The ultimate reading list for the inaugural American Writers Festival
This Sunday, May 15 is the inaugural American Writers Festival! Coinciding with our fifth anniversary, more than 70 writers from around the country will converge in downtown Chicago to celebrate the written word. Spread across five stages at the Chicago Cultural Center and American Writers Museum, the Festival features writers from all genres.
Since we love books, and we have a feeling you do too, we put together the ultimate American Writers Festival reading list. Many of these books will be available for purchase on site the day of the Festival from our bookselling partner Seminary Co-op Bookstores, though not all of them will be. Some of the books featured are new releases, some older classics. For some writers, this is their first book and for others it is one of many. But no matter what, taken together these books represent the breadth and power of American writing.
And all these writers will be at the American Writers Festival! Click on the links to learn more about the writers and their respective events. See the full Festival schedule here.
Aaron Slater, Illustrator by Andrea Beaty
Andrea Beaty and Betsy Bird
11:00 a.m.
S. Leigh Pierson and Douglas R. Conant Readers Hall
American Writers Museum
The Air You Breathe by Frances de Pontes Peebles
Panel Discussion: Crossing Boundaries
2:30 p.m.
Millennium Park Room
Chicago Cultural Center
Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution by Elie Mystal
Elie Mystal and Ivy Wilson
4:30 p.m.
Sidney R. Yates Gallery
Chicago Cultural Center
Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire and Revolution in the Borderlands by Kelly Lytle Hernรกndez
Kelly Lytle Hernรกndez and Michael Zapata
3:00 p.m.
G.A.R. Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
Best Worst American by Juan Martinez
Panel Discussion: Crossing Boundaries
2:30 p.m.
Millennium Park Room
Chicago Cultural Center
Panel Discussion: Small Odysseys: Selected Shorts Presents 35 New Short Stories
4:30 p.m.
Preston Bradley Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
Beyond Banned Books: Defending Intellectual Freedom Through Your Library by Kristin Pekoll
The Slippery Slope of Censorship
12:30 p.m.
Millennium Park Room
Chicago Cultural Center
The Billboard by Natalie Y. Moore
Natalie Y. Moore and J. Nicole Brooks
1:30 p.m.
Millennium Park Room
Chicago Cultural Center
Black Pulp: Genre Fiction in the Shadow of Jim Crow by Brooks E. Hefner
Brooks E. Hefner and Evan F. Moore
4:00 p.m.
G.A.R. Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
Blue Hallelujahs by Cynthia Manick
Panel Discussion: The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry
2:00 p.m.
G.A.R. Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
The Book Woman’s Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson
Kim Michele Richardson
3:00 p.m.
Virtual Event
American Writers Museum YouTube
Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado
Vincent Tirado and Andrew Davis
3:00 p.m.
S. Leigh Pierson and Douglas R. Conant Readers Hall
American Writers Museum
Chime by Len Lawson
Panel Discussion: The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry
2:00 p.m.
G.A.R. Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Maxine Hong Kingston and Viet Thanh Nguyen
9:00 a.m.
Virtual Event
American Writers Museum YouTube
The Displaced Children of Displaced Children by Faisal Mohyuddin
Panel Discussion: Wherever I’m At: An Anthology of Chicago Poetry
5:30 p.m.
Millennium Park Room
Chicago Cultural Center
Duende: Poems, 1966-Now by Quincy Troupe
Quincy Troupe and Michael Warr
11:30 a.m.
Millennium Park Room
Chicago Cultural Center
False Bingo by Jac Jemc
Panel Discussion: Crossing Boundaries
2:30 p.m.
Millennium Park Room
Chicago Cultural Center
Panel Discussion: Small Odysseys: Selected Shorts Presents 35 New Short Stories
4:30 p.m.
Preston Bradley Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
Frederick Douglass: Speeches and Writings edited by David W. Blight
David W. Blight and Keidrick Roy
1:30 p.m.
Sidney R. Yates Gallery
Chicago Cultural Center
The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry edited by Len Lawson, Cynthia Manick, and Gary Jackson
Panel Discussion: The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry
2:00 p.m.
G.A.R. Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
Game Misconduct: Hockey’s Toxic Culture and How to Fix It by Evan F. Moore and Jashvina Shah
Jabari Asim and Evan F. Moore
11:30 a.m.
Sidney R. Yates Gallery
Chicago Cultural Center
Brooks E. Hefner and Evan F. Moore
4:00 p.m.
G.A.R. Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi
Tochi Onyebuchi and Arionne Nettles
3:30 p.m.
Preston Bradley Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
Jocelyn Nicole Johnson and Rebecca Makkai
11:30 a.m.
Preston Bradley Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
Panel Discussion: Growing Up Chicago
4:30 p.m.
Millennium Park Room
Chicago Cultural Center
Growing Up Chicago edited by Lauren DeJulio Bell, Roxanne Pilat, and David Schaafsma
Panel Discussion: Growing Up Chicago
4:30 p.m.
Millennium Park Room
Chicago Cultural Center
The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea
Panel Discussion: Small Odysseys: Selected Shorts Presents 35 New Short Stories
4:30 p.m.
Preston Bradley Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
History Comics: The Stonewall Riots: Making a Stand for LGBTQ Rights by Archie Bongiovanni
Archie Bongiovanni and Andrew Davis
1:00 p.m.
S. Leigh Pierson and Douglas R. Conant Readers Hall
American Writers Museum
Human Cicada by Carlos Cumpiรกn
Panel Discussion: Wherever I’m At: An Anthology of Chicago Poetry
5:30 p.m.
Millennium Park Room
Chicago Cultural Center
Identity Unknown: Rediscovering Seven American Women Artists by Donna Seaman
Elizabeth Nunez and Donna Seaman
1:30 p.m.
Preston Bradley Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
Sara Paretsky and Donna Seaman
5:30 p.m.
S. Leigh Pierson and Douglas R. Conant Readers Hall
American Writers Museum
The Incomplete Book of Running by Peter Sagal
Panel Discussion: Writing American Comedy
5:30 p.m.
Sidney R. Yates Gallery
Chicago Cultural Center
I Offer My Heart as a Target / Ofrezco mi corazรณn como una diana by Johanny Vรกzquez Paz
Panel Discussion: Wherever I’m At: An Anthology of Chicago Poetry
5:30 p.m.
Millennium Park Room
Chicago Cultural Center
Ironheart comics by Dr. Eve L. Ewing
Ashley C. Ford and Dr. Eve L. Ewing
12:30 p.m.
Preston Bradley Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
Panel Discussion: The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry
2:00 p.m.
G.A.R. Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
John Scalzi and Michi Trota
2:30 p.m.
Preston Bradley Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
Last Call at the Hotel Imperial: The Reporters Who Took on a World at War by Deborah Cohen
Deborah Cohen
11:00 a.m.
G.A.R. Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
Let It Die Hungry by Caits Meissner
PEN America: The Sentences That Create Us
1:00 p.m.
G.A.R. Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
Long Road to the Circus by Betsy Bird
Andrea Beaty and Betsy Bird
11:00 a.m.
S. Leigh Pierson and Douglas R. Conant Readers Hall
American Writers Museum
The Lost Book of Adana Moreau by Michael Zapata
Kelly Lytle Hernรกndez and Michael Zapata
3:00 p.m.
G.A.R. Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
Marvel and A Wonder by Joe Meno
Panel Discussion: Small Odysseys: Selected Shorts Presents 35 New Short Stories
4:30 p.m.
Preston Bradley Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton
Dhonielle Clayton and Jacqueline Woodson
2:30 p.m.
Sidney R. Yates Gallery
Chicago Cultural Center
Maxine Hong Kingston: The Woman Warrior, China Men, Tripmaster Monkey, Other Writings edited by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Maxine Hong Kingston and Viet Thanh Nguyen
9:00 a.m.
Virtual Event
American Writers Museum YouTube
The Most Haunted House in America by Jarrett Dapier
The Slippery Slope of Censorship
12:30 p.m.
Millennium Park Room
Chicago Cultural Center
Music to My Years: A Mixtape Memoir of Growing Up and Standing Up by Cristela Alonzo
Panel Discussion: Writing American Comedy
5:30 p.m.
Sidney R. Yates Gallery
Chicago Cultural Center
My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
Jocelyn Nicole Johnson and Rebecca Makkai
11:30 a.m.
Preston Bradley Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
My Seven Black Fathers: A Young Activist’s Memoir of Race, Family, and the Mentors Who Made Him Whole by Will Jawando
Will Jawando and Ambassador Carolyn Curiel
5:30 p.m.
Preston Bradley Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why: Essays by Alexandra Petri
Panel Discussion: Writing American Comedy
5:30 p.m.
Sidney R. Yates Gallery
Chicago Cultural Center
Now Lila Knows by Elizabeth Nunez
Elizabeth Nunez and Donna Seaman
1:30 p.m.
Preston Bradley Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
Of Poetry and Protest: From Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin by Michael Warr
Quincy Troupe and Michael Warr
11:30 a.m.
Millennium Park Room
Chicago Cultural Center
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
Dead Writer Drama live podcast taping
4:00 p.m.
S. Leigh Pierson and Douglas R. Conant Readers Hall
American Writers Museum
Overboard by Sara Paretsky
Sara Paretsky and Donna Seaman
5:30 p.m.
S. Leigh Pierson and Douglas R. Conant Readers Hall
American Writers Museum
Poet Warrior: A Memoir by Joy Harjo
Joy Harjo and Marie Arana
10:15 a.m.
Sidney R. Yates Gallery
Chicago Cultural Center
Radical Vision: A Biography of Lorraine Hansberry by Soyica Diggs Colbert
Dead Writer Drama live podcast taping
4:00 p.m.
S. Leigh Pierson and Douglas R. Conant Readers Hall
American Writers Museum
Refuse to Disappear by Tara Betts
Panel Discussion: The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry
2:00 p.m.
G.A.R. Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
Seen and Unseen: Technology, Social Media, and the Fight for Racial Justice by Marc Lamont Hill and Todd Brewster
Marc Lamont Hill, Todd Brewster, and Catherine Adel West
3:30 p.m.
Sidney R. Yates Gallery
Chicago Cultural Center
The Sentences that Create Us: Crafting A Writer’s Life in Prison edited by Caits Meissner
PEN America: The Sentences That Create Us
1:00 p.m.
G.A.R. Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
Silver, Sword, and Stone: Three Crucibles in the Latin American Story by Marie Arana
Joy Harjo and Marie Arana
10:15 a.m.
Sidney R. Yates Gallery
Chicago Cultural Center
Small Odysseys: Selected Shorts Presents 35 New Stories edited by Hannah Tinti
Panel Discussion: Small Odysseys: Selected Shorts Presents 35 New Short Stories
4:30 p.m.
Preston Bradley Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
Somebody’s Daughter: A Memoir by Ashley C. Ford
Ashley C. Ford and Dr. Eve L. Ewing
12:30 p.m.
Preston Bradley Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry
Imani Perry and Dawn Turner
5:00 p.m.
G.A.R. Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson
Kosoko Jackson and Jacoby Cochran
2:00 p.m.
S. Leigh Pierson and Douglas R. Conant Readers Hall
American Writers Museum
Teaching Black History to White People by Leonard N. Moore
Leonard N. Moore
10:30 a.m.
Millennium Park Room
Chicago Cultural Center
Three Girls from Bronzeville: A Uniquely American Memoir of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood by Dawn Turner
Imani Perry and Dawn Turner
5:00 p.m.
G.A.R. Hall
Chicago Cultural Center
The Two Lives of Sara by Catherine Adel West
Marc Lamont Hill, Todd Brewster, and Catherine Adel West
3:30 p.m.
Sidney R. Yates Gallery
Chicago Cultural Center
When Women Invented Television: The Untold Story of the Female Powerhouses Who Pioneered the Way We Watch Today by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
Dead Writer Drama live podcast taping
4:00 p.m.
S. Leigh Pierson and Douglas R. Conant Readers Hall
American Writers Museum
Wherever I’m At: An Anthology of Chicago Poetry edited by Donald G. Evans and Robin Metz
Panel Discussion: Wherever I’m At: An Anthology of Chicago Poetry
5:30 p.m.
Millennium Park Room
Chicago Cultural Center
White Field, Black Sheep: A Lithuanian-American Life by Daiva Markelis
Panel Discussion: Growing Up Chicago
4:30 p.m.
Millennium Park Room
Chicago Cultural Center
The World Belonged to Us by Jacqueline Woodson
Dhonielle Clayton and Jacqueline Woodson
2:30 p.m.
Sidney R. Yates Gallery
Chicago Cultural Center
Yonder by Jabari Asim
Jabari Asim and Evan F. Moore
11:30 a.m.
Sidney R. Yates Gallery
Chicago Cultural Center
You Are Not Alone by Alphabet Rockers
Alphabet Rockers
10:15 a.m.
S. Leigh Pierson and Douglas R. Conant Readers Hall
American Writers Museum
Your Legacy: A Bold Reclaiming of Our Enslaved History by Schele Williams
Schele Williams and Arionne Nettles
12:00 p.m.
S. Leigh Pierson and Douglas R. Conant Readers Hall
American Writers Museum
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