Michel Halberstam
Join us for a Holiday program December 11 featuring Michael Halberstam with a holiday reading. Mr. Halberstam's holiday readings are always entertaining. Come and join in the holiday spirit.
A native of Nottingham, England, Halberstam attended the University of Illinois, where he had been granted admission to the actor training program. Shortly after graduation in 1986, he moved to Chicago, where he was immediately drawn to classics, working almost exclusively on the works of William Shakespeare. He went on to join The Stratford Festival's Young Company in Ontario. He spent two years performing in several plays, including Timon of Athens, The Knight of the Burning Pestle (title role), Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, and Macbeth. Michael has received awards from The Chicago Drama League, The Arts & Business Council, and the Chicago Lawyers for the Creative Arts. He was named "Chicagoan of the Year" for Theater by the Chicago Tribune.
In 1992, Halberstam (Artistic Director) and Marilyn Campbell (Artistic Associate) founded Writers Theatre, located in Glencoe, IL. The theater is now in its 30th Season and has has produced over 120 productions—everything from inventive interpretations of classics to ground-breaking new work.
There will also be a book exchange with our members. Wrap up one of your favorite books for the exchange, if you would like to participate.
September 11, 2024
Author Roberta Gates presents her book Number 12 Rue Sainte-Catherine: and Other Stories.
October 9, 2024
Author Nancy Stevenson discusses writing and her book Long Reach.
November 13, 2024
Michael J. Kutza, founder and artistic director of Cinema/Chicago and the Chicago International Film Festival. + Readers & Reviewers meeting (11:00) discuss the book Foster by Claire Keegan
December 11, 2024
Founder of Writer's Theater, Michel Halberstam will entertain with a holiday-themed reading.
January 8, 2025
Writer & Activist Regan Burke.
February 12, 2025
William Tyre, Executive Director and Curator of Glessner House, on Oscar Wilde in Chicago.
March 12, 2025
Actress & Vocalist, Debra Ann Miller, presenting Around the World in 72 Days with Nellie Bly.+ Readers & Reviewers meeting (11:00) discuss the book Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy
April 9, 2025
Author Donna Seaman will discuss her new book, River of Books: A Memoir of Reading.
May 2, 2025
FAW Literature Awards
September 13, 2023
The Lost Restaurants of Chicago - Chicago author and historian Greg Borzo .
October 11, 2023
Award-winning storyteller and author Brian Ellis thrills with "The Ghosts of Edgar Allen Poe."
November 8, 2023
Rachel DeWoskin, author and University of Chicago professor of Creative Writing, discusses her years as a Chinese soap opera star.
December 13, 2023
Founder of Writer's Theater, Michel Halberstam interprets Truman Capote's "A Christmas Story," & FAW members bring a wrapped book for a book exchange.
January 10, 2024
Musician and songwriter Ashley Lewis entertains with a program of Bluegrass and Bluegrass inspired music.
February 14, 2024
Actress Leslie Goddard explores the life of Grace Kelly, movie star and Princess of Monaco.
March 13, 2024
Author Kathleen Mundo presents Badger State: A Wisconsin Memoir, her account of a hardscrabble childhood in Racine, Wisconsin.
April 10, 2024
Performer Ellie Carlson presents "Unmentionables: a History Of Women's Undergarments."
May 10, 2024
FAW Literature Awards
September 14, 2022
The Mystery of Nancy Drew - Susan Becker describes the little-known origins and development of America's first girl sleuth.
October 12, 2022
Behind the scene look at Andy Warhol Portfolios: A Life in Pop / Works from the Bank of America Collection, Diana Martinez, Director McAninch Arts Center. + Readers & Reviewers meeting (11:00)
November 9, 2022
The Long Way Home: Detours and Discoveries, author Tom Montgomery Fate, how his far-flung travels led him to redefine the concept of "home."
December 14, 2022
The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde, interpreted by Michael Halberstam, actor and former director of the American Writers Theater.
January 11, 2023
Jennifer Miller, FAW member, will present her numerous aide trips to Africa where she worked with former boy soldiers of the Congo.
February 8, 2023
Mark Dvorak of the Old Town School of Folk Music presents "Songs and Prose of Carl Sandburg"
March 8, 2023
Ling Ma, author and FAW award winner, will discuss her work and the popularity of futurist dystopian novels. + Readers & Reviewers meeting (11:00)
April 12, 2023
Lisa Barr, NY Times best selling author. Her three books - Fugitive Colors, The Unbreakables and Woman on Fire are historical thrillers describing events around the priceless art stolen by Nazi Germany
May 12, 2023
FAW Literature Awards
September 8, 2021
Once Upon a Cabbage - Joanne Koch's Drama about Alice Guy.
October 20, 2021
Frida Kahlo Comes to Illinois, Diana Martinez Director McAninch Arts Center.
+ Readers & Reviewers meeting
November 10, 2021
Writing a Historical Mystery, Author Mary Logue.
December 8, 2021
Becoming a Bookseller, Suzy Takacs of The Book Cellar.
Book suggestions for holiday shopping & bring your wrapped favorite book for a gift exchange.
January 12, 2022
Fashion and Feminism of the Victorian Era, Britta Keller Arendt, Senior Collection Manager at the Chicago History Museum.
February 9, 2022
Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson, Author William Hazelgrove.
March 9, 2022
Teens Are Readers Too! Chicago Author Adi Alsaid on YA novels.
+ Readers & Reviewers meeting
April 13, 2022
Happy Birthday to Us. Join us as we celebrate FAW's 100th anniversary with cake, champagne, and a panel featuring some of our busiest and most dedicated members.
June 3, 2022
FAW Literature Awards
May 12, 2022
FAW Centennial Celebration at the Women's Athletic Club of Chicago
A year of virtual programs
September 25, 2020
Virtual - FAW Literature Awards Zoom Webinar
Literature Awards Video
October 21, 2020
Virtual - FAW Scholarship & Columbia College's MFA Writing Program
November 11, 2020
Virtual - Rex Huppke of Chicago Tribune
December 9, 2020
Virtual - A Musical Program, Vocalists Celebrating the season In Song
January 13, 2021
Virtual - Leslie Goddard performing Georgia O’Keeffe
February 10, 2021
Virtual - Jane Hamilton, Best-Selling Author
March 10, 2021
Virtual - Cynthia Clampitt, Visiting Midwestern History
April 14, 2021
John Scheckter, presenting - Major Fitz-Gerald at Gallipoli
May, 2021
Cindy Crosby - Nature and Midwestern Prairie Author
September 11, 2019
Rosellen Brown - Author
October 9, 2019
Confessions of a Literary Translator: The Prose and the Cons (Ann Fisher)
November 13, 2019
Flappers, Cocktails and Temperance: True Stories of Prohibition
Susanna Calkins, author of "The Speakeasy Murders"
December 11, 2019
Jenny Riddle brings to life "The Bouvier Sisters"
January 8, 2020
From Wild Boar to Baconfest by author Cynthia Clampitt
February 12, 2020
Meet the Vanishing Woman presented by historical novelist Doug Peterson and actress Jennifer Goran
March 11, 2020
Eric Blaustein, Holocaust Survivor: Growing up Jewish and Surviving in Nazi Germany
***Date Change***April 1, 2020 - canceled
Jane Hamilton, Best-Selling Author
May 1, 2020 - rescheduled
ANNUAL AWARDS LUNCHEON
September 12, 2018
Jenny Riddle - Capital Dames: The Civil Was and the Women of Washington
October 10, 2018
Steve Venturino speaking on Daniel Deronda, George Eliot's final novel
November 7, 2018
Exploring Historical Fiction:Panel of three writers
Connie Hampton Connally, Kelly O'Connor McNees, Devin Murphy
December 12, 2018
Holiday songs by interFRIENDtions
January 9, 2019
The American Writers Museum
February 13, 2019
Donna Seaman - Adult-Books Editor & Booklist Reviews
March 13, 2019
Patricia Frazier - National Youth Poet Laureate
April 10, 2019
Actress Leslie Goddard as Rachel Carson
FRIDAY May 3, 2019
ANNUAL AWARDS LUNCHEON
September 13, 2017
Award-winning author Luis Alberto Urrea
October 11, 2017
Actor and storyteller Megan Wells - Classic Ghost Stories
November 8, 2017
Author and Chicago Tribune journalist Howard Reich
Prisoner of Her Past: A Son's Memoir
December 13, 2017
Dramatist Betsey Means with pianist Karen Berk
Virtuoso: The Life of Clara Schumann
January 10, 2018
Chicago History Museum curator Britta Keller Arendt - Civil War Wear
February 15, 2018 (Note this is a Thursday)
Author Sonali Dev - Bollywood Romance
March 14, 2018
Annette Baldwin - Literary Lovers
April 11, 2018
Playwright and song writer Katie Dahl
Stories and Songs from Door County
May 5, 2018
ANNUAL AWARDS LUNCHEON