Jason Reynolds at 2023 W.O.W. Literary Festival

Join us for the second annual Words of Wonder (W.O.W.) Literary Festival, featuring Jason Reynolds as the headliner! Reynolds will be reading at 2 PM followed by Q&A moderated by Dr. Eve L. Ewing.

W.O.W.Literary Fest is a celebration of books-to-be-written and books-to-be-read. The festival will take place on July 29 from 11 AM-5 PM at Dr. Conrad Worrill Track and Field Center at Gately Park on Chicago’s South Side, featuring:

• Interactive literacy and art programming,
• Opportunities for youth and families to connect with community resources,
• Animated storytelling by Black authors and illustrators,
• A diverse group of book vendors and installations for all ages,
• Story-based dance,
• Interactive writing workshops,
• Indigenous and African style drumming,
• Awide range of live music,
• Healthy food and snacks,
• Giveaways, and much more!

Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen books for young people, including Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks; All American Boys, with Brendan Kiely; Long Way Down;Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, with Ibram X. Kendi; Stuntboy; In the Meantime, illustrated by Raúl the Third; and Ain’t Burned All the Bright, with artwork by Jason Griffin. He is the recipient of a Newbery Honor, Printz Honor, NAACP Image Award, and multiple Coretta Scott King honors. Reynolds served as the 2020-2022 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and is the recipient of the 2023 Margaret A. Edwards Award. He has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Late Night with Seth Meyers, CBS This Morning, and Good Morning America. He is on faculty at Lesley University’s Writing for Young People MFA program and lives in Washington, DC. You can find his ramblings and learn more about him at JasonWritesBooks.com.

Dr. Eve L. Ewing is a writer, scholar, and cultural organizer from Chicago. She is the award-winning author of four books: the poetry collections Electric Arches and 1919, the nonfiction work Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings on Chicago's South Side, and a novel for young readers, Maya and the Robot. She is the co-author, with Nate Marshall,of the play No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks. She has written several projects for Marvel Comics, most notably the Ironheart series, and is currently writing Black Panther. Ewing is an associate professor in the Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity at the University of Chicago. Her work has been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and many other venues. Currently she is working on her next book, Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism, which will be published by One World. 

Sponsored by a Chicago Presents grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and hosted by Burst Into Books, this event is free of charge and open to the public.