Sandburg Award Honors Margaret Atwood, Dave Eggers

Authors Margaret Atwood and Dave Eggers will receive the 2017 Carl Sandburg Literary Award from the Chicago Public Library Foundation and Chicago Public Library. Natalie Y. Moore will receive the 21st Century Award.

The Carl Sandburg Literary Awards Dinner will honor the authors Wednesday, October 11 at The Forum on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Atwood is the author of more than 40 books, including The Handmaid's Tale, the MaddAddam trilogy, The Blind Assassin and, more recently, The Heart Goes Last.

The Handmaid's Tale is available in other formats.

The Blind Assassin is available in other formats.

The Heart Goes Last is available in other formats.

Eggers, a Chicago area native, is the author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, What Is the What and Zeitoun, among other titles. The film adaptation of his novel The Circle premieres this month.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is available in other formats.

What Is the What is available in other formats.

Zeitoun is available in other formats.

The Circle is available in other formats.

The Carl Sandburg Literary Award is presented annually to an acclaimed author in recognition of outstanding contributions to the literary world and honors a significant work or body of work that has enhanced the public's awareness of the written word.

21st Century Award

WBEZ reporter Moore is the author of The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation, which won the 2016 Chicago Review of Books award for nonfiction and was named a 2016 Best of the Best pick by Chicago Public Library.

The South Side is available in other formats.

The 21st Century Award honors significant recent achievement in writing by a Chicago-based author. In presenting this award, the Foundation hopes to encourage the creation of new works and increase public awareness of the writer's talents.