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Page 1: VISITOR EXPERIENCE

V I S I T O R E X P E R I E N C E

Page 2: VISITOR EXPERIENCE

CHRIS ABANI EDWARD ABBEY ABIGAIL ADAMS HENRY ADAMS JOHN ADAMS LÉONIE ADAMS JANE ADDAMS RENATA ADLER JAMES AGEE CONRAD AIKEN

DANIEL ALARCÓN EDWARD ALBEE LOUISA MAY ALCOTT SHERMAN ALEXIE HORATIO ALGER JR. NELSON ALGREN ISABEL ALLENDE DOROTHY ALLISON JULIA

ALVAREZ A .R. AMMONS RUDOLFO ANAYA SHERWOOD ANDERSON MAYA ANGELOU JOHN ASHBERY ISAAC ASIMOV JOHN JAMES AUDUBON JOSEPH AUSLANDER

PAUL AUSTER MARY AUSTIN JAMES BALDWIN TONI CADE BAMBARA AMIRI BARAKA ANDREA BARRETT JOHN BARTH DONALD BARTHELME WILLIAM BARTRAM

KATHARINE LEE BATES L . FRANK BAUM ANN BEATTIE HARRIET BEECHER STOWE SAUL BELLOW AMBROSE BIERCE ELIZABETH BISHOP HAROLD BLOOM JUDY

BLUME LOUISE BOGAN JANE BOWLES PAUL BOWLES T. C . BOYLE RAY BRADBURY WILLIAM BRADFORD ANNE BRADSTREET NORMAN BRIDWELL JOSEPH

BRODSKY LOUIS BROMFIELD GERALDINE BROOKS GWENDOLYN BROOKS CHARLES BROCKDEN BROWN DEE BROWN MARGARET WISE BROWN STERLING A.

BROWN WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT PEARL S. BUCK EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS OCTAVIA BUTLER ROBERT OLEN BUTLER TRUMAN

CAPOTE ERIC CARLE RACHEL CARSON RAYMOND CARVER JOHN CASEY ANA CASTILLO WILLA CATHER MICHAEL CHABON RAYMOND CHANDLER JOHN

CHEEVER MARY CHESNUT CHARLES W. CHESNUTT KATE CHOPIN SANDRA CISNEROS BEVERLY CLEARY BILLY COLLINS INA COOLBRITH JAMES FENIMORE

COOPER HART CRANE STEPHEN CRANE ROBERT CREELEY VÍCTOR HERNÁNDEZ CRUZ COUNTEE CULLEN E.E. CUMMINGS MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM RICHARD

HENRY DANA JR. EDWIDGE DANTICAT REBECCA HARDING DAVIS HAROLD L. DAVIS SAMUEL R. DELANY DON DELILLO TOMIE DEPAOLA PETE DEXTER JUNOT

DÍAZ PHILIP K . DICK JAMES DICKEY EMILY DICKINSON JOAN DIDION ANNIE DILLARD W.S. DI PIERO E.L . DOCTOROW IVAN DOIG H.D. (HILDA DOOLITTLE)

JOHN DOS PASSOS FREDERICK DOUGLASS THEODORE DREISER ALLEN DRURY W.E.B. DUBOIS ANDRE DUBUS II PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR STEPHEN DUNN

RICHARD EBERHART JONATHAN EDWARDS JENNIFER EGAN LOREN EISELEY T.S . ELIOT RALPH ELLISON RALPH WALDO EMERSON LOUISE ERDRICH MARTIN

ESPADA JEFFREY EUGENIDES JAMES T. FARRELL WILLIAM FAULKNER EDNA FERBER F. SCOTT FITZGERALD ROBERT FITZGERALD LOUISE FITZHUGH MARTIN

FLAVIN JOHN GOULD FLETCHER HORTON FOOTE JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER ESTHER FORBES RICHARD FORD BENJAMIN FRANKLIN JONATHAN FRANZEN

CHARLES FRAZIER IAN FRAZIER BETTY FRIEDAN ROBERT FROST WILLIAM GADDIS ERNEST J. GAINES RUTH STILES GANNETT CRISTINA GARCIA WILLIAM

GASS THEODORE SEUSS GEISEL ELLEN GILCHRIST CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN ALLEN GINSBERG ELLEN GLASGOW SUSAN GLASPELL JULIA GLASS LOUISE

GLÜCK WILIAM GOLDMAN PAUL GOODMAN JAIMY GORDON ULYSSES S . GRANT SHIRLEY ANN GRAU ZANE GREY JOHN GRISHAM DAVID GUTERSON

A .B. GUTHRIE JR. JESSICA HAGEDORN ALEX HALEY DONALD HALL ALEXANDER HAMILTON DASHIELL HAMMETT LORRAINE HANSBERRY PAUL HARDING

MICHAEL S. HARPER BRET HARTE NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE ROBERT HAYDEN SHIRLEY HAZZARD LAFCADIO HEARN ANTHONY HECHT LARRY HEINEMANN

JOSEPH HELLER LILLIAN HELLMAN ERNEST HEMINGWAY ALEKSANDAR HEMON PATRICK HENRY JOHN HERSEY JUAN FELIPE HERRERA OSCAR HIJUELOS

ROBERT HILLYER CHESTER HIMES EDWARD HIRSCH DANIEL HOFFMAN OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES KHALED HOSSEINI RICHARD HOWARD FANNY HOWE IRVING

HOWE JULIA WARD HOWE WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS LANGSTON HUGHES ZORA NEALE HURSTON JOHN IRVING WASHINGTON IRVING SHIRLEY JACKSON

HARRIET JACOBS JOSEPHINE JACOBSEN HENRY JAMES WILLIAM JAMES RANDALL JARRELL THOMAS JEFFERSON GISH JEN SARAH ORNE JEWETT HA JIN

ADAM JOHNSON CHARLES JOHNSON CROCKETT JOHNSON DENIS JOHNSON JAMES WELDON JOHNSON JOSEPHINE WINSLOW JOHNSON EDWARD P. JONES

JAMES JONES ERICA JONG NORTON JUSTER DONALD JUSTICE MACKINLAY KANTOR ALFRED KAZIN EZRA JACK KEATS WILLIAM KENNEDY JACK KEROUAC

KEN KESEY FRANCES PARKINSON KEYES TRACY KIDDER MARTIN LUTHER KING JR . STEPHEN KING BARBARA KINGSOLVER MAXINE HONG KINGSTON

JAMAICA KINCAID GALWAY KINNELL CAROLYN KIZER JOHN KNOWLES YUSEF KOMUNYAK AA E .L . KONIGSBURG JERZY KÓSINSKI ALEX KOTLOWITZ

Our Mission The mission of the American Writers Museum is to engage the public in celebrating American writers and exploring their influence on our history, our identity, our culture, and our daily lives.

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There’s a story that needs to be told: the story of the extraordinary men and women who have created the written works that have shaped our society since its inception and have both inspired and entertained us.

Welcome to the American Writers Museum, the first and only museum of its kind in the United States. Opening in Chicago in early 2017, this vibrant, interactive museum will celebrate the lives and works of America’s great writers, and their influence on our history and our culture.

• Permanent exhibits will feature your favorite works and tell the story of your favorite writers, whether they wrote non-fiction or fiction, plays or poetry.

• Special galleries will showcase exhibits and artifacts on loan from our nation’s historic writers’ homes, joining with our museum to tell the behind-the-scenes stories of our great writers.

• Diverse educational programs and special events will promote literacy and foster a love of reading and writing.

In the pages that follow, you can explore the concept design for the museum.

We invite you to join in the celebration.

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Amazon.com

CHAPTER 1. Loomings.

CALL ME ISHMAEL. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.

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Table of Contents

Visitor Experience

4 Where Will it Be? 6 Writers Hall 7 Writing Across America 8 American Identity 9 Surprise Bookshelf10 Word Waterfall11 Readers Hall12 The Mind of a Writer13 A Writer’s Room14 Featured Works15 Word Play16 Chicago: A City of Writers17 Children’s Gallery18 Changing Exhibits Gallery20 Advocates22 Curating Team23 National Advisory Council24 Affiliated Author Home Museums

Business Plan

28 Exhibit Floor Plan29 Attendance Projections30 Leadership32 Partners33 Financials36 Fundraising Plan 37 Your Opportunity38 Naming Opportunities40 Project Strengths

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BuckinghamFountain

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CHICAGO SYMPHONY

CENTER

CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION

ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

MUSEUM SITE

NEARBY CULTURAL SITES

NEARBY HOTELS

CHICAGO CULTURAL CENTER

“ I enthusiastically support the efforts to place a national writers museum in Chicago. Such a museum will complement the rich offerings of the City’s theaters, museums, libraries and musical activities and adds significantly to Chicago’s vitality.”

– RAHM EMANUELMAYOR, THE CITY OF CHICAGO

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Where Will it Be?

AWM will be located in the heart of downtown Chicago on one of the busiest blocks of famed Michigan Avenue. Millennium Park, a magnet for Chicago residents and visitors from all over the world, is one block away. Other cultural attractions in the area include The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Symphony Center, Pritzker Military Museum and Library, and the Chicago Architectural Foundation. The theatre district lies two blocks to the west. The AWM will be just a short walk away from a number of Chicago’s major hotels.

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Writing Across America American Identity

Children’s Gallery

Writers Hall

The Mind of a WriterChicago: A City of Writers

Readers Hall

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What to See and Do:• Great writers come from all corners

of the country, including where you live. Enter your zip code to see a panoramic video display of writers, their works, their awards, and their inspirations from your hometown.

• Learn about the American Writers Museum’s broad network of author-home museum affiliates.

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Writers Hall

Step into Writers Hall and experience your first AWM surprise: a face-to-face encounter with a writer from your hometown.

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Mark Twain in front of his boyhood home in Hannibal, Missouri.

Map of Affiliated Author Home Museums

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What to See and Do:• Go on literary journeys—with Kerouac

and Steinbeck and other iconic American writers.

• “Travel” to places where writers lived.• Visit famous literary sites—“Tara”

and “Cannery Row,” or “The House of the Seven Gables,” among others.

Writing Across America

A giant interactive map of the United States allows you to explore animated stories showing how American writing encompasses every region of the country.

The Ozarks of Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath,” illustrated by Thomas Hart Benton.

The American prairie – illustrated by Garth Williams in the ‘Little House’ books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

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American Identity

American Identity chronicles American literature from the early Native American oral traditions up to the explosion of voices of the 20th century.

What to See and Do:• The 60-foot-long multilayered

exhibit wall takes you on a journey through the literary history of the United States.

• Explore literary movements, authors and their works over time—discover the poems of Anne Bradstreet of Colonial America to writers like Emerson, Melville, Whitman, and Poe who helped declare America’s literary independence.

• Test your knowledge to determine if a featured piece of writing helped create an American voice, identity or genre. Your on-screen selections trigger a wide range of lighting and audio effects.

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Touch the spear to activate video of a “Nantucket Sleigh Ride.”

Spin the zoetrope to see Harold and his crayon in action.

Push the button to hear Kurt Vonnegut reading an excerpt.

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Surprise Bookshelf

Surprise and discovery reign here. Each of the 200 individual works of American writing is interpreted in a unique interactive that includes an assortment of audio, video, dioramas and colorful back-lit graphics.

What to See and Do:• Hidden windows can be opened, slid,

spun, or twisted to expose dioramas, audio and video programs, and unexpected interactive elements.

• Discover hundreds of “great works” of American writing.

• Find the diorama of a children’s picture book or a clip from the Hollywood version of a famous book.

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Word Waterfall

Magic happens here. Words float down and assemble in interesting and memorable ways.

What to See and Do:• From a distance, you will be

enchanted by an evocatively lit, floor-to-ceiling waterfall of words.

• Up close, watch words assemble themselves in stanzas or paragraphs.

• Choose a work to be displayed on the “waterfall.”

The presentation may combine dynamic animation of words from featured works, accompanying imagery (photography, art, video) and a soundscape. In contrast to the highly interactive, content-rich American Identity and Surprise Bookshelf experiences, Word Waterfall is contemplative and meditative.

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Readers Hall

This is the museum’s primary gathering and multipurpose space. It offers flexible seating and viewing configurations for films, talks, readings, and other events and programs. Readers Hall also offers interpretive exhibits and iconic artifacts celebrating the role of the reader and writer in American literature.

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What to See and Do:• Discover the reading habits of our

ancestors through the books they had on their shelves.

• Learn about the social, cultural and technological developments that influenced written works.

• Explore “top ten” lists using a dynamic data mapping diagram.

• Choose your Favorites. Post them and compare your choices with those of other visitors. Access your selections on-line and on-site through an AWM app

• Use a typewriter or notepad to compose a Fan Letter to a writer (dead or living) who has inspired you.

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The Mind of a Writer

Could you be a great writer? In this gallery explore what it takes to produce a masterwork in four distinct exhibit areas: Story of the Day, A Writers Room, Anatomy of a Masterwork and Word Play.

What to See and Do:• A roll of paper stretches from the

ceiling to an easel, providing the medium for a story. Every day, AWM staff will write a great line from an American masterwork on the paper and let visitors continue the story.

• Write the next line or two to continue the story.

• Visit the AWM website or on-site kiosk to view complete stories written by visitors on other days.

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What to See and Do:• Touch the “desktop” to select an

author.• Watch the room transform with

changes in lighting, “outdoor” views, bookshelf components and desktop items.

• Select desktop items such as manuscripts, letters or inspirational works from others to explore.

• View the writer’s personal library.• Play “Are You a Vonnegut or a

Bukowski,” a game that asks questions about your lifestyle and work habits, then pairs you with writers with similar lifestyles.

A Writer’s Room

This semi-enclosed immersive space depicts the things that might have been part of a selected author’s writing environment.

William Faulkner

Mark Twain

Edith Wharton

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Draft page of Sylvia Plath’s “Stings” in the Plath Collection at Smith College.

Draft page of Robert Lowell’s “Epilogue”.

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Featured Works

Here a multi-user touch-table allows you to explore in depth 20 masterworks of American Literature.

What to See and Do:• View a long, multi-touch table loaded

with deep, relevant, and interrelated information related to a specific masterwork.

• Select a work to explore. Through a series of screens, choose to learn more about the work or the writer: discover influences, backstories, and biographical information.

• Learn about author-home affiliates related to Featured Works.

• Explore Great First Lines displayed on the blades of the horizontal window louvers. Try to guess the name of the work or the author that produced the line.

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What to See and Do:• Explore words made up by American

writers; invent new words and meanings in an interactive game. When San Francisco “Chronicle” columnist Herb Caen coined the word “Beatnik” he said it was because Russia had just launched Sputnik. Are hipsters the new beatniks? You can decide!

• Consider how careful word choice gives meaning to a sentence. Create sentences by adding and removing words to see how the meaning changes.

• Explore word choices and phrasing of great American writers; try to guess the name of the author.

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Word Play

Interactive tabletop consoles offer multiple games that encourage visitors to get creative with words.

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Chicago: A City of Writers

Here you will find compelling evidence for why the American Writers Museum is located in Chicago. As the “new American city,” Chicago eschewed tradition and “the old rules,” fostering literary experimentation that has had global impact.

Many great American writers of the 19th and 20th centuries worked in Chicago for a significant portion of their careers and in turn, the city inspired some of their greatest writing.

What to See and Do:• Explore classic works of Chicago

literature, such as Nelson Algren’s “Chicago: City on the Make,” through an interactive touchscreen.

• Explore Communities using an interactive map. Locate publishing houses, newspapers, libraries, bookstores, and other literary institutions in Chicago’s history.

• Explore tactile display objects relevant to the “communities” stories such as meeting announcements, brochures, leaflets, sample works, and group memorabilia.

• Discover favorite and new Chicago Stories in a touchscreen interactive that invites you to choose from a menu of stories about significant Chicago writers or writing-focused organizations.

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Children’s Gallery

Perhaps nothing is more important in the development of a child’s capabilities than his or her pleasure and skill in reading. Great American writers have created beloved children’s works of enduring power and characters who are an indelible part of the American imagination.Children’s literature will be featured throughout the museum and it will be showcased exclusively in the Children’s Gallery.

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Changing Exhibits Gallery

While the exhibits in the permanent gallery will have elements that can be readily updated, the AWM will host temporary exhibitions including those produced by the AWM and those on loan from partner organizations. These may include special artifacts, author-specific exhibits relating to special events or anniversaries, or program-specific exhibits on children’s literature or banned books.

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“ The American Writers Museum is a grand, highly worthy idea. I’m all for it. Imagine all there will be to work with and what a center of inspiration it will be! The importance of our novelists, poets, dramatists, writers from every part of the country, every kind of background, has been part of the American story for more than 300 years. Think of what we owe them and how much we continue to learn from them!”DAVID MCCULLOUGH, AUTHOR & HISTORIAN

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“ Here is a promise to create a museum in Chicago that will stimulate our young people to read, imagine, and write. Using interactive digital media, the American Writers Museum will bring to life the captivating stories of our great writers and explore their influence on our nation.”

– JAMES R. DONNELLEYCHAIRMAN EMERITUS, THE CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION

“ The essential literary experience, of course, takes place in silence inside a book, but why shouldn’t the abundant joy of American writing have its own museum, a physical place that readers can walk into and learn and marvel?“

– BILLY COLLINSU.S. POET LAUREATE, 2001-2003

“ Anyone invested in the cultural landscape of the United States would welcome an American Writers Museum—even those of us who believe that a picture might be worth a thousand words. A museum devoted to American literature would play a vital role in keeping the creative impulse alive in the national psyche.”

– DOUGLAS DRUICKPRESIDENT AND ELOISE W. MARTIN DIRECTOR, ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

“ This is such a great idea. Museums make history three dimensional, and museums bring people together into that three-dimensional space to learn about and celebrate that history. This is needed for American literary history—a communal space to celebrate our rich legacy of prose and poetry. And maybe I’m biased, but I think Chicago, home of Bellow, Brooks, and Terkel, is the perfect place for such a museum.”

– DAVE EGGERSAUTHOR, EDITOR, AND PUBLISHER

“ Our nation’s libraries are dynamic cultural centers which make America’s literary riches available to widely diverse audiences. A museum devoted to American authors is an exciting idea—one which we believe will be welcomed by librarians across the United States.”

– KEITH MICHAEL FIELSEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

“ How thrilling to imagine a museum dedicated to the great achievements of American literature. Such a museum would immediately become both a national center and a national symbol for creativity, education, and the highest aspirations of our culture.”

– DANA GIOIACHAIRMAN, NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS 2002-2009

“ The train line goes from Mississippi to Chicago. …The music informed the history; the stories followed the music. This museum is great!”

– NIKKI GIOVANNIPOET

“ American writers have produced some of the world’s great literature, essays and poetry, and it is time that their authors and their works be gathered and presented to the American people in a major cultural museum. The educational opportunities are endless, and I support the creation of the American Writers Museum with enthusiasm.”

– HENRY A. KISSINGERAUTHOR & FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE

“ Rooted in the private, individual pleasure of reading, there is a compelling excitement in learning more about America’s writers in the shared, public experience of a museum. It will be a place to meet one’s old friends—Twain, Dickinson, Frost—and make new acquaintances. What fun that will be.”

– RICHARD LARIVIEREPRESIDENT AND CEO THE FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

“ In a country established as an idea explicated in written documents and embellished by generations of poets, novelists, and critics, the case for commemorating the written word is self-evident. After all, what is written describes a people and what is celebrated defines their values.”

– JIM LEACHCHAIRMAN, THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES, 2009–2013

“ There is no better place than Chicago and no better time than now to bring to life the lives of the people who create magic and reality with words. The writers are the ones who help us laugh when we want to cry, think when we want to laugh. They are the keepers of our past, present and futures. Onward to the next page! Always to the next page!”

– JIM LEHRERAMERICAN JOURNALIST, NOVELIST, & FORMER EXECUTIVE EDITOR & NEWS ANCHOR FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR

“ The Iowa Writers’ Workshop at The University of Iowa pioneered the teaching of creative writing at the university level. There is a significant underlying principle here in Iowa: that the literary arts are for everyone at every age, in every walk of life. We believe an American Writers Museum would serve to keep alive our stories for generations to come.”

– SALLY MASONPRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF IOWA, 2007–2015

Advocates

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“ Those of us whose main task it is to instill within the museum visitors an active and probing interest in nature and culture can only respond to the plans of a writers museum: This is the right thing to do!”

– JOHN MCCARTER JR. CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF REGENTS SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

“ The idea of an American Writers Museum seems to me long overdue. The literate world has known and prized American writers since the generation of Emerson and Thoreau. Whitman and Emily Dickinson have influenced poets and readers in English and in translation into many languages. The great current continues, and a museum honoring and portraying American writing would be an honor to the suffering and vision from which our literature came.”

– W.S. MERWINU.S. POET LAUREATE, 2010–2011

“ What a brilliant idea, to establish an American Writers Museum! It is very fitting that this ambitious museum is Midwestern in its setting, and particularly in the great literary city of Chicago. Here is a project that will be both educational and thrilling, inspiring to all who love to read and to write. I am honored to be involved in this original enterprise and will be very intrigued by its development and the ways in which it will flourish.”

– JOYCE CAROL OATESAUTHOR

“ The American Writers Museum promises to be a vibrant cultural institution dedicated to preserving American literature in an entirely contemporary manner. PEN/Faulkner is pleased to endorse this exciting project.”

– PEN/FAULKNER FOUNDATION

“ A national museum, which would offer a chance to explore the richness and vitality of one of the world’s great cultural resources—the heritage of great American writing—is a remarkable idea and long overdue.”

– MAX RUDIN PUBLISHER, THE LIBRARY OF AMERICA

“ I love the idea of the American Writers Museum. The American project has been fueled since the beginning by impassioned writing, and the Museum would be a wonderful place for that history to be embodied and rediscovered….”

– GEORGE SAUNDERSAUTHOR

“ From its beginning in the 19th Century to the present day, Chicago has provided inspiration for renowned novelists, poets, journalists and essayists. Having the American Writers Museum here would be both appropriate and a wonderful addition to Chicago.”

– MORTON SCHAPIROPRESIDENT, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

“ How brilliant: An institution that will tell the stories of the people who tell us stories. The American Writers Museum promises narrative riches of every kind, in and well beyond its own walls. It is set to work some very powerful magic.”

– STACY SCHIFFAUTHOR AND NEW YORK TIMES GUEST COLUMNIST

“ I write to express my hearty and enthusiastic support for the American Writers Museum. The technological and economic revolution underway in the presentation and reception of the written word makes this an auspicious time for establishing an institution whose focus is on writers.”

– DAVID SPADAFORAPRESIDENT, THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY

“ Establishing a national institution that will celebrate American writing is an inspired idea. Through its programs, exhibitions, public readings, and film presentations, the museum will kindle a new appreciation of our literature and deepen our understanding of American writers.”

– THOMAS F. STALEYDIRECTOR, HARRY RANSOM CENTER UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, 1988–2013

“ Chicago, my home and birthplace, nurtured many of America’s greatest writers of the past: Dreiser, Farrell, Hemingway, Sandburg, Algren, Bellow, Brooks, and Terkel, to name a few. With so much of America’s literary heritage rooted here, it would be an ideal site of the American Writers Museum.”

– SCOTT F. TUROWAUTHOR

“ This exemplary project, to found a national museum devoted to celebrating the story of America through the tales and lives of its remarkable writers, is an idea that I suspect will prove as durable and as inspiring as Betsy Ross’s flag.”

– STEVE WASSERMANEDITOR AT LARGE, YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS

“ Our greatest writers contribute to the intellectual vitality of our country, and the American Writers Museum is an ambitious way in which to honor and recognize their contribution to scholarly inquiry and cultural expression. I welcome the potential to create such a museum both as a resource for research and engagement, as well as a symbol of literature’s lasting importance.”

– ROBERT J. ZIMMERPRESIDENT, THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

Advocates

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CONTENT LEADERSHIP TEAM

Elizabeth Alexander Thomas E. Donnelley Professor of African American Studies and American Studies, Yale University

Reginald Gibbons Francis Hooper Professor of Arts and Humanities, Northwestern University

Leonard MarcusAuthor, Critic, and Children’s Book Historian

Max RudinPublisher for Library of America

Donna SeamanSenior Editor, “Booklist,” American Library Association

Curating Team

SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS

Marie AranaBiographer, essayist, novelist, senior advisor to the librarian at the Library of Congress and former editor in chief of Book World section in The Washington Post

Michael CluneAssociate Professor of English Case Western Reserve University Robert Casper Head of the Poetry and Literature Center, Library of Congress

Maureen CorriganJournalist, Author, and Literary Critic, The Washington Post, NPR

Thomas DyjaAuthor

Shelley Fisher FishkinJoseph S. Atha Professor in Humanities Stanford University

Ed FolsomRoy J. Carver Professor of English, The University of Iowa Editor, Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, Director, Walt Whitman Archive

Sandra GilbertProfessor of English University of California, Davis

Jacqueline GoldsbyProfessor of English & African American Studies, Yale University

David KipenGetty/Annenberg Arts Fellow University of Southern California

Jill Lepore Author, New Yorker contributor, David Woods Kemper ‘41 Professor of American History and Harvard College Professor, Harvard University

Robert PolitoDirector, MFA Writing Program and Professor of Writing, The New School President, Poetry Foundation (2012–2015)

John RussickVice President for Interpretation and Education, Chicago History Museum

Carolyn SaperEducation Consultant Specializing in Children’s Literature and Curriculum

Werner SollorsHenry B. and Anne M. Cabot Professor of English Literature and Professor of African and African American Studies, Harvard University

Ilan StavansLewis-Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture, Amherst College

Ivy WilsonAssociate Professor of English and Director of American Studies,Northwestern University

Gary K. WolfeProfessor of Humanities, Roosevelt University

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AM ERIC AN WRITERS M US EU M OC TO B ER 2015 2 3

Nicholas A. BasbanesAuthor

Robert Casper Head of the Poetry and Literature Center Library of Congress

Michael W. CluneProfessor of English Case Western Reserve University

John Y. ColeDirector, Center for the Book Library of Congress

Patrick K. ColemanAcquisitions Librarian Minnesota Historical Society

Billy CollinsUnited States Poet Laureate (2001–2003)

Daniel DeSimoneCurator, Rosenwald Collection The Library of Congress

Ellen S. DunlapPresident, American Antiquarian Society

Stuart DybekPoet and Author

David W. FenzaExecutive Director Association of Writers & Writing Programs

Elliot FigmanExecutive Director Poets & Writers Foundation

Dr. Ed FolsomRoy J. Carver Professor of English The University of Iowa

Dr. Reginald GibbonsAuthor and Director, Center for the Writing Arts, Northwestern University

Nikki Giovanni Jr.Poet and Author

Daniel GreeneAdjunct Professor, Northwestern University Guest Curator, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Gary T. JohnsonPresident, Chicago History Museum

David KipenFormer Literature Director National Endowment for the Arts

Dr. Jeffrey LependorfExecutive Director, Council of Literary Magazines and Presses

Haki R. MadhubutiFounder and Publisher Third World Press

Alice McDermottAuthor

Nancy S. MillerEditorial Director, Bloomsbury Publishing

Alice QuinnDirector, Poetry Society of America

Mary RasenbergerExecutive Director The Authors Guild

Max RudinPublisher, Library of America

Donna SeamanSenior Editor, Booklist American Library Association

Dr. Werner SollorsProfessor of English Literature Harvard University

Dr. Victoria SteeleDirector of Collections Strategy New York Public Library

Dr. Robert B. SteptoProfessor of African American Studies, English and American Studies Yale University

Tree SwensonExecutive Director Richard Hugo House

Noreen TomassiExecutive Director The Center for Fiction

Scott F. TurowAuthor

Steve WassermanEditor at Large Yale University Press

Stephen YoungProgram Director Poetry Foundation

National Advisory Council

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Louisa May Alcott, Orchard House u399 Lexington Road Concord, Massachusetts 01742

William Cullen Bryant Homestead u207 Bryant Road Cummington, Massachusetts 01026

Pearl S. Buck House u520 Dublin Road Perkasie, Pennsylvania 18944

Pearl S. Buck’s Birthplace u8129 Seneca Trail Hillsboro, West Virginia 24946

Truman Capote & Harper Lee, The Old Courthouse Museum u31 North Alabama AvenueMonroeville, Alabama 36460

The Willa Cather Foundation u413 North Webster Red Cloud, Nebraska 68970

Emily Dickinson Museum u280 Main StreetAmherst, Massachusetts 01002

Ralph Waldo Emerson & Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Old Manse u269 Monument Street Concord, Massachusetts 01742

William Faulkner, Rowan Oak u916 Old Taylor Road Oxford, Mississippi 38655

The F. Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald Museum u919 Felder AvenueMontgomery, Alabama 36106

Alex Haley Museum & Interpretive Center u200 South Church StreetHenning, Tennessee 38041

Joel Chandler Harris, The Wren’s Nest u1050 Ralph David Abernathy BoulevardAtlanta, Georgia 30310

Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables u115 Derby Street Salem, Massachusetts 01970

Ernest Hemingway Foundation u200 North Oak Park Avenue Oak Park, Illinois 60302

Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center u1021 West Cherry StreetPiggott, Arkansas 72454

Washington Irving, Sunnyside u639 Bedford RoadPocantico Hills, New York 10591

Helen Hunt Jackson, Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum u215 S. Tejon Street Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903

Sarah Orne Jewett House Museum u5 Portland StreetSouth Berwick, Maine 03908

Jack Kerouac, The Beat Museum u540 Broadway San Francisco, California 94133

Frances Parkinson Keyes, The Beauregard-Keyes House:u1113 Chartres StreetNew Orleans, Louisiana 70116

Jack London State Historic Park u2400 London Ranch RoadGlen Ellen, California 95442

Longfellow House: Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site u105 Brattle StreetCambridge, Massachusetts 02138

Wadsworth-Longfellow House u489 Congress Street Portland, Maine 04101

Herman Melville’s Arrowhead u780 Holmes Road Pittsfield, Massachusetts 01201

The Edna St. Vincent Millay Society at Steepletop u436 East Hill Road Austerlitz, New York 12017

Margaret Mitchell House u990 Peachtree StreetAtlanta, Georgia 30309

John Muir National Historic Site u4202 Alhambra AvenueMartinez, California 94553

Affiliated Author Home Museums

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Flannery O’Connor’s Andalusia Farm uP.O. Box 947Milledgeville, Georgia 31059

Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site uP.O. Box 280Danville, California 95426

William Sidney Porter, O. Henry Museum u

409 East 5th StreetAustin, Texas 78701

Poe Museum u1914-16 East Main Street Richmond, Virginia 23223

Poe Baltimore u

203 N Amity StreetBaltimore, Maryland 21223

James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home u528 Lockerbie StreetIndianapolis, Indiana 46202

Will Rogers Memorial Museum u1720 West Will Rogers BoulevardClaremore, Oklahoma 74017

Carl Sandburg Home u81 Carl Sandburg LaneFlat Rock, North Carolina 28731

The National Steinbeck Center u One Main Street Salinas, California 93901

Harriet Beecher Stowe Center u 77 Forest Street Hartford, Connecticut 06105

Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site u 1205 Pleasant PointRome City, Indiana 46784

Henry David Thoreau & Ralph Waldo Emerson, Concord Museum u200 Lexington RoadConcord, Massachusetts 01742

Thurber House u77 Jefferson AvenueColumbus, Ohio 43215

Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum u 120 North Main Hannibal, Missouri 63401

Mark Twain House and Museum u351 Farmington AvenueHartford, Connecticut 06105

Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library uThe Emelie Building 340 N. Senate AvenueIndianapolis, Indiana 46204

Noah Webster House u227 South Main StreetWest Hartford, Connecticut 06107

Edith Wharton’s Home, The Mount u2 Plunkett Street Lenox, Massachusetts 01240

Walt Whitman’s Birthplace u246 Old Walt Whitman Road West Hills, New York 11746

John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace u305 Whittier RoadHaverhill, Massachusetts 01830

Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum u330 8th StreetWalnut Grove, Minnesota 56180

Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum u3068 Highway AMansfield, Missouri 65704

Thomas Wolfe Memorial u52 North Market StreetAsheville, North Carolina 28801

Affiliated Author Home Museums

u = link to website

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26

“ What a fantastic concept—a museum devoted to great American writing.…At a time when life moves so fast and so much of what we encounter is disposable, an institution that allows us to immerse ourselves in that which is permanent and meaningful, which allows us to embrace American writing and American stories… – DAVE ISAY FOUNDER, STORYCORPS

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B U S I N E S S P L A N

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BuildingEquip.

WRITERSHALL

CHILDREN'SGALLERY

AMERICAN IDENTITY

READERSHALL

CHICAGO:A CITY OFWRITERS

Hall

THE MIND OF A WRITER

NO

RT

H M

ICH

IGA

N A

VE

NU

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EAST LAKE STREET

Fan Letters

WordWaterfall

Surprise Bookshelf

What Americans

Read

Story of the Day

A Writer'sRoom

Anatomy of aMasterwork

WordPlay

FeaturedWorks

BuildingEquip.

Staff

MuseumEquip.

Elevators

Elevators

ElevatorLobby

Coats

Storage

Vestibule

Emergency Egress

Writing Across America

Hometown Authors

World-class Writing

Communities

FocusStories

AmericanPromise

AmericanIdentities

AmericanEdge

ChangingExhibits

Favorites

American Voices

28 AM ERIC AN WRITERS M US EU MOC TO B ER 2015

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Attendance Projections

Admission Fees Adult: $12 Senior: $10 Family: $14 Students: $5

Admission fees are based on visitor research and fees charged by other cultural institutions in Chicago.

OpeningMarch 2017

Location180 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

Visitors120,000 paying visitors annually is a conservative estimate based on the museum’s feasibility study and the experiences of other museums in Chicago and elsewhere.

AudienceThe museum is designed to appeal to a broad spectrum of visitors from casual readers to avid lovers of literature. The interactive nature of the museum will especially engage young people. Lectures and presentations for school groups will be an essential offering.

CHICAGO MUSEUM ANNUAL ATTENDANCE — 2014

Adler Planetarium 451,000

Art Institute of Chicago 1,424,000

Chicago Children’s Museum 406,000

Chicago History Museum 272,000

DuSable Museum of African American History 118,000

The Field Museum 1,229,000

Museum of Contemporary Art 339,000

Museum of Science & Industry 1,388,000

National Museum of Mexican Art 131,000

John G. Shedd Museum 1,815,000

Total Attendance 7,573,000

CHICAGO MUSEUM ADMITTANCE FEES — 2014

Adult Fee

Adler Planetarium $12

Art Institute of Chicago $20

Chicago Children’s Museum $14

Chicago History Museum $14

DuSable Museum of African American History $8

The Field Museum $18

Museum of Contemporary Art $12

Museum of Science & Industry $18

National Museum of Mexican Art Free

John G. Shedd Museum $8

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Officers

Jerre L. Stead Chairman

Roger Baskes Vice-Chairman

John EsteyVice Chairman

Hill HammockVice-Chairman

Ronne HartfieldVice-Chairman

Werner Hein Vice-Chairman

Jay HammerTreasurer

Lynne Pace RobinsonCorporate Secretary

Malcolm O’Hagan President and CEO

Nike WhitcombExecutive Director

Directors

Marie Arana Allan E. Bulley III Michael T. Clune S. Leigh Pierson Conant James Donnelley Robert Franden James G. Hansen Lamar Johnson Roberta Rubin Paul T. Ruxin Tom Staley Helen Sullivan

Jerre L. Stead (Chairman) is Chairman and CEO of IHS Inc. He has been CEO of several companies including Ingram Micro, Legent, Square D, and AT&T Global Information Solutions (formerly, NCR Corp.). He is a graduate of University of Iowa.

Roger Baskes (Vice Chairman) is a former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Newberry Library in Chicago. He is a member of the Madison Council at the Library of Congress. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School.

John Estey (Vice Chairman) is Chairman of S&C Electric Company, a global provider of equipment and services for electric power systems headquartered in Chicago. He is a Director of PotashCorp and Southwire Company, and past Chairman of the Adler Planetarium Board of Trustees. John was born and raised in Toronto, Canada and holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Queen’s University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Hill Hammock (Vice-Chairman), after retiring as Vice Chairman and COO of LaSalle Bank in 2007, became Chief Administrative Officer for the Chicago Public Schools and is currently Chairman of the Cook County Health & Hospital System. Hill is also Chairman of the Chicago Deferred Exchange Company and has served as Chairman of the Metropolitan Planning Council, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and the Chicago History Museum. Mr. Hammock holds an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Ronne Hartfield (Vice-Chairman) is a biographer, essayist, and widely recognized international museum consultant. After early retirement from her position as Executive Director of Museum Education at the Art Institute of Chicago, she was awarded a Senior Research Fellowship at Harvard University. She has served on the Boards of Directors of several universities and foundations, and has earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Chicago.

Werner Hein (Vice-Chairman) is senior counsel at the Washington, D.C. office of Mayer Brown LLP, a leading international law firm. During his more than thirty years of legal practice he has chiefly advised communications and Internet companies on their transactions. He holds law degrees from Columbia Law School and Bonn University.

Jay Hammer (Treasurer) is President and CEO of Theralogix. He is a business and non-profit leader based in Washington, D.C.. He has served on a number of non-profit boards and was Chairman of the Washington Performing Arts from 2008 to 2010. He graduated from the University of Chicago and received his MBA from Harvard University.

Lynne Pace Robinson (Corporate Secretary) served in the White House of Gerald R. Ford and held appointments in the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency. She co-chaired the esteemed Washington Antiques Show and hosted a community interview show on Comcast cable television for nine years. Serving with architect/engineer consulting firms for several years, she also managed a regional office and led teams of experts to conduct analysis for Environmental Impact Statements on large federal and municipal public works projects. She graduated from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Malcolm O’Hagan (President) was CEO of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association. He served on the Board of the National Association of Manufacturers and was Chairman of the Washington Industrial Roundtable. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Engineering from The National University of Ireland and a D.Sc. from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Nike Whitcomb (Executive Director) is founder and principal of Whitcomb Associates. Whitcomb was the first female president of the Chicago Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and has received the organization’s President’s Award. She helped author the original certification test for AFP, and is a regular trainer and presenter at local, regional, and national conferences on fundraising and nonprofit management. Whitcomb is a graduate of Milikin University, where she received the Merit Loyalty Award in 2014.

Leadership

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Marie Arana was editor in chief of ‘The Washington Post’s’ Book World, and, prior to that, vice president and senior editor at Harcourt Brace and Simon & Schuster. The prize-winning author serves on the Scholars’ Council at the Kluge Center of the Library of Congress, where she was the Distinguished Scholar from 2009 to 2010. She is also chair of the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. She holds a BA from Northwestern University.

Allan E. Bulley III is President of Bulley & Andrews and the fourth generation to lead this well-known Chicago construction firm. He is a graduate of Yale and holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.

Michael T. Clune, after an early career in the construction business in Europe and the Middle East, moved to Chicago in 1978 where he is now Chairman and CEO of Clune Construction. He is involved in various philanthropic activities. Michael was born in Dublin, Ireland.

S. Leigh Pierson Conant is cofounder and president of the S. Leigh Pierson Conant and Douglas R. Conant Family Cookie Jar Foundation. She is a former actor and educator, a voracious reader, and a lifelong participant and supporter of the arts with a BS in theatre and education from Northwestern University.

James Donnelley has been a General Partner of Ampersand, Reset & South Eastern Limited Partnership since June 2000. Mr. Donnelley served as Vice Chairman of R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company. He has served as a trustee and director of numerous civic and community groups, which include: Children’s Memorial Hospital (retired member), The Donnelley Foundation, John C. Griswold Foundation (retired Treasurer), Chicago Public Library Foundation (former Chairman), National Merit Scholarship Foundation (former Vice Chairman), and several other organizations. Mr. Donnelley holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Robert Franden is an attorney and investor in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is active in civic and professional organizations at the national and local level. He serves on the board of The Harry Ransom Humanities Center at The University of Texas at Austin. He is also the Chairman of ALFA International, an international legal organization He served on the Tulsa City Commission and various civic and cultural trusts, including the Performing Arts Center Trust. He holds a J.D. degree from The University of Oklahoma.

James G. Hansen is the retired Chairman and Founder of Chicago-based Source/Inc., providing branding identity services for consumer products clients. He is a Fellow of the Industrial Designers Society of America and the Society of Typographic Arts. He served as Chair of the Board of Advisors for the Design Management Institute for 16 years. He holds under-graduate and graduate degrees from the University of Illinois.

Lamar Johnson is Regional Managing Principal of Gensler Chicago, a world renowned architecture and design firm and Vice Chairman of the Adler Planetarium. He holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design and an MBA from the University of Colorado.

Roberta Rubin is the former owner of The Book Stall at Chestnut Court in Chicago, one of the most celebrated independent bookstores in the country. She received the 2012 ‘Bookstore of the Year’ honor from ‘Publishers Weekly.’ Roberta was a member of the Board of Directors for the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression and is now actively engaged on the Board of the Ragdale Foundation and the Crow Canyon Archeological Center in Four Corners. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan.

Paul T. Ruxin is a retired partner of Jones Day (Chicago and Cleveland) and Chairman of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Board at the Newberry Library of Chicago. His personal collection of the works of Samuel Johnson, James Boswell, and their circle is among the most complete in private hands in the world. He is a Governor of Dr. Johnson’s House Trust in London. Mr. Ruxin is a graduate of Amherst College and received his law degree from the University of Virginia.

Tom Staley served as the Director of the renowned Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin, which houses one of the greatest collections of American and English 20th-century literature in the world. He is a professor of English and holds the Harry Hunt Ransom Chair in Liberal Arts at University of Texas at Austin. He has written or edited 13 books, several on James Joyce, Jean Rhys, and Dorothy Richardson, and is the founding editor of the James Joyce Quarterly.

Helen Sullivan is an expert in industry-wide public relations and integrated marketing programs. Her honors include three Public Relations Society of America Silver Anvils. She serves on the board of the Independent Public Relations Alliance and the Center for Child Protection and Family Support. A graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, Ms. Sullivan is a lifelong devotee of poetry.

Leadership

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Partners

AWM and its partners share a commitment to improving literacy, to encouraging reading and writing, and to honoring American writers. We share information, collaborate on programming and co-sponsor literary events. We pursue joint educational endeavors to inspire young people to read and write.

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Financials

Pre-Opening Development Cost 2015–2016:

$6.5 million• Space build-out• Exhibit design, fabrication, and

installation• Pre-opening operation costs

Full Business Plan available upon request.

800,000

700,000

600,000

500,000

400,000

300,000

200,000

100,000

0

JUN

JUL

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OC

T

NO

V

DEC

JAN

FEB

MA

R

APR

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JUL

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SEP

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FEB

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2015 2016 2017

Monthly Pre-Opening Expenses ($) — June 2015 – March 2017

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PRE-OPENING EXPENSE SUMMARY

2015 2016 2017 Total

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1

Content Development 18,000 14,000 22,000 20,000 6,000 80,000

Exhibition Design 16,875 33,625 62,000 135,000 202,500 262,500 131,250 33,750 22,500 900,000

Exhibition Fabrication and Installation 10,000 60,000 100,000 130,000 1,100,000 1,550,000 450,000 3,400,000

Architect Fees, Project Mgt., Independent Cost Estimator 75,000 30,000 30,000 20,000 155,000

Space Build-out (12,000 square feet)

Gross 166,500 444,000 277,500 888,000

(per square foot) $74.00

TI Allowance 91,500 244,000 152,500 488,000

(per square foot) $40.67

Net of TI Allowance 75,000 200,000 125,000 400,000

(per square foot) $33.33

Contingency 1,688 3,362 7,200 19,500 45,250 62,250 138,625 160,375 47,250 485,500

Staffing 45,000 84,000 33,000 71,000 77,000 36,000 75,500 125,500 166,000 713,000

Pre-Opening Marketing 7,500 7,500 7,500 7,500 7,500 7,500 12,500 25,000 60,000 142,500

Total Pre-Opening Expenses (Net of TI Allowance) 71,063 146,487 133,700 315,000 602,250 734,250 1,612,875 1,914,625 745,750 6,276,000

Financials

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AM ERIC AN WRITERS M US EU M OC TO B ER 2015 35

OPERATING BUDGET 2017–2021

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Revenues

Number of Visitors 100,000 120,000 120,000 120,000 120,000

Admission Fees ($10 avg. fee) 1,000,000 1,236,000 1,273,080 1,311,272 1,350,611

Special Events ($5,000 avg. fee) 100,000 150,000 150,000 150,000 150,000

Sponsorships and Donations/Gifts 250,000 250,000 250,000 250,000 250,000

Total Revenues 1,350,000 1,636,000 1,673,080 1,711,272 1,750,611

Operating Expenses

Staffing 723,333 836,229 892,330 917,390 943,202

G&A (6.0% of revenues) 81,000 98,160 100,385 102,676 105,037

Marketing (4.5% of revenues) 60,750 73,620 75,289 77,007 78,777

Insurance (1.5% of revenues) 20,250 24,540 25,096 25,669 26,259

Utilities ($6 per sq. ft. escalating at 3% per annum) 71,514 73,659 75,869 78,145 80,490

Cleaning ($2 per sq. ft. escalating at 3% per annum) 23,838 24,553 25,290 26,048 26,830

Repairs/Maintenance (5% of revenue) 67,500 81,800 83,654 85,564 87,531

Total Operating Expenses 1,048,185 1,212,561 1,277,913 1,312,499 1,348,126

Rent (Museum) 247,771 306,853 317,509 328,307 339,250

Rent (Offices) — 25,000 26,000 27,000 28,000

Total Expenses (Operating plus Rent) 1,295,956 1,544,414 1,621,422 1,667,806 1,715,376

Net Income 54,044 91,586 51,658 43,466 35,235

Cumulative Net Income 54,044 145,630 197,288 240,754 275,989

Note: 2017 numbers based on 10 months of operations.

Financials

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Fundraising Plan

Overall Goal$10 million by 31 December 2016

PlanAvailable on request

ImplementationThe fundraising plan is being implemented by AWM’s Executive Director Nike Whitcomb. Her 35 years of experience running her own fundraising consultancy positions her to conduct a successful campaign for the AWM. All members of the Board of Directors are actively engaged in supporting the fundraising campaign. They are fully confident that the fundraising goal will be reached on schedule.

2,600

2,400

2,200

800

600

400

200

0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Funds Received

6,200

6,000

5,800

Pledges Receivable Additional Fundraising Goals

AWM Fundraising Success to Date; Goals in Place

Source of Funds by Region

51% Chicago

49% Outside Chicago

Source of Funds by Donor Category

17% Corporate Foundations

4% Public Foundations

79% Family Foundationsand Individuals

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AM ERIC AN WRITERS M US EU M OC TO B ER 2015 37

Your Opportunity

WhyAs a supporter, you will make a vital contribution to literacy and to the literary education of generations to come. The AWM will inspire young people to read and write: the foundations of civilization.

• The AWM offers a unique legacy opportunity to invest in a great new national cultural institution, the first and only one of its kind in the U.S.

• A range of naming opportunities offers funders at different levels a way to receive public recognition for their philanthropy.

• Your early support of the AWM will make you a Founder of this important new institution.

WhatThere are many ways in which you can support the AWM:

• Make a donation now.• Make a pledge payable over one to

three years.• Leverage your donation by

supporting the Chairman’s Challenge Grant. Every $2 donated—up to $1 million—will be matched by a $1 donation from our Chairman.

• Take advantage of one of the naming opportunities.

• Provide pro-bono support where needed.

• Provide Capital support to help create and build our exhibits.

• Enlist other donors.• Sponsor fundraising and awareness-

building events.

WhenThe AWM’s most urgent need for funding is NOW.

HowThe donation and pledge forms provide information on how to make donations by check, wire transfers, and stock transfers.

RecognitionThere are different levels of recognition for various donor categories. All donors will be recognized on the AWM website. Donors who fund naming opportunities will be fully recognized with appropriate signage in the museum. Programming and event support will be recognized in all related materials.

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Naming Opportunity Location Cost

Gallery: Writers Hall — arrival lobby: ticketing and coat check; modified gift shop Writers Hall $1,000,000

Exhibit: Hometown Author Video Wall — digital display of authors’ portraits; zip code activated Writers Hall $500,000

Exhibit: Writing Across America — literary map explores various book settings; locations of author homes & museums; other literature-related institutions Writing Across America $500,000

Gallery: American Identity — understanding America through our writers American Identity $500,000

Exhibit: Surprise Bookshelf — a ‘magic bookshelf’ with hundreds of great works of American writings in all forms with interactive components American Identity $500,000

Exhibit: Word Waterfall — scenic display scrolls words from featured works American Identity $250,000

Exhibit: American Voices — a chronological presentation of American writing through history American Identity $250,000

Exhibit: American Promise — the myth of success; land of plenty; land of adventure American Identity $75,000

Exhibit: American Identities — exclusion, assimilation, the individual vs. society American Identity $75,000

Exhibit: American Edge — literary works considered radical or experimental in their time American Identity $75,000

Gallery: Readers Hall Readers Hall Pledged

Exhibit: What Americans Read — vignettes representing changes in what Americans chose to read over time Readers Hall $250,000

Exhibit: Favorites — visitors submit or post their top 5–10 pieces of American Writing Readers Hall $100,000

Exhibit: Fan Letters — visitors can write a note to a writer that inspired them Readers Hall $50,000

Gallery: The Mind of a Writer — niches and interactive kiosks highlight beautifully written characters and settings, inventive plots, and story structures The Mind of a Writer $500,000

Exhibit: A Writer’s Room — suggests a writer’s office or studio with a visitor-controlled media installation of a specific author from a pre-determined list The Mind of a Writer $250,000

Exhibit: Featured Works — interactive touch table with 20–25 American masterworks of fiction and nonfiction which visitors can explore The Mind of a Writer $250,000

Exhibit: Anatomy of a Masterwork — a writer’s impact on plot, place, character, and style The Mind of a Writer $100,000

Exhibit: Word Play — interactive kiosks with multiple games encourage creativity with words The Mind of a Writer $100,000

Exhibit: Story of the Day — interactive station where AWM staff add a famous line from a story and visitors continue the story; best stories posted online daily The Mind of a Writer $50,000

Naming Opportunities

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AM ERIC AN WRITERS M US EU M OC TO B ER 2015 39

Naming Opportunity Location Cost

Gallery: Children's Gallery Children’s Gallery $500,000

Gallery: Chicago: A City of Writers Chicago: A City of Writers $500,000

Exhibit: Communities: Places — how overlapping communities have led to distinctive literary bodies of work Chicago: A City of Writers $100,000

Exhibit: Communities: People — journalists, radicals/progressives, playwrights, poets, academics, etc., and their impacts on Chicago and American writing Chicago: A City of Writers $100,000

Exhibit: Focus Stories — interactive kiosk lets visitors choose from a menu of stories about significant Chicago writers or writing-focused organizations Chicago: A City of Writers $100,000

Exhibit: World-class Writing — why the city of Chicago has had such enormous influence on American writing Chicago: A City of Writers $100,000

Traveling Exhibits $100,000/5 yrs.

Affiliates Programming — annual programming to coordinate and promote collaborations among affiliates on a regional, thematic or other basis $250,000

Programming — Year 1 $250,000

Programming — Year 2 $250,000

Programming — Year 3 $300,000

Programming — Year 4 $350,000

Miscellaneous gifts of many sizes $350,000

$9,125,000

Naming Opportunities

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4 0 AM ERIC AN WRITERS M US EU MOC TO B ER 2015

Project Strengths

• The museum concept is sound, as attested to by the many endorse-ments from knowledgeable members of the arts and cultural community.

• It is the only museum of its kind in the nation.

• There is no competing institution.• The museum is housed at a premier

location in Chicago.• The Business Plan is conservative

and was developed by a museum consultant involved in the launching of some of the most successful museums in the nation.

• Resident and tourist visitor potential substantially exceeds the numbers on which the business plan is based.

• Changing exhibits and vibrant programming will draw repeat visitors.

• The museum is sized appropriately. • Strong support from community and

city officials in Chicago and Illinois. • Experienced project team. • Internationally acclaimed design

team. • National Advisory Council of literary

experts.

As the only museum in the United States to showcase American Writers as a group, the AWM will be sustainable not only because of its operational discipline, but because it will capitalize on a crest of reading enthusiasm and writing aspirations. The ubiquity of e-readers and published content on the internet, the growing embrace of social media and self-publishing, all will contribute to the continued ground-swell of reading and writing that is already counteracting the effect of declining numbers of bookstores and daily newspapers in print.

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NICOLE KRAUSS MAXINE KUMIN STANLEY KUNITZ TONY KUSHNER LOUIS L’AMOUR OLIVER LA FARGE JHUMPA LAHIRI EMMA LAZARUS FRAN LEBOWITZ

CHANG-RAE LEE HARPER LEE URSULA K. LE GUIN ALDO LEOPOLD ELMORE LEONARD JONATHAN LETHEM TRACY LETTS PHILIP LEVINE MERIWETHER LEWIS

SINCLAIR LEWIS A .J. LIEBLING ABRAHAM LINCOLN ROSS LOCKRIDGE JR. JACK LONDON HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW BARRY LOPEZ AUDRE LORDE

H.P. LOVECRAFT AMY LOWELL ROBERT LOWELL LOIS LOWRY ALISON LURIE ROSS MACDONALD JAMES MADISON NORMAN MAILER BERNARD MALAMUD

DAVID MAMET JOHN P. MARQUAND JOHN MARSHALL PAULE MARSHALL COTTON MATHER WILLIAM MATTHEWS PETER MATTHIESSEN WILLAM MAXWELL

COLUM MCCANN CORMAC MCCARTHY MARY MCCARTHY ROBERT MCCLOSKEY CARSON MCCULLERS DAVID MCCULLOUGH ALICE MCDERMOTT PHYLLIS

MCGINLEY BILL MCKIBBEN LARRY MCMURTRY JOHN MCPHEE JAMES ALAN MCPHERSON HERMAN MELVILLE H.L . MENCKEN JAMES MERRILL W.S. MERWIN

JAMES A. MICHENER CAROLINE PAFFORD MILLER ARTHUR MILLER HENRY MILLER STEVEN MILLHAUSER CZESLAW MILOSZ JOSEPH MITCHELL MARGARET

MITCHELL N. SCOTT MOMADAY MARIANNE MOORE WRIGHT MORRIS TONI MORRISON WALTER MOSLEY LISEL MUELLER JOHN MUIR VLADIMIR NABOKOV

OGDEN NASH GLORIA NAYLOR HOWARD NEMEROV LORINE NIEDECKER FRANK NORRIS JOYCE CAROL OATES TIM O’BRIEN EDWIN O’CONNOR FLANNERY

O’CONNOR SCOTT O’DELL FRANK O’HARA JOHN O’HARA CHARLES OLSON TILLIE OLSEN EUGENE O’NEILL CYNTHIA OZICK ZZ PACKER THOMAS PAINE

GRACE PALEY AMÉRICO PAREDES SARA PARETSKY DOROTHY PARKER FRANCIS PARKMAN SUZAN-LORI PARKS LINDA PASTAN ANN PATCHETT WALKER

PERCY JULIA PETERKIN HARRY PETRAKIS ANN PETRY ROBERT PINSKY SYLVIA PLATH EDGAR ALLAN POE MICHAEL POLLAN MARIE PONSOT ERNEST POOLE

KATHERINE ANNE PORTER CHAIM POTOK EZRA POUND J.F. POWERS RICHARD POWERS REYNOLDS PRICE E. ANNIE PROULX THOMAS PYNCHON AYN RAND

MARJORIE KINNAN RAWLINGS ISHMAEL REED ADRIENNE RICH CONRAD RICHTER EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON MARILYNNE ROBINSON RICHARD RODRIGUEZ

THEODORE ROOSEVELT HENRY ROTH PHILIP ROTH MIKE ROYKO MURIEL RUKEYSER NORMAN RUSH RICHARD RUSSO LOUIS SACHAR CARL SAGAN J.D.

SALINGER CARL SANDBURG MARGARET SANGER MAY SARTON JAMES SCHUYLER JON SCIESZKA MAURICE SENDAK MARY LEE SETTLE ANNE SEXTON

MICHAEL SHAARA NTOZAKE SHANGE SAM SHEPARD LESLIE MARMON SILKO SHEL SILVERSTEIN NEIL SIMON LOUIS SIMPSON UPTON SINCLAIR ISAAC BASHEVIS

SINGER JANE SMILEY BETTY SMITH JOHN SMITH RED SMITH WILLIAM JAY SMITH W.D. SNODGRASS GARY SNYDER SUSAN SONTAG STEPHEN SPENDER

LEONORA SPEYER EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY WILLIAM STAFFORD JEAN STAFFORD WALLACE STEGNER WILLIAM STEIG GERTRUDE STEIN JOHN STEINBECK

GERALD STERN WALLACE STEVENS ROBERT STONE RUTH STONE HARRIET BEECHER STOWE MARK STRAND THOMAS SIGISMUND STRIBLING ELIZABETH

STROUT MAY SWENSON WILLIAM STYRON AMY TAN BOOTH TARKINGTON DONNA TARTT ALLEN TATE JAMES TATE EDWARD TAYLOR ELEANOR ROSS TAYLOR

HENRY S. TAYLOR ROBERT LEWIS TAYLOR PETER TAYLOR SARA TEASDALE STUDS TERKEL HENRY DAVID THOREAU JAMES THURBER WALLACE THURMAN

JOHN KENNEDY TOOLE ROBERT TRAVER NATASHA TRETHEWEY CALVIN TRILLIN LILY TUCK SCOTT TUROW MARK TWAIN ANNE TYLER LOUIS UNTERMEYER

JOHN UPDIKE LUIS ALBERTO URREA CHRIS VAN ALLSBURG GORE VIDAL PETER VIERECK WILLIAM T. VOLLMANN KURT VONNEGUT DAVID WAGONER DEREK

WALCOTT ALICE WALKER MARGARET WALKER DAVID FOSTER WALLACE JESMYN WARD ROBERT PENN WARREN BOOKER T. WASHINGTON JAMES WELCH

EUDORA WELTY DOROTHY WEST NATHANAEL WEST EDITH WHARTON PHILLIS WHEATLEY E.B. WHITE WALT WHITMAN REED WHITTEMORE JOHN EDGAR

WIDEMAN RICHARD WILBUR THORNTON WILDER LAURA INGALLS WILDER JOHN WILLIAMS TENNESSEE WILLIAMS TERRY TEMPEST WILLIAMS THOMAS

WILLIAMS WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS C .K . WILLIAMS GARRY WILLS AUGUST WILSON EDMUND WILSON EDWARD O. WILSON MARGARET WILSON THOMAS

WOLFE TOM WOLFE HERMAN WOUK CHARLES WRIGHT C .D. WRIGHT JAMES WRIGHT RICHARD WRIGHT AUDREY WURDEMANN MALCOLM X RICHARD YATES

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AMERICAN WRITERS MUSEUM EXECUTIVE OFFICES 205 W. WACKER DRIVE, SUITE 620 CHICAGO, IL 60606 312.346.9018AMERICANWRITERSMUSEUM.ORG

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