American Writers Museum

As one of the most unique Chicago museums downtown, our mission is to celebrate the enduring influence of American writers on our history, identity, culture, and daily lives.

American writing is distinctive, diverse, and comes in many forms from across the nation. As the only museum devoted to American writers and their works, AWM connects visitors with their favorite authors and writings from more than five centuries, while inspiring the discovery of new works of every type – poetry, lyrics, speeches, drama, fiction, nonfiction, journalism, and more.

The authors and works we present are not meant to be a definitive list of who is the greatest or most influential. Instead, we present authors and works as part of a continuum that will grow and change. We hope you will visit us often to see what authors and works come next!

The American Writers Museum owes its existence to the vision, passion and tenacity of its founder, Malcolm O’Hagan. We are forever indebted to Malcolm for his generosity and his enduring belief that America’s great writers deserve a home all their own.