Thursday, January 9 at 7 PM CST

Steve Dolinsky is the well-known Food Guy reporter at NBC 5 (Chicago) and James Beard Award winner for his TV, radio, and podcast work. Steve is host of The Feed Podcast with Chicago chef/restaurateur Rick Bayless and Pizza City. He is the creator of Pizza City Fest, now in four cities, and author of two books about pizza. 

Join him to dish on The Ultimate Chicago Pizza Guide: A History of Squares & Slices in the Windy City, his comprehensive guide to the styles, locales and people that make the Windy City a prime destination for slices and pies.

Thursday, January 23 at 7 PM CST

Michelle Buteau, an American stand-up comedian, actress, television host, producer, and podcast host. Michelle is the creator/writer/star of the Netflix series Survival of the Thickest, inspired by her autobiographical book of essays of the same name. She is also the host of two popular reality competition shows - The Circle and Barbecue Showdown, and hosts the popular podcast, Adulting. In 2024, she starred in Babes alongside fellow comedian/actress Ilana Glazer.

Born in New Jersey to Caribbean parents, Michelle brings her unique perspective and big personality to stage and screen. Her one-hour comedy special, Welcome to Buteaupia, won the Critics Choice Award for Best Comedy Special. Her new special, A Buteau-ful Mind, drops on Netflix December 31.

Joining in the conversation will be Greta Johnsen. Greta is an interviewer, podcast host, and book person. She is loved as co-host of HBO's Official Game of Thrones Podcast and hosted WBEZ's Nerdette podcast for eleven years. She can also be heard on podcasts like Pop Culture Happy Hour and City Cast. 

Tuesday, February 4 at 7 PM CST

James McBride is an award-winning author, musician, and screenwriter. His landmark memoir, The Color of Water, was published in 1996 and is considered an American classic, read in schools and universities across the United States. His 2013 novel, The Good Lord Bird, won the National Book Award for Fiction and was adapted by Ethan Hawke and Jason Blum into a Showtime series bearing the same name. His latest, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, was named one of the New York Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2023.

In 2016, President Obama awarded McBride the National Humanities Medal "for humanizing the complexities of discussing race in America. Through writings about his own uniquely American story, and his works of fiction informed by our shared history, his moving stories of love display the character of the American family." In 2024 he became the latest recipient of the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. A native New Yorker, McBride is a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University.

Heather Marie-Montlilla of PBS Books will join McBride in conversation.

Wednesday, February 19 at 7 PM CST

Amy Tan is the daughter of immigrant parents from China, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. Best known for her novel The Joy Luck Club, which was adapted into a 1993 film, Tan also has several other popular novels, short story collections, children's books, and a memoir. 

In 2016, Amy began taking nature journaling classes with John Muir Laws.  

During the pandemic shutdown, she spent long hours observing the behavior of wild birds in her backyard. Her editor, Dan Halpern, suggested she turn those pencil sketches, colored portraits and journal notes into an illustrated book, The Backyard Bird Chronicles, published in April 2024 by Knopf, which became an instant #1 bestseller. Her drawings were on special exhibition at the Roger Torey Peterson Institute. 

Amy serves on the board of American Bird Conservancy, the National Poetry Series, and The Community of Writers.  She lives with her husband and their dog in California and New York.  

Tuesday, March 4 at 7 PM CST

Get an inside look at the space industry with Illinois’ own Coralie Adam. She’ll be joined in conversation by Renae Kerrigan, Curator of Science and Director of the Dome Planetarium at Peoria Riverfront Museum.

Born and raised in Illinois, Coralie holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and Astronomy from the University of Illinois, and an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering Sciences from the University of Colorado. She leads the multi-mission Optical Navigation team at KinetX Aerospace, the first privately held company to provide deep space navigation and flight dynamics expertise to NASA. At KinetX, Coralie has had lead roles on the navigation teams for NASA’s New Horizons, OSIRIS-REx, Lucy, and OSIRIS-APEX missions. Coralie’s work enabled the first exploration of the Pluto system and the historic sample collection of near-Earth asteroid Bennu. In addition to leading the OSIRIS-REx optical navigation team, she co-convened the scientific investigation of Bennu’s active particle ejection phenomena. Coralie is currently the Deputy Navigation Chief on NASA’s Lucy mission to the Jupiter Trojan asteroids, as well as supporting several commercial and government exploration initiatives to the moon and beyond.

Friday, March 21 to Sunday, March 23

9to5: The Story of a Movement, watch the award-winning documentary from the comfort of your home! The documentary highlights the creation of the 9to5 movement, established to fight for workplace equity and against wage discrepancy and was the basis for the feature film, 9 to 5, starring Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin. 

In the early 1970s, secretaries in Boston decided to fight against humiliating, harassing, and illegal work environments. Their movement became national and is a largely forgotten story of U.S. twentieth-century history. Director Julia Reichert was an Academy Award and Emmy Award winning documentarian.

Thursday, April 10 at 7 PM CDT

Alexis Nikole Nelson is a forager and an outdoor educator using her platforms, TikTok account alexisnikole and Instagram page blackforager, to celebrate all the edible plants hiding in plain sight. She peels back historical layers on African American and Indigenous food traditions that have traditionally been repressed and empowers those living in food deserts with greater self- sufficiency.

Nelson received the James Beard Award for “Best Social Media” 2022, was chosen for the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and as a TikTok Tastemaker, and was honored as part of Fortune Magazine’s Creator 25 in 2021. Nelson gave a TED Talk in 2022 and in 2023 joined the YouTube channel Crash Course to host a 15-episode botany series.

Alexis Nikole Nelson will be joined in conversation with Natalie Evans, a wild edible foods instructor.

Saturday, May 3 at 2 PM CDT

Dan Santat is the author and illustrator of over a hundred books for young people. Many of his books are New York Times-bestsellers, including The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, Are We There Yet?, and After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again). His latest works include the best-selling graphic novels, The Aquanaut and A First Time for Everything.

Santat won the Caldecott Medal for most distinguished picture book in 2015, the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2023, and Golden Kite Award for Middle Grade Fiction in 2024.

Tuesday, May 13 at 7 PM CDT

Matthew Desmond is a professor of sociology at Princeton University and author of the award-winning book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. Desmond’s research focuses on poverty in the United States, city life, housing insecurity, public policy, racial inequality, and ethnography. 

Desmond is the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and was listed in 2016 among the Politico 50, as one of “fifty people across the country who are most influencing the national political debate.”

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with Illinois Libraries Present and Erika L. Sánchez, award-winning author of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. She will be joined in conversation by Cythia Pelayo.

Sánchez is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. Her debut poetry collection, Lessons on Expulsion, was a finalist for the PEN America Open Book Award. Her debut young adult novel, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, was a New York Times bestseller, National Book Award finalist, and Tomás Rivera Award winner. Recognized by Time as one of the best YA novels of all time, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter has also been adapted for the stage at Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago and is being made into a film directed by America Ferrera.

Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a Kirkus Award winner, a UK Carnegie Medal winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, an Odyssey Award Winner and two-time honoree, the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors, and the Margaret A. Edwards Award. 

He was also the 2020–2022 National Ambassador for Young People’s Litera48ture. His many books include All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely); When I Was the Greatest; The Boy in the Black Suit; Stamped; As Brave as You; For Every One; the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu); Look Both Ways; Stuntboy, in the Meantime; Ain’t Burned All the Bright (recipient of the Caldecott Honor) and My Name Is Jason. Mine Too. (both cowritten with Jason Griffin); and Long Way Down, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Honor. 

Chef Art Smith began his culinary journey with formal training at the Florida Culinary Institute and honed his skills working with top chefs in France. He became Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef for a decade, boosting his reputation as a top-tier chef. In 1997, he opened "Table Fifty-Two" in Chicago, known for its modern Southern dishes and locally sourced ingredients.

Smith is also a prolific cookbook author and TV personality, sharing his passion for Southern cuisine. He expanded his culinary empire with "Homecomin' Florida Kitchen" at Walt Disney World Resort and "Reunion" at Chicago's Navy Pier. Smith's work celebrates Southern flavors, inclusivity, and culinary innovation.

Raina Telgemeier is the author and illustrator of the graphic novels Smile, Drama, Sisters, Ghosts, and Guts, all #1 New York Times bestsellers. She also adapted and illustrated four graphic novel versions of Ann M. Martin’s Baby-Sitters Club series, and has contributed short stories to many anthologies. Raina’s accolades include six Eisner Awards, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, a Stonewall Honor, and many Best-of and Notables lists.

A critically acclaimed comics artist, Raina Telgemeier grew up in San Francisco, then moved to New York City, where she earned an illustration degree at the School of Visual Arts. Now, Raina lives and works in San Francisco, CA.

Children's Librarian Genevieve Grove will join Raina in conversation. 

Enjoy this Broadway HD, pre-recorded, virtual showing of Louisa May Alcott’s classic story of four sisters growing up in 19th-century Massachusetts. This Broadway musical premiered in London in this acclaimed production at Park Theatre in 2022.  The musical can be viewed Friday, December 20, through Sunday, December 22. Registrants will receive an email with a special link to the performance.

Directed by Bronagh Lagan with music by Grammy Award-winner Jason Howland, this high-energy show is filled with charm. With standout performances by Lydia White as Jo March and Anastasia Martin as younger sister Beth, this musical is sure to be a hit for all ages.