National Book Award Finalist and Chicago's Literary Rising Star Rebecca Makkai to Receive 21st Century Award; Renowned Sculptor Richard Hunt to Receive Arts Award; Civic Leader and Philanthropist Bob Wislow to Receive Civic Award
Presenting Sponsor BMO
Chicago, Illinois--(Newsfile Corp. - August 16, 2023) - Acclaimed author Colson Whitehead will receive the 2023 Carl Sandburg Literary Award from Chicago Public Library (CPL) and the Chicago Public Library Foundation (CPLF) as part of the 2023 Chicago Public Library Foundation Awards. Highlights from the Awards ceremony will be broadcast via a free YouTube video on Thursday, November 1, at 6:00 pm CST. Everyone is welcome to tune in and no ticket is required to view the broadcast.
The 2023 Chicago Public Library Foundation honors Colson Whitehead, Rebecca Makkai, Richard Hunt and Bob Wislow and celebrates the power of public libraries.
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Hosted by legendary newscaster Bill Kurtis, the Awards will be filmed in front of a live audience and will feature an engaging conversation with Whitehead and National Public Radio host Scott Simon.
Whitehead is best known for his international and #1 New York Times Bestseller, The Underground Railroad, which won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the Carnegie Medal for Fiction, among many others. His 2020 novel The Nickel Boys also won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, making Whitehead one of only four authors to have won the highest national honor in literary achievement twice.
With this year's theme, Make the Future Now, the Foundation not only celebrates the 150-year legacy of our Chicago Public Library providing access to information, bringing people together, and responding to evolving community needs, but also highlights the central role public libraries like CPL play locally and across the nation. Libraries are catalysts for communities--activating minds, persisting, charging forward. Libraries are the future.
"With book bans and challenges on the rise, the time is now to support our public libraries and CPL and CPLF will continue to work together to ensure our Library remains a community hub for all," says Commissioner of Chicago Public Library, Chris Brown.
"What an honor to be an innovation partner to Chicago Public Library, finding bold ways to reach Chicagoans of all ages," said Brenda Langstraat Bui, President & CEO of Chicago Public Library Foundation. "Thanks to our partnership, we are able to meet Library users wherever they are in their learning journey with a full range of resources from free homework help to leadership development programs for our teens and digital literacy support for adults."
More than 12,000 Library lovers worldwide tuned in to the 2022 CPLF Awards and together contributed $1.5 million to advance the Library Foundation's three investment priorities: Closing the Academic Opportunity Gap, Activating Creativity and Connection for All, and Bridging the Digital Divide.
Continuing with a new model that opens the Awards experience to anyone, anywhere, the in-person dinner and Awards presentation will take place from 5:30 - 9:00 PM CST on October 24 at UIC Forum and be attended by approximately 700 of Chicago's civic, business, and cultural leaders. A specially produced free public broadcast will be accessible to all on November 1.
For more information on event tickets and tables, please check cplfoundation.org/awards/contribute.
Complete Lineup of Honorees
National Book Award and Pulitzer-Prize Finalist Rebecca Makkai will receive the 21st Century Award, which honors significant recent achievements by a creator with ties to Chicago. Makkai's latest novel, I Have Some Questions For You, is receiving national acclaim. Her novel The Great Believers was one of the New York Times' Ten Best Books of 2018 and won numerous awards, including the ALA Carnegie Medal, the Stonewall Book Award, the Clark Prize, and the LA Times Book Prize.
The Arts Award, which celebrates the power and impact of Chicago's artistic community, will be presented to world-renowned sculptor Richard Hunt. Throughout his career spanning seven decades, Hunt has singularly made the largest contribution to public art in the United States with over 150 public sculpture commissions around the US-and just last year, The Obama Foundation commissioned a new sculpture for the Obama Presidential Center from Hunt.
The Foundation will present the Civic Award to Bob Wislow, Founder of Parkside Realty, for his extraordinary leadership and commitment to our city's most celebrated institutions, such as Rush University, The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography, among many others. Serving as CPLF's Board Chair for 12 years, Wislow has helped build the successful partnership between CPL and CPLF.
About the Chicago Public Library Foundation Awards
Produced by Chicago Public Library and the Chicago Public Library Foundation, the Chicago Public Library Foundation Awards is an annual fundraising event that celebrates the partnership between the Library and Library Foundation and generates crucial support for free lifelong learning programming for all ages available through the Library. Contributions at every level are welcome. Sponsorship packages and tickets for the event are available at cplfoundation.org/awards/.
Learn more about the Awards here.
About Us
The Chicago Public Library Foundation (CPLF) is an independent nonprofit that exists to accelerate the potential of our public library by investing in resources that transform lives and communities. Together with its civic-minded partners, CPLF makes pathways to learning, creativity, and civic engagement accessible to Chicagoans of all ages through investment across three funding priorities: Closing the Academic Opportunity Gap; Activating Creativity & Connection; and Bridging the Digital Divide. Find us online at www.cplfoundation.org.
Media Contacts:
Brenda Langstraat Bui
President & CEO, Chicago Public Library Foundation
Phone: (312) 374-5242
Email: bbui@cplfoundation.org
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