American Writers Museum to open on Michigan Avenue

Chicagoans and tourists alike will be able to celebrate the lives and works of American writers, poets and playwrights when the new American Writers Museum opens at 180 N. Michigan in spring 2017.

Announced today, the museum will showcase the personal stories and literary works of some of America’s greatest writers, from Mark Twain and John Steinbeck to Dr. Seuss and Jack Kerouac and so many more. In addition to the National Advisory Council, the museum will be working with the estates and museums of 50 authors across the country in its mission “to engage the public in celebrating American writers and exploring their influence on our history, our identity, our culture, and our daily lives.” Themed galleries, interactive exhibits and educational programs will facilitate that mission.

According to a statement, visitors will “come face-to-face with great writers using their zip codes in Writers Hall; accompany roving writers such as Kerouac and Steinbeck on their literary travels; and “visit” writers’ homes and fictional sites, such as “Tara,” “Cannery Row,” and “The House of the Seven Gables” in Nation of Writers. Exhibits such as The Mind of a Writer, A Writer’s Room, and Word Play will de-mystify famed writers’ lives and methodologies and invite visitor creativity with games and other immersive offerings. Readers Hall will host films, talks, readings, and presentations to school and other groups.”

Rotating exhibits will highlight topics such as Nobel Laureates, First Novels that Rocked the World, The Immigrant Experience, American Play and Playwrights, Children’s Literature, American Literary Critics, The Native American Experience and more.

“We are thrilled to have found the perfect space in the heart of downtown Chicago, just steps from the city’s major attractions,” said AWM founder and President, Malcolm E. O’Hagan, in a statement today. “The American Writers Museum will become a beloved attraction for Chicago residents and visitors from all over the world, and will provide an exciting and unprecedented opportunity to showcase true Americana in one of the nation’s most culturally rich cities.”

For more information about the museum, or to page through the plans for the cultural venue, visit www.americanwritersmuseum.org