When one thinks of Chicago’s place in literary history, one may call to mind Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie, the poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks, The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow, or the many works of Studs Terkel. In more recent years writers like Sandra Cisneros, Sara Paretsky, and Rebecca Makkai have told compelling and exciting stories about Chicago, its people, and its history.
One can expand the view of this literary tradition to include journalists and historians. These writers shape our ideas of Chicago in much the same ways as novelists and poets. A prime example of this is Mike Royko, whose papers live at the Newberry and will serve as the basis for a new exhibition, Chicago Style: Mike Royko and Windy City Journalism.
The Newberry is the repository for countless Chicago stories, and we are honored to recognize the outstanding work of writers who share those stories through the presentation of The Pattis Family Foundation Chicago Book Award. The prize, established in 2021 by The Pattis Family Foundation in partnership with the Newberry, brings attention to publications that advance greater insight into the city among a general readership while resonating with our collections related to the history and people of Chicago.
The inaugural prize was awarded to Dawn Turner for Three Girls from Bronzeville. Toya Wolfe received the prize in 2023 for her debut novel Last Summer on State Street.
Nominations for the 2024 prize poured in between October and January, and nearly forty titles were submitted. After close reading and careful consideration, the jury has narrowed that list to twelve worthy titles that reflect the diversity of genres, writers, and stories that make up submissions for the 2024 Pattis Family Foundation Chicago Book Award. A recipient will be announced in June.
2024 Shortlist Titles
The Billboard by Natalie Moore
The Burning of the World: The Great Chicago Fire and the War for a City's Soul by Scott Berg
Chicago Skyscrapers 1934-1986 by Thomas Leslie
Choosing Family: A Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance by Francesca T. Royster
Country and Midwestern: Chicago in the History of Country Music and the Folk Revival by Mark Guarino
A Dish Best Served Hot by Natalie Caña
Muddy Ground: Native Peoples, Chicago's Portage, and the Transformation of a Continent by John William Nelson
I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times by Taylor Byas
I'll Take Everything You Have by James Klise
In Their Own Light: Photographs from Chicago Public Schools by Melissa Ann Pinney
Making Mexican Chicago by Mike Amezcua
Onward to Chicago: Freedom Seekers and the Underground Railroad in Northeastern Illinois by Larry A. McClellan