Chicago Public Library is proud to announce Teen Lit Night: Unbound, opens a new window, a first-ever event of its kind at CPL, inviting teens and young adults to experience reading in new ways through music, art and author conversations. The debut event will take place Friday, September 19, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Winter Garden at Harold Washington Library Center. Teen Lit Night: Unbound is one of the many ways that CPL engages teens through programs that foster creativity, confidence and real-word readiness.
“Teen Lit Night: Unbound is part of The 81 Club, our landmark partnership with Chicago Public Schools that gives every student a library home,” said CPL Commissioner Chris Brown. “As Chicago’s safe out-of-school time space, CPL champions reading through book clubs and our Best of the Best lists, builds real-world readiness with internships and sparks creativity through YOUmedia. In every neighborhood, teens can count on their library as a safe, welcoming place to grow.”
At Teen Lit Night: Unbound, young adults ages 13 to 22 will immerse themselves in an evening that celebrates teen literature, art and culture. Attendees will meet and hear from award-winning authors K. Ancrum (Icarus, The Wicker King, and The Corruption of Hollis Brown) and Jamia Wilson (Make Good Trouble, A Year of Black Joy and Young, Gifted and Black) while enjoying book-inspired mocktails. The night will also feature live music, including a silent disco party with Mo MAMI, lo-fi beats with Backpack Beatz and custom swag created for the event by artist Clue Chicago.
Teens will also be able to build their own home library with free books including works by Ancrum and Wilson as well as Brownstown by Samuel Teer and Mar Julia, Twenty-Four Seconds from Now… by Jason Reynolds and Shut Up, This Is Serious by Caroline Ixta.
"Providing safe, positive and community-oriented opportunities for our young people is at the core of our vision for our city," said Mayor Brandon Johnson. "Events like Teen Lit Night are the spark that can ignite a lifelong love for reading and art. Through events like this, CPL continues to find new ways to support and enrich our city's young people."
Planned in part by students in CPL’s School Year Internship, opens a new window program, the event reflects the Library’s commitment to co-creating with youth. Through these paid internship programs, teens gain professional and creative skills while working alongside Library staff. Applications for 2026 internships are open from October 13 through November 2. Teens can also explore YOUmedia, an innovative digital learning space throughout CPL locations where they can build skills in digital media, STEM and hands-on art making. In 2024, YOUmedia and other teen spaces across all CPL locations recorded nearly 40,000 visits.
CPL also offers several reading programs like Real Ones Read, opens a new window, a literacy and dialogue-based book club funded by the Urban Libraries Council, and The 81 Club, opens a new window, which provides all students access to CPL resources.
Teen Lit Night: Unbound is free and open to ages 13 to 22. To learn more and RSVP, visit chipublib.org/unbound, opens a new window. For other events and resources for teens, visit chipublib.org/teens, opens a new window.
Teen Lit Night: Unbound is made possible by BMO, Allstate Exelon, Peoples Gas, Norfolk Southern and other generous donors to the Chicago Public Library Foundation. To learn more about how the Foundation supports the Library’s mission and offerings, visit cplfoundation.org.