AWM Author Talks

This week, Amy Bizzarri discusses her cookbook and travelogue, Route 66 Recipes: A Culinary Cruise Along the Mother Road , in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the famous highway. Bizzarri talks about the food history of the legendary road, and the diners, cafes, soda shops, and dive bars that make up the landscape. Moderated by editor and writer Erica Floyd . Discover more stories about Rou...

This week, writers and free speech advocates Jacob Mchangama and Sara Paretsky discuss the importance of free speech today. Jacob Mchangama is the author of Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media , which traces the riveting legal, political, and cultural history of this idea. He is also the co-author, along with Jeff Kosseff, of the new book The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the G...

This week, Reyna Grande and Erika L. Sánchez discuss Grande’s new book Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can’t Forget , an ambitious memoir in essays that illuminates the hidden cost of the American Dream and the complex journey of healing that follows survival. This conversation originally took place September 23, 2026 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. AWM PODCAST NETWORK H...

This week, two of Chicago's leading poets— Mayda del Valle and Eve L. Ewing —discuss how to use poetic forms to tell stories, reveal characters, and express memory. Mayda del Valle is the Poet Laureate of the City of Chicago, and Eve L. Ewing is an award-winning poet and scholar. This program was part of the 2026 American Writers Festival . Co-hosted by the American Writers Museum and Chicago Publ...

This week, two scholars discuss "Social Change, Faith, and the Making of Latino Chicago." Felipe Hinojosa , author of Apostles of Change: Latino Radical Politics, Church Occupations, and the Fight to Save the Barrio and Lilia Fernández , author of Brown in the Windy City: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Postwar Chicago , explore the intertwined histories of Latino faith, politics, and community form...

This week, cartographers Stentor Danielson and Andy Woodruff discuss mapmaking and telling stories with maps, moderated by David Weimer , the Robert A. Holland Curator of Maps at the Newberry Library. Explore cartographic writing through Belt Publishing's "Cities in 50 Maps" series. Danielson is the author of Pittsburgh in 50 Maps , while Woodruff is the author of Boston in 50 Maps . Woodruff also...

This week, comedian and author Jenny Gorelick discusses her recent dating guide, The Book of Red Flags: Dating Signs They Aren't It , with fellow comedian Ton Johnson . For singles striving to mingle, The Book of Red Flags is a beacon on the modern dating darkness, detailing all the hilarious signs they aren't it. Content warning: this episode contains language and themes that may not be suitable...

This week, author Lauren Groff and editor John Stauffer discuss the craft and history of short stories, as well as their latest work. Moderated by author and professor Peter Coviello . Groff, a three-time National Book Award finalist, recently released Brawler: Stories , an "audacious collection [that] surprises readers with the vivid lives few of us notice ( Kirkus ). Stauffer is the editor of th...

This week, hear from three accomplished writers who blend suspense with humor to tell compelling stories. How do humor and suspense intersect to create compelling novels? These three funny masters of mystery discuss their latest works: Escape! by Stephen Fishbach , A Murder Most Camp by Nicolas DiDomizio , and My Name Was Gerry Sass by Tiffany Hanssen . Moderated by writer and editor Erica Floyd ....

Three finalists for the 2026 Nebula Awards— Amy Chu , Somto Ihezue , and Annalee Newitz —discuss their craft, why they write, and the state of speculative fiction today. Moderated by Tananarive Due , Toastmaster of the 2026 Nebula Awards, which are given annually by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association . Featured writers and their 2026 Nebula Award nominations include: Automatic N...

This week, actress and humorist Annabelle Gurwitch discusses her new book The End of My Life Is Killing Me: The Unexpected Joys of a Cancer Slacker . In this deftly comedic and deeply contemplative memoir, the New York Times bestselling author faces life's biggest curveball only to find resilience in the most unlikely places. Gurwitch discusses the memoir-writing process and the importance of humo...

This week, acclaimed writers Daniel Kraus and Susan Orlean discuss the process of adapting books into film and television, as well as their latest releases. Kraus—who won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for his novel Angel Down —developed the story for the film The Shape of Water and co-wrote the novel with Guillermo del Toro. Kraus also recently adapted his hit novel Whalefall into a feature f...

This week, religion scholars Reza Aslan and Ilan Stavans sit down with Emily D. Crews to discuss their new anthology, A Nation Wrestles with God: American Prophets, Philosophers, and Firebrands , a historic collection of the radicals and freethinkers that sparked a country's journey through divinity—praising, challenging, and redefining the sacred. This book and conversation are presented in conju...

This week, acclaimed journalist Randall Sullivan talks about writing baseball and his new book The First All-Star Game: Babe Ruth, FDR, and America at the Crossroads . He is interviewed by comedian Joe Kilgallon . This program took place at the 2026 American Writers Festival . Co-hosted by the American Writers Museum and Chicago Public Library, the American Writers Festival is a free literary even...

This week, we explore America at 250 years old, through lenses of migration, Black history, and queer liberation. Darius Bost and C. Riley Snorton discuss their book A Black Queer History of the United States . And Anna O. Law discusses her book Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship: African Americans, Native Americans, and Immigrants . Moderated by historian and author Valerie Gugala...

This week, the American Writers Museum and the Consulate General of Ireland, Chicago present a conversation with writer, entertainer, drag queen, LGBTQ+ rights activist and 'Queen of Ireland' Rory O'Neill , also known as Panti Bliss. O'Neill visited the AWM to celebrate Bloomsday—the annual global celebration on June 16 of Irish writer James Joyce that commemorates the events of his 1922 masterpie...

This week, pop culture historian Jennifer Keishin Armstrong stops by to discuss her latest book Parks and Rec: The Underdog TV Show That Lit’rally Inspired a Vision for a Better America . Armstrong tells the definitive story of the creation and legacy of the beloved television show Parks and Recreation , with exclusive interview content from its cast, crew, and creators, as well as an introduction...

This week, we chat with poet Naoko Fujimoto , a senior editor at RHINO Poetry . She stopped by the AWM the other week to discuss the work of translation, her poetry process, and her forthcoming book titled: of Women: 20 Japanese Female Poets / 20 Waka Poems , a collection of translated Japanese waka-poems, including text collage and haibun-style discourses on translation. This conversation origina...

This week, poets Marilyn Hacker and Deema K. Shehabi discuss their powerful new book Water to Water: Gaza Renga , a poetry collaboration in the call-and-response form of renga written during the conflict in Gaza. This conversation originally took place April 20, 2026 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HUB This episode is presented in conjunction with the Amer...

This week, religious studies professor Dr. Kati Curts discusses her book Assembling Religion: The Ford Motor Company and the Transformation of Religion in America , which illustrates how Henry Ford institutionalized a social gospel. Though Ford's efforts at the head of the Ford Motor Company have commonly been understood as secular, Ford himself was explicit that his work in engineering and auto p...

This week, Maggie and Africa Brown discuss the legacy of their father— Oscar Brown, Jr. —and perform some of his work. This conversation originally took place February 26, 2026 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. Maggie and Africa Brown love doing what they do best together—singing with theatrics on stage. These "2 Brown Sisters" energetically merge their foundations in jazz with...

In this episode, Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad discusses her book The Fire Inside: The Dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde . Black, queer, feminist, Buddhist: The Fire Inside casts a fresh new light on the radical literary legacies of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde. This conversation originally took place January 29, 2026 and was recorded live via Zoom. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HUB This episode is presented...

This week, scholars Lisa Marie Gring-Pemble and Martha Watson discuss their book Your Daughters Will Prophesy: Religion and Rhetoric in the Nineteenth-Century Woman’s Movement . Their work explores how four 19th-century women— Jarena Lee ,  Sarah Moore Grimké ,  Lucretia Coffin Mott , and  Frances Willard —used the Bible to claim their voice on the moral questions of their day. This conversation o...

This week, Emmy Award-winning journalist Mary Ann Ahern talks about covering religion, writing about Chicago's Pope, and shaping the public's perception and practice of faith. Ahern is interviewed by AWM President Carey Cranston . This conversation originally took place January 22, 2026 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HUB Mary Ann Ahern joined NBC 5 News i...

Music journalist Alan Light discusses spirituality and song, as well as his new book Don’t Stop: Why We (Still) Love Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours , which   examines the enduring relevance of Fleetwood Mac's album Rumours 50 years after its release. He is interviewed by radio host Ryan Arnold . This conversation originally took place November 24, 2025 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum...