Printers Row Lit Fest, the largest free outdoor literary showcase in the Midwest, is pleased to announce two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and National Book Award winner Colson Whitehead—author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys—will appear on the closing day of this year’s festival and discuss his new book Harlem Shuffle in a conversation with Dr. Ivy Wilson.
This event is presented by the American Writers Museum on Sunday, Sept. 12 at 4 p.m. with 400 pre-signed copies of Harlem Shuffle provided to attendees in advance of the book’s publication date, with the support of the Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation. Advance registration is required, and all attendees must show proof of vaccination with a valid photo ID on site. Unvaccinated individuals will not be admitted to this event. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/colson-whitehead-harlem-shuffle-tickets-166213510083. No other festival events require advance registration.
Award-winning journalist and novelist Dawn Turner will open the festival in a conversation about her new memoir Three Girls from Bronzeville: A Uniquely American Memoir of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood, on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 10 a.m. Previously announced festival headliner Ta-Nehisi Coates is no longer able to travel to Chicago for the festival.
Wintrust is the major program sponsor for Printers Row Lit Fest. As in past years, the festival presents 100% free programming and includes blocks of diverse booksellers—with old, new, rare and hard-to-find literary treasures offered rain or shine in tents stretching out over five blocks of Dearborn Street in Chicago’s historic Printers Row neighborhood. Special programs include: a BookTok panel, exploring the growing influence of popular book reviewers and content creators on TikTok; events commemorating the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire; and dozens of events with national and local award-winning authors.
The 36th Printers Row Lit Fest takes place on Saturday, Sept. 11 and Sunday, Sept. 12 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily, in Chicago’s historic Printers Row neighborhood along Dearborn Street from Polk Street north to Ida B. Wells Drive. All festival programs are free and open to the public. For more information and the most up-to-date programming details, visit printersrowlitfest.org.
Printers Row Lit Fest is produced and created by the Near South Planning Board, with major programming support from Wintrust and significant support from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Additional sponsors include Alphawood Foundation, American Writers Museum, Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation, Sourcebooks, Better, BritBox, Poetry Foundation, Chicago Public Library, 4th Ward Alderman Sophia King, Grace Place, Hotel Blake, 3L Living and Hilton Chicago. Media partners include WBEZ Chicago, Hyde Park Herald, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Reader and Newcity.
All attendees at Printers Row Lit Fest are encouraged to wear masks when not actively eating or drinking. Printers Row Lit Fest is monitoring the latest CDC and City of Chicago guidelines and will follow all requirements to ensure the health and safety of its guests, staff and artists.
For programs hosted inside tents and indoor venues, masks will be required and guests over the age of 12 are required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test result within the last 48 hours, along with a valid photo ID. Unmasked children will not be allowed in program tents or indoor venues.
The Colson Whitehead event on Sunday, Sept. 12, requires advance registration and all guests must show proof of vaccination with a valid photo ID. Unvaccinated individuals will not be admitted to this event.
HEADLINE AUTHOR BIOS
Colson Whitehead is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Underground Railroad, which in 2016 won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction and the National Book Award and was named one of the Ten Best Books of the Year by the New York Times Book Review. His 2019 novel The Nickel Boys won the Pulitzer and Kirkus prizes for fiction and was longlisted for the National Book Award. He is also the author of The Noble Hustle, Zone One, Sag Harbor, The Intuitionist, John Henry Days, Apex Hides the Hurt, and The Colossus of New York. He has received MacArthur and Guggenheim fellowships. He has taught at Princeton University, New York University, the University of Houston, Columbia University, Brooklyn College, Hunter College, Wesleyan University, and been a Writer-in-Residence at Vassar College, the University of Richmond, and the University of Wyoming. He lives in New York City.
Dawn Turner is an award-winning journalist and novelist. A former columnist and reporter for the Chicago Tribune, Turner spent a decade and a half writing about race, politics, and people whose stories are often dismissed and ignored. Turner, who served as a 2017 and 2018 juror for the Pulitzer Prize in commentary, has written commentary for The Washington Post, PBS NewsHour, CBS Sunday Morning News show, NPR’s Morning Edition show, the Chicago Tonight show, and elsewhere. She has covered national presidential conventions, as well as Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential election and inauguration. Turner has been a regular commentator for several national and international news programs and has reported from around the world in countries such as Australia, China, France and Ghana. She spent the 2014–2015 school year as a Nieman Journalism fellow at Harvard University. In 2018, she served as a fellow and journalist-in-residence at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics. Turner is the author of two novels, Only Twice I’ve Wished for Heaven and An Eighth of August.
For more information and the most up to date programming details, visit printersrowlitfest.org.
Near South Planning Board, founder of the Printers Row Lit Fest, is a not-for-profit community-based organization serving businesses, institutions and property owners of the Near South Side of Chicago since 1946.
The American Writers Museum is the first museum of its kind in the United States. The mission of the American Writers Museum is to engage the public in celebrating American writers and exploring their influence on our history, our identity, and our daily lives. The museum is located at 180 N. Michigan Ave. 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 $14 for adults, $9 for seniors, students, and teachers. Free for members and children ages 12 and under. Groups of 10 or more, including adults, student travel groups, and University students, receive discounted admission. Museum hours are Thursdays - Mondays 10 AM – 5 PM. For more information visit www.AmericanWritersMuseum.org or call 312-374-8790.