Reading is fundamental even in this digital age and by the presence of some of the city’s recognized civic and philanthropic leaders like Linda Johnson Rice, Neal Zucker, Mark Furlong, Leslie Hindman and support from organizations such as Pritzker Foundation, Helen Zell, Ariel Investments, The Northern Trust Corporation, RPM Advertising, Crown Family Philanthropies to name a few, the Chicago Public Library is an institution important to this city and it’s not going out of style anytime soon.
The Carl Sandburg Literary Awards, named for the three time pulitzer winning author, was held Wednesday, Oct. 22 raising $1.5 M for the Chicago Public Library Foundation and Chicago Public Library.
The Carl Sandburg Literary Awards For Non-Fiction and Fiction were presented to Doris Kearns Goodwin author of (The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln) and Larry McMurtry (Terms of Endearment, The Lonesome Dove, The Last Picture Show), respectively.
The 21st Century Award for significant recent achievement in writing was presented to best selling authour Veronica Roth of the Divergent series.
Related: Night in the Stacks with Chicago Public Library Foundation Junior Board
Legendary musician Mavis Staples was presented the first-ever Carl Sandburg Award for the Art
David R. Casper, who is the EVP & Head of Commercial Banking at BMO Harris Bank, addressed guests in attendance which included Rhona Frazin President and CEO of the Library Foundation, the 69 authors with ties to Chicago such as Hollye Jacobs, Roopa Weber, Richard Saul M.D, Mayor Rahm Emanuel who “saluted each honoree and remarked how Mavis Staples’ music had influenced his life, how Veronica Roth’s novels are personal favorites of his daughters, how he enjoyed reading McMurtry’s beautiful prose and how he and President Obama are fans of Goodwin’s books.”
The Chicago Public Library Foundation was founded in 1986 as a true public/private
partnership with the City of Chicago and helps with funding for collections and programs such as the Summer Learning Challenge, Teacher in the Library, CyberNavigators, YOUmedia and One Book, One Chicago.
*images Courtesy.
