The Newberry Library and The Pattis Family Foundation are now accepting nominations for The Pattis Family Foundation Chicago Book Award. The award, which was inaugurated in July of 2022, celebrates published works that transform public understanding of Chicago, its history, and its people.
Authors, publishers, or members of the public can nominate a book for the 2027 award through a form on the Newberry’s website. The review panel considers work by writers working in a variety of genres, including history, biography, social sciences, poetry, drama, graphic novels, and fiction. Titles must be available for purchase by the public in either hardcover or bound paperback form and must bear a copyright of 2025 or 2026 to be eligible for the 2027 prize. Nominations close on January 17, 2027.
Past Pattis Chicago Book Award winners
2026 - Dominic A. Pacyga, Clout City: The Rise and Fall of the Chicago Political Machine
2025 - Scott W. Berg, The Burning of the World: The Great Chicago Fire and the War for a City’s Soul
2024 - Thomas Leslie, Chicago Skyscrapers 1934-1986: How Technology, Politics, Finance, & Race Reshaped the City
2023 - Toya Wolfe, Last Summer on State Street
2022 - Dawn Turner, Three Girls from Bronzeville
The 2027 Pattis Family Foundation Chicago Book Award will be presented at a free public event in September 2027.
Learn More and Submit a Nomination