Kicking off our third season, we are thrilled to welcome two-time Pulitzer Prize winning author Colson Whitehead to our Illinois libraries. The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Underground Railroad, The Nickel Boys, Harlem Shuffle, The Noble Hustle, Zone One, Sag Harbor, The Intuitionist, John Henry Days, Apex Hides the Hurt, and a collection of essays, Whitehead is only the fourth writer to win two Pulitzers in the Fiction category (for The Underground Railroad in 2017 and The Nickel Boys in 2020). His highly anticipated latest novel, Crook Manifesto, is a darkly funny tale of a city under siege, but also a sneakily searching portrait of the meaning of family.

His reviews, essays, and fiction have appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, Harper’s and Granta. Whitehead has received a MacArthur Fellowship and Guggenheim Fellowship and the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, among others. In 2023, President Biden awarded Whitehead a National Endowment for the Humanities Medal. He has taught extensively, including at Columbia University, Princeton University, and Brooklyn College, and has been a Writer-in-Residence at Vassar College, the University of Richmond, and University of Wyoming. He lives in New York City. 

Click here to register for this free event.

Please note: You must select The Hayner Public Library District from the How Did You Hear About This Event? drop-down menu when registering for this event. Libraries are listed alphabetically by our full formal names (The Hayner Public Library District).

This event is made possible by Illinois Libraries Present, a statewide collaboration among public libraries offering premier events. ILP is funded in part by a grant awarded by the Illinois State Library, a department of the Office of Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).

In addition to an evening with Colson Whitehead, the following programs are also part of the  2023-2024 Illinois Libraries Present season:

Wednesday, October 4, 7:00 p.m. — National Endowment for the Arts Fellow Stephen Graham Jones talks horror.

Tuesday, October 17, 7:00 p.m. — Children’s book author and illustrator Grace Lin discusses food, family, and folktales, along with a drawing demonstration.

Wednesday, November 8, 7:00 p.m. — Netflix’s Bake Squad star and owner of the Chicago-based bakery Justice of the Pies Maya-Camille Broussard shows us how to bake with love.

Wednesday, December 6, 7:00 p.m. — Psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author Lori Gottlieb helps us survive the holidays.

December (Date and Time TBD) — A stream of The Nutcracker, danced by The Royal Ballet, with music played by the orchestra of the Royal Opera House.