Printers Row Lit Fest 2022 to feature Natasha Trethewey, Poetry Foundation and The Onion
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The Printers Row Lit Fest has announced some of the authors and presentations that will be at this year’s event, which spans genres from romance and satire to spoken word and poetry, as well as children and family-friendly offerings. The bookish event, presented by the Near South Planning Board, is one of the three biggest and oldest literary festivals in the country with more than 100 booksellers. The outdoor festival will take place Sept. 10-11 across five blocks in Printers Row, no matter the weather.
The 37th annual festival begins with Natasha Trethewey, an Evanston-based Pulitzer Prize winner and two-term United States Poet Laureate, receiving this year’s Harold Washington Literary Award.
New this year is a dedicated poetry tent by The Poetry Foundation that will feature award-winning and emerging poets, as well as a behind-the-scenes presentation from Chicago-based satirical news site The Onion about its article production process.
Other highlights include a conversation with Danyel Smith, the first Black editor of Billboard magazine, about her book “Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop”; Jamie Ford on his New York Times bestseller “The Many Daughters of Afong May”; and “The Evening Hero” author Marie Myung-Ok Lee.
Plus, there will be plenty of new books, both fiction and nonfiction, centered on Chicago that will be presented at the fest, including “The House that Madigan Built” by the Tribune’s Ray Long, “Last Summer on State Street” by Toya Wolfe and “Bedrock Faith” by Eric Charles May.
For younger readers, Theatre on the Hill will present an interactive theatrical event called “Choose Your Own Once Upon a Time,” while Carlos Theatre Productions will offer a Latin American puppet show in both Spanish and English.
The 37th annual Printers Row Lit Fest will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 10-11 along South Dearborn Street from Ida B. Wells Drive to Polk Street, and on Polk Street from State to Clark. The festival is presented by the nonprofit Near South Planning Board; the Chicago Tribune is no longer a presenter. All programs are free and open to the public. More information at printersrowlitfest.org
