The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame to present Fuller Award to Luis Alberto Urrea Oct. 28
The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame (CLHOF) will present its prestigious Fuller Award to Luis Alberto Urrea for his lifetime contribution to literature.
A live ceremony will take place at the National Museum of Mexican Art Thursday October 28, 2021, starting at 6 p.m. The ceremony will also be live-streamed via Zoom. The event is free and open to the public. In-person attendees must show proof of vaccination to gain entry and wear a mask while inside the museum. Registration is required for both live and virtual guests.
Registration is now open at https://bit.ly/UrreaFullerAwardEvent
Rick Najera is the emcee for the evening. Sara Paretsky, Daniel Borzutsky and Dave Eggers will offer tributes; actress Laura Crotte will perform a dramatic reading; and Coya Paz will lead a conversation with Urrea.
A 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction and member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame, Urrea is the critically acclaimed and best-selling author of 17 books, winning numerous awards for his poetry, fiction and essays. Born in Tijuana to a Mexican father and American mother, Urrea is most recognized as a border writer, though he says, "I am more interested in bridges, not borders."
Partners for the event include National Museum of Mexican Art, American Writers Museum, Poetry Foundation, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago Public Library, The Tuesday Agency, Columbia College Chicago, The Book Group, Guild Literary Complex, Third World Press, and The Bookstore of Glen Ellyn.
Urrea will become the 11th Chicago author to receive the Fuller Award for his lifetime achievements and contribution to literature.
The CLHOF's Fuller Award was inspired by Henry Blake Fuller (1857-1929), author, editor, poet, critic, and composer, one of Chicago's earliest novelists, and the author of "The Cliff-Dwellers" (1893) and "With the Procession" (1891). It is awarded to a writer with strong Chicago connections who has made an outstanding lifetime contribution to literature. Past recipients were: Gene Wolfe, Harry Mark Petrakis, Haki Madhubuti, Rosellen Brown, Stuart Dybek, Angela Jackson, Sara Paretsky, Sterling Plumpp, Sandra Cisneros and Reginald Gibbons.
The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame's mission is to honor, preserve, and celebrate Chicago's great literary heritage - past, present, and future.
Contact Founding Executive Director Donald G. Evans at dgevans@chicagoliteraryhof.org or (773) 414-2603 for more information.