See the full schedule of events here!

Cristela Alonzo

Cristela Alonzo
Comedian, Actress, and Writer

Author of Music to My Years

Alphabet Rockers members Tommy Soulati Shepherd and Kaitlin McGaw

Alphabet Rockers
Youth Artist/Activist Group

Authors of You Are Not Alone

Marie Arana

Marie Arana
Author and Journalist

Author of Silver, Sword, and Stone

Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
Author

Author of When Women Invented Television

Jabari Asim

Jabari Asim
Author, Poet, Playwright, and Associate Professor

Author of We Can’t Breathe: On Black Lives, White Lies, and the Art of Survival

Andrea Beaty

Andrea Beaty
Children's Author

Author of Aaron Slater, Illustrator

Lauren DeJulio Bell

Lauren DeJulio Bell
Educator

Co-editor of Growing Up Chicago

Tara Betts

Tara Betts
Poet

Contributor in The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry

Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird
Author and Podcast Host

Author of Long Road to the Circus

David W. Blight

David W. Blight
Sterling Professor of American History at Yale University

Author of a new edition of Frederick Douglass’ public writings

Archie Bongiovanni

Archie Bongiovanni
Comic Writer and Artist

Author of History Comics: Stonewall

Todd Brewster

Todd Brewster
Journalist and Historian

Co-author of Seen and Unseen

J. Nicole Brooks

J. Nicole Brooks
Actor, Author, and Director

Author of HeLa

Alicia Brown

Alicia Brown
Restorative Justice Practitioner

Representative for Liberation Library

Deborah Caldwell-Stone
Library Officer

Program presented by the American Library Association

Representative for the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom

Karen Chee

Karen Chee
Comedian, Writer, and Actor

Emmy Award-nominated writer for Late Night with Seth Meyers

Dhonielle Clayton

Dhonielle Clayton
Author

Author of The Marvellers

Jacoby Cochran

Jacoby Cochran
Writer, Educator, and Storyteller

Host of City Cast Chicago

Deborah Cohen

Deborah Cohen
Writer and Professor

Program presented by The Newberry Library

Author of Last Call at the Hotel Imperial: The Reporters Who Took on a World at War

Soyica Colbert

Soyica Diggs Colbert
Professor, Writer, and Director

Author of Radical Vision: A Biography of Lorraine Hansberry

Carlos Cumpian

Carlos Cumpián
Poet, Writer, and Editor

Program presented by the Chicago Public Library

Jarrett Dapier

Jarrett Dapier
YA and Children's Author

Program presented by the American Library Association

Author of Wake Now in the Fire

Andrew Davis

Andrew Davis
Journalist and Editor

Executive Editor of Windy City Times

R.C. Davis

R.C. Davis
2021 National Student Poet - Midwest Region

Program presented by The National Student Poets Program

Aanika Eragam
2021 National Student Poet - Southeast Region

Program presented by The National Student Poets Program

Eve L. Ewing

Eve L. Ewing
Sociologist and Writer

Author of Electric Arches

Ashley C. Ford

Ashley C. Ford
Memoirist and Writer

Author of Somebody’s Daughter

Dionna Griffin-Irons

Dionna Griffin-Irons
Writer and Producer

Director of Talent Diversity and Development for The Second City U.S. and Canada

Kevin Gu
2021 National Student Poet - Northeast Region

Program presented by The National Student Poets Program

Peter Gwinn

Peter Gwinn
Comedy Writer and Playwright

Emmy Award-winning writer for The Colbert Report

Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo
23rd Poet Laureate of the United States

Author of Poet Warrior

Zakiya Dalila Harris

Zakiya Dalila Harris
Author

Author of The Other Black Girl

Brooks E. Hefner

Brooks E. Hefner
Director of Graduate Studies & Professor at James Madison University

Author of Black Pulp: Genre Fiction in the Shadow of Jim Crow

Marc Lamont Hill

Marc Lamont Hill
Journalist and Host of BET News

Co-author of Seen and Unseen

Angela Jackson

Angela Jackson
Illinois Poet Laureate

Program presented by the Chicago Public Library

Contributor in Where I’m At: An Anthology of Chicago Poetry 

Kosoko Jackson
Digital Media Specialist and Journalist

Author of Survive the Dome

Mallessa James

Mallessa James
Writer

Contributor in The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry

Will Jawando

Will Jawando
Attorney, Activist, and Community Leader

Author of My Seven Black Fathers

Jac Jemc
Writer and Teacher

Contributor in Small Odysseys: Selected Shorts Presents 35 New Stories

Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
Author and Teacher

Author of My Monticello

Nicole Shawan Junior

Nicole Shawan Junior
Deputy Director of Prison and Justice Writing at PEN America

Contributor in The Sentences That Create Us

Maxine Hong Kingston

Maxine Hong Kingston
Poet, Memoirist, and Writer

Author of Maxine Hong Kingston: The Woman Warrior, China Men, Tripmaster Monkey, Other Writings

Len Lawson

Len Lawson
Author, Poet, and Assistant Professor

Editor of The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry

Kelly Lytle Hernández
Thomas E. Lifka Chair of History at the University of California, Los Angeles

Program presented by Chicago Humanities Festival

Author of Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire, and Revolution in the Borderlands

Rebecca Makkai

Rebecca Makkai
Novelist

Author of The Great Believers

Cynthia Manick

Cynthia Manick
Author and Editor

Editor of The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry

Daiva Markelis

Daiva Markelis
Author and Professor

Author of White Field, Black Sheep: A Lithuanian-American Life

Juan Martinez

Juan Martinez
Writer

Contributor in Small Odysseys: Selected Shorts Presents 35 New Stories

Kechi Mbah

Kechi Mbah
2021 National Student Poet - Southwest Region

Program presented by The National Student Poets Program

Caits Meissner
Director of Prison and Justice Writing at PEN America

Author of The Sentences That Create Us: Crafting A Writer’s Life in Prison

Joe Meno
Writer

Contributor in Small Odysseys: Selected Shorts Presents 35 New Stories

Sarah Fathima Mohammed

Sarah Fathima Mohammed
2021 National Student Poet - West Region

Program presented by The National Student Poets Program

Faisal Mohyuddin

Faisal Mohyuddin
Writer and Teacher

Program presented by the Chicago Public Library

Contributor in Where I’m At: An Anthology of Chicago Poetry 

Evan F. Moore

Evan F. Moore
Author, Writer, Columnist

Co-author of Game Misconduct: Hockey’s Toxic Culture and How to Fix It

Leonard Moore

Leonard Moore
George Littlefield Professor of American History at the University of Texas at Austin

Program presented by The Newberry Library

Author of Teaching Black History to White People

Natalie Y. Moore

Natalie Y. Moore
Journalist

Author of The Billboard

Elie Mystal

Elie Mystal
Correspondent, Editor, and Writer

Author of Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution

Arionne Nettles

Arionne Nettles
Lecturer and Journalist

Host of Is That True? A Kids Podcast About Facts

Viet Thanh Nguyen

Viet Thanh Nguyen
Writer, Editor, and Professor

Author of The Committed

Elizabeth Nunez

Elizabeth Nunez
Novelist and Distinguished Professor of English at Hunter College

Author of Now Lila Knows

Tochi Onyebuchi

Tochi Onyebuchi
Author

Author of Goliath

Sara Paretsky

Sara Paretsky
Author

Author of Overboard

Frances de Pontes Peebles
Author

Author of The Air You Breathe

Kristin Pekoll

Kristin Pekoll

Program presented by the American Library Association

Author of Beyond Banned Books: Defending Intellectual Freedom throughout Your Library

Imani Perry

Imani Perry
Interdisciplinary Scholar

Author of South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation

Alexandra Petri

Alexandra Petri
Humorist and Columnist

Author of Nothing is Wrong and Here is Why

Poems While You Wait
Nonprofit Collective

Typewritten Poetry on Demand

Kim Michele Richardson

Kim Michele Richardson
Author

Author of The Book Woman’s Daughter

Keidrick Roy
Academic

Curator of AWM’s Dark Testament: A Century of Black Writers on Justice

Peter Sagal
Playwright, Author, Journalist, and Radio Host

Host of Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!

John Scalzi

John Scalzi
Author

Author of The Kaiju Preservation Society

Donna Seaman

Donna Seaman
Editor, Adjunct Professor, and Author

Author of Identity Unknown: Rediscovering Seven American Women Artists

Aaron Sorkin

Aaron Sorkin
Screenwriter and Playwright

Writer of The West Wing

Ilan Stavans

Ilan Stavans
Essayist, Professor, and Publisher

Event canceled

Author of What is American Literature?

Craig Stevens

Craig Stevens
Artist/Academic

Contributor in The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry

Vincent Tirado

Vincent Tirado
Writer

Author of Burn Down, Rise Up

Michi Trota

Michi Trota
Writer, Editor, and Community Organizer

Host of Processing with Pop Culture: A Podcast

Quincy Troupe

Quincy Troupe
Author, Poet, Educator, and Editor

Event canceled

Author of Duende Poems 1966—Now

Dawn Turner
Author and Journalist

Author of Three Girls from Bronzeville: A Uniquely American Memoir of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood

Luis Alberto Urrea

Luis Alberto Urrea
Author and Poet

Contributor in Small Odysseys: Selected Shorts Presents 35 New Stories

Johanny Vázquez Paz

Johanny Vázquez Paz
Poet

Program presented by the Chicago Public Library

Contributor in Where I’m At: An Anthology of Chicago Poetry 

Michael Warr

Michael Warr
Poet, Editor, Arts Consultant

Poetry Editor, Of Poetry & Protest: From Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin

Catherine Adel West

Catherine Adel West
Author and Journalist

Author of The Two Lives of Sara

Schele WIlliams

Schele Williams
Broadway Director

Author of Your Legacy

Ivy Wilson

Ivy Wilson
Associate Professor

Author of Specters of Democracy: Blackness and the Aesthetics of Nationalism in the Antebellum U.S.

Jacqueline Woodson

Jacqueline Woodson
Former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature

Author of The World Belonged To Us and The Year We Learned to Fly

Michael Zapata

Michael Zapata
Editor and Author

Program presented by Chicago Humanities Festival

Author of The Lost Book of Adana Moreau