Pulitzer Prize finalist Ann Patchett will receive the 2024 Carl Sandburg Literary Award from the Chicago Public Library Foundation, Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalist Cristina Henríquez will receive the 21st Century Award, and Grammy award winner Chance the Rapper will receive the Arts Award.
Recipients will be honored during the Library Foundation Awards, which will be filmed in front of a live audience on October 30 and available as a free public broadcast on November 2.
Carl Sandburg Literary Award
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.
Ann Patchett is the author of nine novels, The Patron Saint of Liars, Taft, The Magician’s Assistant, Bel Canto, Run, State of Wonder, Commonwealth, The Dutch House, and Tom Lake. She was the editor of Best American Short Stories 2006, and has written four books of nonfiction: Truth & Beauty, about her friendship with the writer Lucy Grealy, What Now?, an expansion of her graduation address at Sarah Lawrence College, This Is the Story of A Happy Marriage, a collection of essays examining the theme of commitment, and These Precious Days, essays on home, family, friendship, and writing. In 2019, she published her first children’s book, Lambslide, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, followed by Escape Goat in 2020.
21st Century Award
The 21st Century Award honors significant recent achievement in writing by a Chicago-based author.
Cristina Henríquez is the author of The Great Divide, The Book of Unknown Americans, The World in Half, and Come Together, Fall Apart. She has been longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Real Simple, The Oxford American, The American Scholar, and elsewhere. She earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
Arts Award
The Arts Award celebrates the power and impact of Chicago’s artistic community.
Hailed as “a generational voice” by GQ and “an outstanding role model” by President Barack Obama, multi-Grammy award winner Chance the Rapper has built a multi-faceted career, redefining what it means to be an independent artist. Chance has never signed a record deal—opting instead to make his music available for free. Born and raised in Chicago, Chance made history in 2017 when he became the first artist to win a Grammy for a streaming-only mixtape—collecting a trio of statues for “Best New Artist,” “Best Rap Performance” and “Best Rap Album” for his now-iconic album Coloring Book.
