Printers Row Lit Fest 2026 Headliners Include Scott Turow, Eve L. Ewing, Geoff Bennett

PRINTERS ROW — Printers Row Lit Fest returns for its 41st year with a lineup of Chicago literary heavyweights, including the prolific best-selling author Scott Turow.

The Midwest’s largest free outdoor literary festival will take place 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 12-13 along South Dearborn St. between Ida B. Wells Drive and Polk Street in Printers Row.

Turow will headline the festival alongside PBS NewsHour co-anchor and Peabody Award winner Geoff Bennett. 

“I think that at a time when people want to ban books and burn books and people are kind of nonstop scrolling their phones, I think it’s beautiful to have this huge, massive thing that kind of pushes back against all of that and reminds people to take a beat and read a book,” Amy Danzer, director of programming at the Printers Row Lit Fest, told Block Club.

Turow will be joined by novelist Jane Hamilton to chat about his recent novel “Presumed Guilty,” the third installment in his best-selling series about beleaguered Illinois prosecutor Rožat “Rusty” Sabich. The first novel in the series, “Presumed Innocent,” was adapted into a 1990 feature film and most recently a 2024 Apple TV+ series starring Jake Gyllenhaal.

Bennett will discuss his new book “Black Out Loud” about the history of Black comedy alongside WBEZ reporter Natalie Moore.

In addition to Turow and Bennett, the lit fest will feature book signings, writing workshops, booksellers and children’s programs. 

Other headliners include Omar El Akkad, who won the 2025 National Book Award for “One Day, Everyone Will Always Have Been Against,” his book denouncing the Gaza genocide.

Eight Pulitzer Prize-winning authors and journalists will also appear on the festival’s lineup, including four members of the Chicago Tribune’s reporting team who won the Pulitzer for their recent coverage of Operation Midway Blitz.

Historian Heather Ann Thompson, also a Pulitzer winner, will also discuss her book “Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, the Bernie Goetz Shootings, and the Rebirth of White Rage.”

Scott Simon, the longtime host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday, will discuss his collection of essays “Ulysses S. Cat and Other Animals I Have Known.” Bindu Bansinath, senior writer at New York Magazine’s The Cut, will host a discussion about her article “The Nanny Squatter” — soon to be adapted into an Apple+ TV starring Cecily Strong and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. 

Other writers and journalists in this year’s lineup who have Chicago roots:

Logan Square native and New York Times best-selling author Eve L. Ewing will speak about her work, including her 2018 book “Ghosts in the Schoolyard,” which chronicled the 2013 mass closure of 50 Chicago public schools. 

Dolen Perkins-Valdez, whose second novel “Balm” takes place in Chicago, will speak as will Layne Fargo, author of “The Favorites” and “They Never Learn.”

Writer and librarian Jarrett Dapier will speak about his newest graphic novel “Wake Now In the Fire,” based on his experience with book-banning efforts in Chicago classrooms and libraries. 

Writer Owen Keehnen will speak on his work documenting Chicago’s LGBTQ+ history, and James Beard Award winner Michael Gebert will discuss his book “The Chicago Way: An Oral History of Chicago Dining.”

Chicago native and Emmy Award-winning producer Nikesha Elise Williams will discuss her novels that explore family bonds among Black women. Reshona Landfair will speak about Project Refine, her nonprofit dedicated to mentoring young women in Chicago who have experienced sexual abuse. 

Illinois Poet Laureate Mark Turcotte will speak about his book “Exploding Chippewas” alongside Chicago Poet Laureate Mayda del Valle, author of “A South Side Girl’s Guide to Love and Sex.” 

Other writers from the Chicago area speaking include Michael O’Donnell, Cynthia Pelayo and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

Children’s programs at the Printers Row Lit Fest include a costume parade and performances from the children’s improv troupe Broadway Dropouts and a dance performance from Chicago youth ballet company HipLet Next led by Homer Hans Bryant, founder of the Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center. 

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle will do a reading of the Dr. Seuss book “Horton Hatches the Egg” and poet Leslé Honoré will read from her children’s book “My Brown Boy” about young Brown and Black boys achieving their dreams.

The Chicago Printers Guild and Englewood Arts Collective will partner with the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks for a “Books and Beats” event noon-2:30 p.m. Sept. 13, featuring live music, art workshops and other interactive activities at Dearborn Park, 865 S. Park Terrace. 

Information about the Printers Row Lit Fest, including an updated schedule and the complete list of programs, can be found here.