The Newberry Library will honor Jonathan Franzen, widely acclaimed author and winner of the National Book Award, with its annual Newberry Library Award in recognition of Franzen's achievement in the humanities. The award celebration will take place on Friday, April 10, 2026, at the Drake Hotel, 140 East Walton Place, Chicago.
“Through his novels and essays, Jonathan Franzen has illuminated contemporary American life with beautiful, witty prose. His translations further bridge cultures to expand our understanding of the humanities,” said Astrida Orle Tantillo, the Newberry's President and Librarian. “We are thrilled to present this award to Franzen.”
The Newberry Library Award is presented annually to recognize achievement in the humanities in the tradition of the Newberry, which has cultivated the life of the mind since its founding in 1887. Past recipients include filmmaker and scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., filmmaker Ken Burns; Ira Glass and This American Life; Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; and Carla Hayden, 14th Librarian of Congress, among others.
Franzen’s 2001 work, The Corrections, currently ranks as the #2 novel on the New York Times Book Review’s “100 Best Books of the 21st Century.” His follow-up novel, Freedom, has been called “a masterpiece of American fiction,” winning the John Gardner Prize and the Heartland Prize for fiction and chosen as one of the New York Times “10 Best Books of 2010.” The 2021 work, Crossroads, is the first in an expected trilogy centered on a fictional small town in Illinois.
In addition to his six novels, Franzen is the author of four works of nonfiction, including the bestselling How to Be Alone, the memoir The Discomfort Zone, and, most recently, The End of the End of the Earth. He has translated multiple works from the original German, including Spring Awakening, by Frank Wedekind; The Kraus Project; and Thomas Brussig’s comic novel The Short End of the Sonnenallee. His short stories and essays, including political journalism, have most recently appeared in The New Yorker, The Guardian, and National Geographic. Franzen was also executive producer of a feature documentary, Emptying the Skies, about the struggle to save songbirds from illegal hunting in Europe; the film is based on his New Yorker essay of the same name.
The April 10 event begins at 5pm and includes a cocktail reception, dinner, and an appearance by Franzen, who will join Tantillo for a conversation on stage. Tickets for the award celebration may be purchased on our website. All proceeds from the event support the Newberry’s collection and programs.