2026 American Writers Festival
2026 American Writers Festival
Co-presented by the American Writers Museum and Chicago Public Library, the American Writers Festival returned in 2026 bigger than ever. We expanded to two days across two locations in downtown Chicago. On June 6, 2026 writers and readers converged at the American Writers Museum for a day of free programming and exhibits. Then, on June 7, 2026 we hosted even more programs on five stages at the Harold Washington Library Center.
The 2026 American Festival featured in depth conversations with diverse writers including award-winning poets, hip-hop journalists, religion scholars, horror podcast writers, cartographers, novelists, and more. From romance to sportswriting to adaptations, the Festival honored the past, celebrated the present, and inspired the future of American writing.
The American Writers Festival, a completely free literary event, will return in 2028.
American Writers Festival Homepage
View program recordings on the official 2026 American Writers Festival playlist.
Featured Writers
Lauren Groff
Tananarive Due
Daniel Kraus
Eve L. Ewing
Jabari Asim
Reza Aslan
A.V. Bach
Quan Barry
Roberta Beary
Sara Benincasa
Amy Bizzarri
Reginald Blount
Darius Bost
Nikki Carpenter
Kat Chen
Amy Chu
Tracy Clark
Stephanie Cohen
Peter Coviello
Catherine-Esther Cowie
Jeffrey Cranor
Stentor Danielson
Lisa Dickey
Nicolas DiDomizio
Mayda del Valle
Deborah D. Douglas
Tananarive Due
Eve L. Ewing
Tom Montgomery Fate
Lilia Fernández
Joseph Fink
Stephen Fishbach
Erica Floyd
Jeaniene Frost
John Fugelsang
Syreeta Gates
Lucy Gilmore
Jenny Gorelick
Lauren Groff
Valerie Gugala
Annabelle Gurwitch
Jane Hamilton
Tiffany Hanssen
Zakiya Dalilah Harris
Sarah Hartshorne
Jen Hatmaker
Scott Hawkins
Felipe Hinojosa
Chelsea Hood
Somto Ihezue
Runako Jahi
Ton Johnson
James Kennedy
Joe Kilgallon
Pamala Knight
Daniel Kraus
Bill Kurtis
Aviya Kushner
Anna O. Law
Joanne Leedom-Ackerman
Karen Good Marable
Lora McClain-Muhammad
Joy McCullough
Jacob Mchangama
Mindy Mejia
Joshua Moehling
Brian J. Morra
Sahar Mustafah
Arionne Nettles
Annalee Newitz
Angela Nissel
Lonnae O’Neal
Susan Orlean
Sara Paretsky
Kai Parker
Walter Pryor
Penny Reid
Noel Rubinton
Donna Seaman
J. L. Seegars
Nadirah Simmons
C. Riley Snorton
John Stauffer
Ilan Stavans
Karen Su
Randall Sullivan
Lew Watts
David Weimer
Nikesha Elise Williams
Andy Woodruff