Printers Row Lit Fest 2025

As I was reviewing today’s post, I realized that today marks my 2nd year of blogging. I can’t believe it’s already been two years. I guess my trip to the Printers Row Lit Fest in Chicago, Illinois, on Saturday turned out to be my 2nd Blogniversary celebration. I didn’t plan it that way, but it worked out perfectly.

At this point, most of you are probably asking, “What is the Printers Row Lit Fest?” Well, I’m glad you asked.

“The Printers Row Lit Fest, the largest free outdoor literary showcase in the Midwest, is a community-based celebration for book lovers, presented by the not-for-profit Near South Planning Board.”1

It’s a celebration for book lovers like me—and wow, it was fun. Well, my kind of fun anyway.

This is a two-day event, but I decided to make it a one-day trip. To make things more interesting, I took the Amtrak train—it was cheaper and helped me avoid Chicago’s traffic nightmare.

I arrived at Chicago Union Station around 10:30 in the morning, and after a short walk, I was in book paradise. There were so many books, but I controlled myself and only brought home 11. Three of those were free, and really, who can say no to free books?

My stack of books

In addition to the thousands of books available from exhibitors, the event was jam-packed with programs where authors gave talks and engaged with the public across six stages throughout the area.

Books 🙂

I attended three talks: a poetry hour featuring poets Helene Achanzar, Virginia Bell, Marcy Rae Henry, and Daniel Lassell; an hour with Pulitzer Prize-winner Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black, who discussed her book Combee: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War; and finally, a discussion titled Democracy at Stake: Lies, Disinformation, and the Fight for Truth, featuring Pulitzer Prize-winner Bill Adair and law professor Barbara McQuade.

I really enjoyed these talks, and the poets were outstanding. Below are links to their poems:

Poetry Hour – Marcy Rae Henry reading one of her poems

Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black’s talk was fascinating, and it led me to purchase her book. According to Oxford University Press, the book provides:

“First detailed account of one of the most dramatic episodes of the Civil War, and the central part Harriet Tubman played in it, uses more than 175 US Civil War pension files of the regiments of Second South Carolina Volunteers, including Tubman’s, never used before, and it’s based on original documentation and written by a descendent of the enslaved men and women who fought in the raid, and in the process liberated themselves.”2

While eating lunch, I saw the mural below and took a picture. Of course, I did a quick search and found that the mural was commissioned to honor “Loop workers” in Chicago. “Loop workers” refers to individuals employed in the city’s Loop, the central business district, which is home to numerous industries such as finance, law, and technology. You can read more about the mural here.

Mural honoring the Loop workforce in Chicago

The last talk focused on disinformation, a subject that interests me greatly. Of the two speakers, Barbara McQuade stood out to me the most. Her message was clear and precise. I also liked what she said about the use of “disinformation” instead of “lying.” Disinformation often contains traces of truth embedded in a distorted message, with the intent to divide and create chaos.

I’m really looking forward to reading her book, How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America: Attack from Within. She signed my copy and wrote, “Truth Matters,” and I couldn’t agree with her more.

Overall, I had a wonderful day exploring books, listening to amazing speakers, and engaging with them. I will definitely return next year—God willing.

On my way to the train station
  1. https://printersrowlitfest.org/faq/ ↩︎
  2. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/combee-9780197552797?cc=us&lang=en&# ↩︎

92 thoughts on “Printers Row Lit Fest 2025”

  7. From my recent and lamented position on our society’s less savory margins I can testify that much of the way that scene actually is has been fomented by obvious disinformation experts. The level of deliberate admixture of truth and falsehood among us right now on every level is Eiffel Tower high.

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    1. Great city. I like going there. I need to start going to some of the games to feel like a true Illinoisan. Selecting books is always hard, especially in a venue like this one, but I had a great time. Thank you, Mel.

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  12. It’s fun when things line up that way. Congratulations on your two-year blog anniversary! I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey, Edward. It’s been great meeting you along the way. The Lit Fest you’ve highlighted reminds me of the Tucson Festival of Books. Great fun!

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    1. Thank you so much, Michele. Blogging has been such an awesome experience, and getting to know you, Cindy, Rebecca, Melissa, and so many others has really been the highlight of this journey. I truly enjoy interacting with my WP community every week, and I hope to keep doing it for years to come. Being surrounded by books is such a joy, and I know we have that in common. Thanks again, my friend. 🙏🏼

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  17. Add me to the list of folks who say this is their kind of event! 📖📚 Can’t beat free or low cost books and it looks like you found some great titles. Happy 2nd Blogniversary! Looking forward to more of your informational and insightful posts.

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  21. It sounds like a day well spent, Edward. I look forward to reading your book reviews. And I agree, “disinformation” is much more dangerous than “lying.” Thank you, my friend, for including us in your “kind of fun” (my kind of fun too!), and Happy 2nd Blogniversary. A milestone of relevant and interesting content 💎 With appreciation, sending light and blessings your way and wishing you a peaceful day 🙏✨

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  23. Congratulations on your 2nd blogiversary! 🎉 What a wonderful way to celebrate—with books, inspiring talks, and a community of fellow book lovers. The Printers Row Lit Fest sounds like such a vibrant experience, and I love how you captured both the joy of discovering new reads and the deeper reflections from the sessions you attended. Wishing you many more years of blogging and many more book-filled adventures ahead! 📚✨

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  24. Wow – this sounds like a great event. I was thinking as I read that it was too bad that Vicki wasn’t there this year because she was there last year. But it sounds like you already have a meet-up planned for 2026. How fun!

    Nice book stack!

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  31. Kudos on attending this event and indulging your love for books and learning Edward. I love to read, but mostly fiction at this point.With all the disinformation, it’s hard to know what to trust. Did the talk give pointers on how to discern truth from disinformation?

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    1. Thank you, Brad. They gave a few recommendations. One was to check sources. She gave an example of something she read on social media about Patrick Mahomes demanding that the Chiefs change their team name. The website seemed legitimate, and people were reposting the information that supposedly came from “SportsCenter,” but a closer look revealed the issue. It wasn’t “SportsCenter” but “SportsCenler.” Such a small change led to all kinds of confusion.

      The other author said that we should read more news and fewer opinion pieces, and that we should at least read one opposing view to better understand the other side and cross-check information.

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  33. To say one more word about disinformation, German intellectuals like Hannah Arendt and others (like George Orwell) have said that the intent of lies (of which there are many) and disinformation have the goal of disabling the human capacity to distinguish truth from these fictions. Once that is accomplished, the disabled person is incapable of action.

    Thanks for raising this topic, Edward.

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    1. There was a lengthy discussion about disinformation and lying. In a sense, they’re about the same, but when focusing on the role of foreign actors, or on how it is being used in the political arena in this country to create division or doubt, then there is a difference. Lying is pretty easy to catch, while disinformation is a bit harder.

      I had a great time, and now I have a stack of 25 books to read. 🤦🏻‍♂️

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  36. glad you had fun Edward! books are a treasure and any event uplifting their cultural value is an event that everyone should attend. thanks for taking us along! Mike

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