: A Culinary Cruise Along the Mother Road by Amy Bizzarri
Author Amy Bizzarri serves up recipes―each paired with a side of history―that capture the essence of the classic diners, cozy chili parlors, welcoming inns, old-school soda shops, tasty burger joints, and unforgettable dive bars that have fueled generations of travelers.

Route 66 Recipes
Featured writer: Amy Bizzarri; Moderator: Erica Floyd
June 6, 3:00 p.m.
American Writers Museum

Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds by John Fugelsang
In the spirit of George Carlin and Christopher Hitchens, the son of a former Catholic nun and a Franciscan brother delivers a deeply irreverent and biblically correct takedown of far-right Christian hatred.

Reclaimed Religion: Writing Christianity Back
Featured writer: John Fugelsang; Moderator: Annabelle Gurwitch
June 7, 3:00 p.m.
Pritzker Auditorium

The Seven Daughters of Dupree by Nikesha Elise Williams
Masterfully weaves together themes of generational trauma, Black women’s resilience, and unbreakable familial bonds… a feminist literary fiction that explores the ripple effects of actions, secrets, and love through seven generations of Black women.

Black & Published: Live Podcast Taping
Featured writers: Jabari Asim, Deborah D. Douglas, and Lonnae O’Neal; Host: Nikesha Elise Williams
June 7, 3:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis by George Stephanopoulos with Lisa Dickey
Recounts the history-making crises from the place where twelve presidents made their highest-pressure decisions. The Situation Room is the definitive, past-the-security-clearance look at the room where it happened, and the people—the famous and those you’ve never heard of—who have made history within its walls.

Q&A: Ask a Ghostwriter
Featured writer: Lisa Dickey
June 7, 1:00 p.m.
Multipurpose Room

The Sixth Nik by Daniel Kraus
Deep into space soars The Sickness: a ship woven from biomatter and capable of reacting to every need of its human crew. Sisilla, a nine-year-old cultist with a brain enhanced by arcane tech known as “niks,” has boarded to investigate the enigma of Fém—a plague-riddled planet that has abruptly gone rogue.

Adaptations
Featured writers: Daniel Kraus and Susan Orlean
June 7, 12:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

The Slightest Green by Sahar Mustafah
Powerfully etched in Sahar Mustafah’s honest and lyrical prose, The Slightest Green explores the place—and people—we call home and how far we will go to reach them.

New Novels
Featured writers: Jane Hamilton and Sahar Mustafah; Moderator: Arionne Nettles
June 7, 4:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

A South Side Girl’s Guide to Love & Sex: Poems by Mayda del Valle
As a child of Puerto Rican migrants on Chicago’s Southside, Mayda del Valle’s poetry utilizes part Spanish and English, part hip-hop and salsa, part Nas and Sonia Sanchez, part Shakespeare and John Leguizamo. It is inherited history as well as traditions remixed and invented.

Poetry as Storytelling
Featured writers: Mayda del Valle, Eve L. Ewing, and Maggie Smith
June 7, 2:00 p.m.
Pritzker Auditorium

A Suit or a Suitcase: Poems by Maggie Smith
Instant New York Times bestselling author and poet Maggie Smith returns with a new collection of poems on the sometimes-blurry distinction between mind and body, and how the self shifts and moves through time and space.

Poetry as Storytelling
Featured writers: Mayda del Valle, Eve L. Ewing, and Maggie Smith
June 7, 2:00 p.m.
Pritzker Auditorium

This Leaves Me Okay: Race, Legacy, and Letters From My Grandmother by Walter Pryor
Detailing [his grandmother] Mama Ceal’s wisdom and sacrifice for her family amidst systemic racism and personal tragedy, Pryor’s narrative reveals how his grandmother’s love shaped him and the trajectory of their family.

Memoirs
Featured writers: Sarah Hartshorne, Bill Kurtis, and Walter Pryor; Moderator: Donna Seaman
June 7, 2:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

A Thousand Little Goodbyes by Lucy Gilmore
When lifelong best friends Chrissie and Scarlett finally embark on their long-dreamed-of road trip, they’re chasing joy, freedom, and best few weeks of their lives. But as laughter fills the miles, Chrissie begins to suspect that this adventure is more than a getaway—it’s a goodbye. And Scarlett, always the brave one, may be hiding the hardest truth of all.

Romance: Writing Love Stories
Featured writers: Lucy Gilmore and J.L. Seegars; Moderator: Pamala Knight
June 6, 12:00 p.m.
American Writers Museum

The Unveiling by Quan Barry
A genre-bending Black literary horror novel exploring abandonment, guilt, and survival in the shadow of America’s racial legacy, The Unveiling follows a group of tourists turned disaster survivors on an Antarctica cruise over Christmas Eve.

Horror Writing: Books & Podcasts
Featured writers: Quan Barry, Jeffrey Cranor, Joseph Fink, and Scott Hawkins; Moderator: Juan Martinez
June 7, 1:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

U.S. Civil Rights Trail: A Traveler’s Guide to the People, Places, and Events that Made the Movement by Deborah D. Douglas
Offers a vivid glimpse into the story of Black America’s fight for freedom and equality. From eye-opening landmarks to celebrations of triumph over adversity, experience a tangible piece of history.

Black & Published: Live Podcast Taping
Featured writers: Jabari Asim, Deborah D. Douglas, and Lonnae O’Neal; Host: Nikesha Elise Williams
June 7, 3:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

We Are the Culture: Black Chicago’s Influence on Everything by Arionne Nettles
Pop culture expert Arionne Nettles takes us through the history of how Black Chicagoans have led pop culture in America for decades, and gives insight into the ways culture spreads and influences our lives.

New Novels
Featured writers: Jane Hamilton and Sahar Mustafah; Moderator: Arionne Nettles
June 7, 4:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

Welcome to Night Vale created by Jeffrey Cranor and Joseph Fink
A twice-monthly podcast in the style of community updates for the small desert town of Night Vale, featuring local weather, news, announcements from the Sheriff’s Secret Police, mysterious lights in the night sky, dark hooded figures with unknowable powers, and cultural events.

Horror Writing: Books & Podcasts
Featured writers: Quan Barry, Jeffrey Cranor, Joseph Fink, and Scott Hawkins; Moderator: Juan Martinez
June 7, 1:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus
The Martian meets 127 Hours in this “astoundingly great” (Gillian Flynn) and scientifically accurate thriller about a scuba diver who’s been swallowed by an eighty-foot, sixty-ton sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out. Kraus adapted his novel into a feature film to be released in October 2026.

Adaptations
Featured writers: Daniel Kraus and Susan Orlean
June 7, 12:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

Whirlwind: My Life Reporting the News by Bill Kurtis
Television journalist Bill Kurtis’ memoir that recounts the biggest stories he covered and uncovered in his 60 year career. They were the stories that captured the nation’s attention for decades seen through the reflective eyes of the reporting that covered them.

Memoirs
Featured writers: Sarah Hartshorne, Bill Kurtis, and Walter Pryor; Moderator: Donna Seaman
June 7, 2:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

The Whisper Place by Mindy Mejia
Mindy Mejia picks up the trail from the USA Today bestselling Iowa Mysteries series in The Whisper Place, a new suspenseful thriller showcasing her expertise with the Midwest and teeming with ’80s pop culture references.

Writing Thrillers
Featured writers: Mindy Mejia and Joshua Moehling; Moderator: Tracy Clark
June 7, 12:00 p.m.
Multipurpose Room

Will This Be A Problem? The Anthology: Issue V edited by Somto Ihezue and Olivia Kidula book cover
From across the African continent and its diaspora, Will This Be A Problem? Issue V brings together a powerful collection of stories that blend the fantastical with the deeply real.

SFWA Nebula Award Finalists
Featured writers: Amy Chu, Somto Ihezue, and Annalee Newitz; Moderator: Tananarive Due
June 7, 4:00 p.m.
Pritzker Auditorium

Wolf Lamb Bomb by Aviya Kushner
Revives and reimagines the Book of Isaiah in an intimate conversation between woman and prophet… These poems place the prophet Isaiah in the position of poet, crooner, and rival as they search for a guide in poetry and in life.

The Spiritual Essence of Storytelling
Featured writers: Catherine-Esther Cowie, Tom Montgomery Fate, Runako Jahi, and Aviya Kushner. Presented by the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.
June 7, 11:00 a.m.
Third Floor Stage

Word Is Bond: The Untold Story of Hip-Hop Journalism (coming 2027) edited by Syreeta Gates
A groundbreaking work of journalism history, Syreeta Gates’ Word Is Bond reveals how The Source, VIBE, XXL, Rap Pages, Honey, and dozens of other publications changed American media forever.

Word is Bond: Hip-Hop Journalism
Featured writers: Syreeta Gates, Karen Good Marable, and Nadirah Simmons
June 7, 11:00 a.m.
Multipurpose Room

Yaya and the Sea by Karen Good Marable, illustrated by Tonya Engel
On the first day of spring, when the city is quiet and still, little Yaya takes the A train down to New York City’s southern shores with her mama and aunties to greet Mama Ocean and celebrate the arrival of a new season through a ritual of letting go of the past and embracing the new.

Word is Bond: Hip-Hop Journalism
Featured writers: Syreeta Gates, Karen Good Marable, and Nadirah Simmons
June 7, 11:00 a.m.
Multipurpose Room

Yonder by Jabari Asim
The Water Dancer meets The Prophets in this spare, gripping, and beautifully rendered novel exploring love and friendship among a group of enslaved Black strivers in the mid-19th century.

Black & Published: Live Podcast Taping
Featured writers: Jabari Asim, Deborah D. Douglas, and Lonnae O’Neal; Host: Nikesha Elise Williams
June 7, 3:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

You Wanna Be on Top?: A Memoir of Makeovers, Manipulation, and Not Becoming America’s Next Top Model by Sarah Hartshorne
In this revealing memoir, a fan favorite America’s Next Top Model contestant pulls back the curtain on the iconic but deeply flawed reality competition show, exposing the manipulation and chaos behind the scenes.

Memoirs
Featured writers: Sarah Hartshorne, Bill Kurtis, and Walter Pryor; Moderator: Donna Seaman
June 7, 2:00 p.m.
Reception Hall

Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan
Sifting through centuries of mythmaking, Reza Aslan sheds new light on one of history’s most enigmatic figures by examining Jesus through the lens of the tumultuous era in which he lived.

Book Talk & Signing: Zealot
Featured writer: Reza Aslan
June 7, 4:00 p.m.
Multipurpose Room

1919: Poems by Eve L. Ewing
Explores the story of the Chicago Race Riot of 1919—which lasted eight days and resulted in thirty-eight deaths and almost 500 injuries—through poems recounting the stories of everyday people trying to survive and thrive in the city.

Poetry as Storytelling
Featured writers: Mayda del Valle, Eve L. Ewing, and Maggie Smith
June 7, 2:00 p.m.
Pritzker Auditorium