BookNest in Chicago
Our central time author desk. It is --:-- in Chicago right now, and 173+ readers here are in the listening room. Chicago is one of 9 hubs across 68 countries.
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Niah Bach on Harbinger
Our next Author Spotlight is recorded on Chicago time: Monday, October 5, 2026 at 11:00 AM Central. The countdown below runs on the same clock as this desk.
Chicago dispatch
Where Poetry magazine still lives
Poetry magazine was founded in Chicago in 1912 by Harriet Monroe and published early work by poets who went on to define the century. Its home, the Poetry Foundation in River North, keeps a free poetry library and reading room open to anyone who wants to sit with a book for an hour.
The American Writers Museum opened in the city in 2017 as the first museum in the United States devoted to American writers, and the Seminary Co-op in Hyde Park is a not for profit bookstore whose stated mission is bookselling itself. This is the desk our next Author Spotlight runs on: Niah Bach records on Central time.
Reading life in Chicago
The festivals, libraries, bookshops and publishers our listeners in Chicago actually walk into. Every one of them is a real, working institution.
Museum
American Writers Museum
The first museum in the United States devoted to American writers and their influence on the nation's story.
VisitLibrary
Poetry Foundation
Home of Poetry magazine, with a free poetry library and reading room in River North.
VisitBookshop
Seminary Co-op Bookstores
A Hyde Park institution, designated the first not for profit bookstore whose mission is bookselling itself.
VisitFestival
Chicago Humanities Festival
Year round talks and author events bringing writers and thinkers to stages across the city.
VisitPlaying in Chicago
Sessions from the BookNest listening room, ready to play at this desk.
Crime Desk · 55 min
A Scandal in Bohemia
Arthur Conan Doyle
Open the listening roomClassics · 18 min
Pride and Prejudice, opening chapters
Jane Austen
Open the listening roomLiterary Fiction · 44 min
Heart of Darkness, part one
Joseph Conrad
Open the listening roomGothic · 33 min
Dracula, chapter one
Bram Stoker
Open the listening roomShort Fiction · 14 min
Twelve Creepy Tales, opening story
Edgar Allan Poe
Open the listening roomAdventure · 24 min
The Call of the Wild, part one
Jack London
Open the listening roomPresented by
Niphie Debaî
Author Spotlight interviews
Amara Okoye
The Book Talk, literary discussions
Daniel Mbeki
Author Spotlight, second chair