Rent a Party Venue

The American Writers Museum is ideal to serve as your next party venue or fundraising charity event venue!

Let us help you host a party worth writing about!

Rent a party venue at The American Writers Museum to host a colorful, interactive party, birthday, or baby shower unlike any other for your guests. Located on the the famed Michigan Avenue, we offer event spaces tailored to groups ranging from 20 to 250 people.

Looking for places to have a fundraiser near you? The AWM is a great charity event venue. Special nonprofit pricing can be found below. 

Complete the form

Or email events@americanwritersmuseum.org to collaborate on a customized virtual or in-person event experience designed for your staff and budget.

A group of 7 women dressed in 1920s inspired dresses smile at a party at the American Writers Museum
Black and white photo of a group of 4 people smiling, with one extending his hand toward the camera.
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Two children pose on a couch at the American Writers Museum holding a frame that has The Cat in the Hat and "I love reading" written on it.
A woman wearing a teal hat playing the violin at the American Writers Museum
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“We had a private event during the week. The staff were so professional, the food was scrumptious, and the exhibits are so powerful. A must for anyone in the area.”
– Griselda Rodríguez, Deans for Impact

Featured Non-Profit and Charity Event Venue Promotion: 

When you rent a party venue at the American Writers Museum, you can host a memorable and unique celebration for all ages without having to break the bank.

  • Special Venue Pricing*: Save 30% off the venue fee for Sunday to Wednesday events and 20% off for Thursday to Saturday events. 
  • Food and Beverage*: 10% reduction of all food and beverages ordered for all full service events. Valid for new non-profit events through May 2023.

  • Food For Thought Workspace Solutions:

    Whether you’re looking for employee meal solutions, themed events to build company culture, meeting catering, client entertaining solutions or office support, Workspace Solutions is here to help achieve your goals. The FFT Workspace Solutions team is here to create menus ranging from hot breakfasts, boxed lunches, meeting snacks and sweets, sandwiches and salads to full buffet lunches and afternoon cocktail buffets. We professionally manage all your food, beverage, special event, conference services and employee amenity needs.

    Click here for the Workspace drop-off menu.

*Proof of 501(c)(3) status required

Space Details to Keep in Mind Before You Rent a Party Venue or Fundraising Event Venue

Capacity

  • Cocktail reception in the entire museum: 250
  • Theatre style: 100
  • Seated dinner in Readers Hall: 60
  • Seated dinner in A Nation of Writers: 60
  • Seated dinner in Meijer Changing Gallery: 20

Rates

  • Early mornings: $1500/hr.

Evenings

Events can be scheduled in blocks of 2, 3, or 4 hours.

  • Event up to 3 hours ……………………….. $3,500
  • Event up to 4 hours ……………………….. $4,500

Non-profit and special circumstances pricing
is available upon request.

Equipment

When you rent a party venue, we include the use of:

  • Ten (10) sleek black highboy tables (linens not included)
  • Up to one hundred (100) theatre-style chairs
  • Three (3) coat racks with metal hangers
  • Podium with a wireless PA system
  • Handheld and Lavalier microphones
  • Six (6) black stanchions
  • Use of nine (9) television monitors
  • Six (6) 66″ round tables (linens not included)
  • Four (4) 6-ft folding tables (linens not included)
  • Four (4) high-top chairs with backs, ideal for programming discussions

AV equipment for additional charge: 3 PTC-140ND Cameras, an RMC-300A camera controller, and a PC running VMix video production and streaming software. Inquire for more information and costs.

Chicago Event Space Add-Ons

Looking for more fun activities for your guests? We can help you host a wide variety of events with specialized tours and experiences to make your group’s celebration even more memorable.

Group tours are for 10 or more and start at $75 for groups up to 25. AWM members receive 15% off tours. Please fill out our inquiry form and AWM Events will get back to you shortly.

  • General Museum/Highlights Tour: Perfect for first time visitors!
  • Poe Tour: The man behind the myth, from talking ravens to thumping tell-tale hearts. You’ll dive into Poe’s work and see how his legacy continues to impact the world today.
  • Trailblazing Women Writers Tour: Discover the women of American literature with this tour highlighting the accomplishments and contributions of literary foremothers.
  • Frederick Douglass Tour: You learn not only about the writer and statesman but who influenced him in life and the famous American writers and activists he worked with.
  • My America Tour: Highlighted immigrant and native writers in each area of the Museum.
  • Hispanic Heritage Tour: The voices of Hispanic writers have always been a part of the American literary landscape: from 1528 Spanish expeditions, to the first Puerto Rican librarian in New York City, to contemporary Chicago poets.
  • Museum Tour with AWM President Carey Cranston (higher rate than other tours)
  • Poems While You Wait
    • A collective of poets & their manual typewriters who provide a magical, unexpected, unpretentious, & decontextualized encounter with poetry. No requested topic is too big or too small, too funny or too sad, too silly or too serious.
  • Adult Spelling Bees by Danielle Sepulveres
    • The Twilight Zone: There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge…of spelling. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call The Adult Spelling Bee.
    • Fictional Characters We Wish Hadn’t Died: Can you spell Anna Karenina? How about Ned Stark? What better way to eulogize the fictional characters whose deaths have saddened us than correctly spelling their names!
    • RomComs Forever: Tonight the words will be acted out in the form of a romantic comedy quote! If you spell it correctly AND guess which RomCom it’s from, you will get double points! Time to rewatch HARRY MET SALLY for the hundredth time!
    • Request a themed bee to be curated for your group
  • Food For Thought’s A Night at the Museum Dinner Packages – 5 Stage Story Plated Dinners
    • A Night at the Museum: Mediterranean Tour
    • A Night at the Museum: A Far East Adventure
  • StoryStudio Chicago
    • Single-session creative writing workshops
  • Scavenger Hunt
    • A Women Writers scavenger hunt will take your group through our permanent exhibits to find iconic American women who shaped the history of this country with their words and voices.
  • The Big Quiz Show
    • Literary-themed Trivia: Multimedia, “figureoutable” trivia, but focusing on famous authors, lit classics, publishing phenomena, and more.
  • Children’s storytime, author talks, and more.
American Writers Museum Rentals & Event Spaces offer opportunities for cocktail parties and more!

Food & Beverage

When you rent a party venue at The American Writers Museum, you can also work with our exclusive caterer Food for Thought to plan a menu that will keep your team energized.

Food for Thought