Writers on Writing: Justin Torres and Rebecca Makkai

This program will be held in-person at the Newberry. Please register below.

Award-winning author, Justin Torres (We the Animals, Blackouts) and Rebecca Makkai will discuss Torres’ career as an author with a focus on the craft of writing.

Writers on Writing is presented in partnership with StoryStudio Chicago. Perfect for readers and writers alike, these talks celebrate one author's work—a glimpse behind the creative curtain, a chance to ask questions, and an opportunity to celebrate the art of the written word.

Recent books by both authors will be available to purchase at the Newberry bookshop, and the authors will sign copies after the talk.

Speakers

Justin Torres is the author of Blackouts, which won the National Book Award for Fiction and the California Book Award, and was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Lambda Literary award, the Inside Literary Prize, and the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction. A 2025 Berlin Prize Fellow at the American Academy, he’s also received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard, and the New York Public Library’s Cullman Center. His first novel, We the Animals was a national bestseller and adapted into a feature film. He lives in Los Angeles, and is a professor of English at UCLA.

Rebecca Makkai is the Chicago-based author of the novels The Great Believers, a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, The Hundred-Year House, and The Borrower. Her latest novel, I Have Some Questions for You, was released in February 2023 and was an instant New York Times bestseller. She is on the MFA faculties of Sierra Nevada College and Northwestern University and is Artistic Director of StoryStudio Chicago.

Cost and Registration

This program is free and open to all. Advance registration required.

Registration opens September 1.

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Past Public Programs

Check out video recordings of past Newberry public programs on our YouTube channel.