Best bets at Printers Row Lit Fest Chicago 2024

Hundreds of writers will present more than 75 talks across seven stages this weekend at the annual Printers Row Lit Fest.

Why it matters: The festival offers one of the best free literary events of the year, showcasing big ideas and national literary giants as well as Chicago authors, booksellers and publishers.

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The big headliner: Former U.S. Poet Laureate and Harold Washington Literary Award winner Tracy K. Smith will give this year's keynote address at 11:15am Saturday on the Feinberg Foundation Stage.

Zoom in: To help you decide which other events to check out, we've combed through the schedule to pick out talks that intrigue us most.

Monica interviews and cooks with Kevin Pang from his "A Very Chinese Cookbook" at the Hideout. Photo: Courtesy of Colin McMahon

🥟 Monica's picks: I'm catching Kevin Pang discussing his "A Very Chinese Cookbook" at 1pm Saturday on the Center Stage. He's talking to China-Latina writer Ximena N. Beltran Quan Kiu.

• Yohance Lacour, Sara Geis, Bill Healy and Erisa Apantaku will talk about their Pulitzer Prize-winning podcast "You Didn't See Nothin" based on white teenagers beating Lenard Clark in 1997. That's at 2pm Sunday on the Center Stage.

💸 Carrie's picks: I want to see Daniel Schulman discuss his book "The Money Kings: The Epic Story of the Jewish Immigrants Who Transformed Wall Street and Shaped Modern America" with longtime Chicago journalist and author Ethan Michaeli at 5pm Saturday on the Plymouth Court Stage.

• Journalist Joan Esposito will sit down with Gordon Mantler, Dick Simpson and Laura Washington to talk about Chicago's modern mayors at 11am Sunday at the Feinberg Foundation Stage.

🕵🏻‍♀️ Justin's pick: How could I pass up hearing Sara Paretzky talk? Great panel about mystery writing with some of the best women authors working today. Saturday at 10am on the North Stage.

• Also, Rick Kogan talking about legendary columnist Mike Royko at 12:30pm at the Plymouth Court Stage? My Saturday is booked.