Mark and Lisa Pattis teamed up with the Newberry in 2021 to create a new book award to honor works that transform public understanding of Chicago. Self-described voracious readers, they established The Pattis Family Foundation Chicago Book Award to recognize works across genres including history, biography, social sciences, poetry, drama, graphic novels, and fiction--all relating to Chicago. The award is now in its fourth year, and on Saturday, September 20, it will recognize Scott W. Berg for The Burning of the World: The Great Chicago Fire and the War for a City’s Soul.
Mark and Lisa recently joined WGN's Spotlight Chicago to talk about the award and the associated public event, Chicago Storytelling, that takes place on the 20th. Also being honored are Larry A. McClellan, author of Onward to Chicago: Freedom Seekers and the Underground Railroad in Northeastern Illinois, and Sandra Steinbrecher and The Salt Shed: The Transformation of a Chicago Landmark.
Chicago Storytelling is free and open to the public, available in-person and online. Click here to register..
Watch the clip