Schedule

Live Reading: The Last Senior Home in Bronzeville
10:00 am
a play by Nikki Carpenter

Romance: Writing Love Stories
12:00 pm
J. L. Seegars, Lucy Gilmore, and Pamala Knight

Writing Baseball: The First All-Star Game
1:00 pm
Randall Sullivan and Joe Kilgallon

Free Speech Today
2:00 pm
Jacob Mchangama and Sara Paretsky

Route 66 Recipes
3:00 pm
Amy Bizzarri and Erica Floyd

Based on a True Story: Thrillers
4:00 pm
Brian J. Morra and Joanne Leedom-Ackerman

Pritzker Auditorium

A Nation Wrestles with God
11:00 am
Reza Aslan, Ilan Stavans, and Emily D. Crews

Religion, Memoir, and Influence
12:00 pm
Jen Hatmaker

Masters of the American Short Story
1:00 pm
Lauren Groff, John Stauffer, and Peter Coviello

Poetry as Storytelling
2:00 pm
Mayda del Valle, Eve L. Ewing, and Maggie Smith

Reclaimed Religion: Writing Christianity Back
3:00 pm
John Fugelsang and Annabelle Gurwitch

SFWA Nebula Award Finalists
4:00 pm
Amy Chu, Tananarive Due, Somto Ihezue, and Annalee Newitz

Reception Hall

Classic Tales Re-Told
11:00 am
Jeaniene Frost, Naima Simone, and Sara Benincasa

Adaptations
12:00 pm
Daniel Kraus and Susan Orlean

Horror Writing: Books & Podcasts
1:00 pm
Quan Barry, Jeffrey Cranor, Joseph Fink, Scott Hawkins, and Juan Martinez

Memoirs
2:00 pm
Sarah Hartshorne, Bill Kurtis, Walter Pryor, and Donna Seaman

Black & Published: Live Podcast Taping
3:00 pm
Jabari Asim, Deborah D. Douglas, Lonnae O’Neal, and Nikesha Elise Williams

New Novels
4:00 pm
Jane Hamilton, Sahar Mustafah, and Arionne Nettles

Multipurpose Room

Word is Bond: Hip-Hop Journalism
11:00 am
Syreeta Gates, Karen Good Marable, and Nadirah Simmons

Writing Thrillers
12:00 pm
Mindy Mejia, Joshua Moehling, and Tracy Clark

Q&A: Ask a Ghostwriter
1:00 pm
Lisa Dickey

Writing Across Mediums
2:00 pm
Zakiya Dalila Harris and Angela Nissel

Suspense & Humor
3:00 pm
Nicolas DiDomizio, Stephen Fishbach, Tiffany Hanssen, and Erica Floyd

Book Talk & Signing: Zealot
4:00 pm
Reza Aslan

Video Theater

Comedy & Memoir
11:00 am
Annabelle Gurwitch and Chelsea Hood

The Book of Red Flags
12:00 pm
Jenny Gorelick and Ton Johnson

A Writer’s View of Haibun
1:00 pm
Roberta Beary and Lew Watts

America at 250: Untold Stories
2:00 pm
Darius Bost, Anna O. Law, C. Riley Snorton, and Valerie Gugala

Writing Maps
3:00 pm
Stentor Danielson, Andy Woodruff, and David Weimer

The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival
4:00 pm
James Kennedy

Third Floor Stage

The Spiritual Essence of Storytelling
11:00 am
Catherine-Esther Cowie, Tom Montgomery Fate, Runako Jahi, and Aviya Kushner
Presented by the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame

Writing About Writers: John McPhee and Creative Nonfiction
11:50 am
Noel Rubinton and Donna Seaman

Faith, Connection, and Social Change in Black Chicago
12:40 pm
Kai Parker and Reginald Blount
Presented by the Newberry

Chicago Poetry Reading: Mayda del Valle & Friends
1:30 pm
Mayda del Valle and local poets

Social Change, Faith, and the Making of Latino Chicago
2:20 pm
Lilia Fernández and Felipe Hinojosa
Presented by the Newberry

BrooksDay 2026
3:30 pm
a celebration of Gwendolyn Brooks
Presented by Brooks Permissions and the Guild Literary Complex

Children’s Library

Storytime: Kat Chen
11:30 am
“The Playdate” Series

Storytime: Karen Su
12:15 pm
Ai Ya Boo Means I Love You

Storytime: Stephanie Cohen
1:00 pm
“My First Learn-to-Talk Book” Series

Storytime: Lora McClain-Muhammad
1:45 pm
“I Need You to Know” Series

BrooksDay 2026 – Children’s Lit
2:30 pm
a celebration of Gwendolyn Brooks

Storytime: Joy McCullough
3:15 pm
How to Train Your Evil Robot