The Newberry Library kicks off its fall programming season on Saturday, September 20, with Chicago Storytelling, a celebration of the Windy City featuring conversations among award-winning authors. Scott W. Berg, Sandra Steinbrecher, and Larry A. McClellan, discussing their works on topics as varied as the great Chicago fire, the renovation of the Salt Shed, and the Underground Railroad in northeastern Illinois. Berg will receive the 2025 Pattis Family Foundation Chicago Book Award for his book, The Burning of the World: The Great Chicago Fire and the War for a City’s Soul. Longtime journalist Rick Kogan will serve as emcee, and the Chicago History Museum’s Paul Durica will join the conversation as well. 

Chicago Storytelling has its roots in the Bughouse Square Debates, an event created in 1986 by the Newberry at the urging of Studs Terkel, Arthur Weinberg, and Lila Shaffer Weinberg. Bughouse Square, as Washington Square Park is famously known, was once a cow pasture where farmers would bring their cattle for water. Over the years, it transformed into a dynamic gathering place that encouraged freedom of expression. The Newberry will build on that legacy by inviting authors to share their stories as part of this free event that begins at 1pm on the 20th.

The Pattis Family Foundation Chicago Book Award, launched in 2021, is open to writers working in a variety of genres, including history, biography, social sciences, poetry, drama, graphic novels, and fiction—all relating to Chicago. The Burning of the World is a gripping and deeply researched account of our city’s most destructive catastrophe and the long process of rebuilding in its wake. Berg’s book has been lauded by The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly. Mark and Lisa Pattis, founders of the award, recently spoke to WGN TV about what went into developing—and funding—a celebration of books about Chicago.

In addition to honoring Berg, who will receive a $25,000 prize, the juried panel also recognizes McClellan, author of Onward to Chicago: Freedom Seekers and the Underground Railroad in Northeastern Illinois, and Steinbrecher and The Salt Shed: The Transformation of a Chicago Landmark. Both McClellan and Steinbrecher will receive awards of $2,500.

The public may register for the event, which takes place in-person and via Zoom, at https://www.newberry.org/calendar/chicago-storytelling-2025