NSN.- The Chicago Public Library Foundation and the Chicago Public Library announced the winners of the 14th annual Carl Sandburg Literary Awards. This year’s honorees are Isabel Allende (The House of the Spirits, Island Beneath The Sea), winner of Chile’s 2010 National Prize for Literature, and Michael Lewis (Moneyball, The Blind Side; Liar’s Poker; Boomerang), bestselling nonfiction writer and journalist. Grace Paley Prizewinner Christine Sneed (Little Known Facts, Portraits of a Few of the People I’ve Made Cry) will receive the 21st Century Award, honoring significant recent achievement by a writer with ties to Chicago.

The recipients will be honored at the Carl Sandburg Literary Awards Dinner Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at The Forum (725 W. Roosevelt Road) on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago. This year’s benefit is co-chaired by Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts and Marcy Carlin, a Foundation board member and Senior Vice President at Essex Investment Management. The event is produced by Foundation board member Donna LaPietra.

Since 1873, the Chicago Public Library has encouraged lifelong learning by welcoming all people and offering equal access to information, entertainment and knowledge through materials. The Library system has 79 library locations throughout the city including the flagship Harold Washington Library Center.