Event honorees included two-time National Book Award Winner Jesmyn Ward and the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan
Attendees vote to induct Grammy-winning musician John Prine into the museum’s Wintrust Chicago Gallery, celebrating visionary Chicago writers
CHICAGO (October 15, 2026)—The American Writers Museum (AWM), the nation’s first and only museum dedicated to the history and impact of American writers, raised more than $1 million at its annual benefit OnWord on September 29 at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago. The record-setting proceeds support AWM’s mission, operations and programming, including its robust youth education programs. Next year, the museum marks its 10th anniversary.
Celebrating the significant contributions of writers to America’s past and present, nearly 400 guests joined OnWord Co-Chairs AWM founder Malcolm O’Hagan and Judy Pomeranz for the festive evening, which was emceed by returning special presenter Peter Sagal, author and host of NPR’s “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” Sagal spoke of the critical importance of writers to the founding and organization of the United States of America, ruminating on the authorship of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution on the occasion of the Declaration’s 250th anniversary—and noting that writers literally created America as we know it today.
AWM President Carey Cranston spoke of everything the museum does to inspire the next generation of writers, sharing AWM served more than 30,000 students in the past year through its on-site field trips, virtual author visits to classrooms, online curricula and resources for educators, Field Trip in a Box classroom activities mailed to schools outside Chicago, and the annual international John Estey Student Writing Competition and related classroom writing prompts.
Among the honorees at OnWord was two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward, who received the Founder’s Inspiring Writer Award. The author of Sing, Unburied, Sing and Salvage the Bones, among other titles, Ward was interviewed onstage by AWM President Carey Cranston. She spoke of her award winning books, writing inspirations, and deep interrogation of the histories and people of Mississippi in her work.
Ward is a graduate of the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan, which was awarded the Beyond the Page Award, accepted by the program’s Director Peter Ho Davies. Davies spoke of Zell’s impact on the renowned creative writing program and her ongoing, active participation as an advocate and reader of students’ works.
In a particularly emotional segment of the evening, the annual Inspiration Award was presented by New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Celeste Ng (Little Fires Everywhere, Our Missing Hearts) to her former middle school Latin teacher Karen Kucich Thailing, who inspired her to love and interrogate the meanings of words as a young writer. Thailing was brought to tears as she accepted the award onstage, noting what it meant to see Ng grow into the acclaimed writer she is today, and adding it was a dream come true to receive the honor.
AWM also celebrated the winners of the 7th annual John Estey Student Writing Competition sponsored by S&C Electric Company Fund. This year’s competition invited students in grades 3-12 to consider the prompt “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” from the Declaration of Independence, tied to the Museum’s summer pop-up exhibit Declarations: 250 Years of Writing Toward Independence. A record-setting 483 submissions were received this year from students in 42 states and 15 countries.
A total of $14,000 in prizes was awarded to the following students: high school winners Esther Darkoa (Josephinum Academy, IL), Emmalita Loosli (Wood River High School, ID), Sky Sims (Carver Military Academy, IL) and Willow Yoo (Bergen County Academies, NJ); middle school winners Liani Black (Calvary Christian Academy, IL), Zainab Jameel (Everyday Ibaadah Academy, Dubai, UAE), Aryash Shyam (Lehigh Valley Academy RCS, PA) and Daniel Unatin (Manhattan Beach Middle School, CA); and elementary school winners Abigail Buswell (West Hillsborough Elementary, CA), Grace Chung (Manor Woods Elementary School, MD), Sarah Shaik (Emirates International School Meadows, Dubai, UAE) and Josh Unatin (Pennekamp Elementary, CA).
During the event, OnWord attendees were given a ballot to vote to induct another Chicago writer into the AWM’s Wintrust Chicago Gallery, selecting the late Grammy-winning musician John Prine. The permanent gallery at the museum celebrates visionary Chicago writers across genres, from novelists and poets to playwrights, journalists, songwriters and more.
OnWord 2026 was made possible by the generous support of donors at every level. Lead sponsors included: Visionary sponsors Cathie and John Estey, Malcolm and Virginia O’Hagan, Judy Pomeranz and the Zell Family Foundation; and Patron sponsors Roger and Julie Baskes, BMO, Robert A. and Joan E. Clifford, S. Leigh Pierson Conant and Douglas R. Conant, Roxanne Decyk and Lew Watts, Brenda and James Grusecki, Jay and Robin Hammer, Jane Irwin, Larry Shulman and Rhonda Rochambeau, S&C Electric Company Fund, Donna Van Eekeren Foundation and Wintrust.
For more information about the American Writers Museum and its upcoming events, please visit www.americanwritersmuseum.org.
Press kit and images available HERE>>
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The American Writers Museum (AWM) is the first museum of its kind in the United States. The mission of AWM is to excite audiences about the impact of American writers—past, present and future—in shaping our collective histories, cultures, identities, and daily lives. The museum is located at 180 N. Michigan Avenue in Chicago, IL 60601, and offers something for every age group, including permanent exhibits and special galleries highlighting America’s favorite works and the authors behind them. Tickets to the museum are $16 for adults, $10 for seniors, students, and teachers. Free for members and children ages 12 and under. To inquire about discounted rates for groups of 10 or more, including adults, student travel groups, and University students, visit AmericanWritersMuseum.org/visit/groups or call 312-374-8765. Museum hours are Monday, Thursday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday. For more information, visit AmericanWritersMuseum.org or call 312-374-8790. Follow AWM on Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube.