Books

We Found Your Next Vacay: The American Writers Museum

Officially opening Tuesday in downtown Chicago, the American Writers Museum is your next vacation destination. For just $12, you can gain access to the only museum designed to celebrate the achievements of U.S. writers, and find a boatload of information about writer museums convenient to you.

In the U.S., most author museums dedicate themselves to individual writers. Never before has a single institution devoted itself to all American authors. The American Writers Museum has been in development since 2009, when the American Writers Museum Foundation became "a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation to establish an American writers museum."

Located a short walk away from Chicago's Millennium Park, the American Writers Museum features a massive corridor exhibit called John and Cathie Estey: A Nation of Writers, which contains an 85-foot timeline of 100 authors who have shaped American letters; an interactive installation that allows museumgoers to engage with a variety of literature through video, sound, and smell; and a Word Waterfall that "combines a dynamic animation of words, accompanying imagery, and a soundscape."

Other permanent exhibits include The S. Leigh Pierson and Douglas R. Conant Readers Hall, where visitors can rank their favorite books and create custom bookmarks; The Mind of a Writer, which invites museumgoers to write their own stories for the exhibit's story wall; and the Wintrust Chicago Gallery, dedicated to the American Writers Museum's local literary scene.

Stay up to date on all the latest events at the American Writers Museum by following it on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.