Go Big Read

12/11/2025

Through our partnership with UW-Madison's Go Big Read program, we're excited to offer two generative workshops called "I have yet to choose a name" led by the First Wave - Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives and focused on the themes of history, memory, imagination and creative expression that were present in this year's Go Big Read book James by Percival Everett.

In these workshops we invite participants to create, collaborate, and engage in “retellings" of their own stories and lived experiences as a means to reclamation and self-identification.

The first session takes place this Sat, December 13 from 1:30-3:30pm at Central Library and the second will be in early February. You're encouraged (but not required) to attend both to create a performance piece that will appear in a showcase in March.

Register: https://bit.ly/4iOxheL

Post edited 12/12/25 at 9:30am to update the program start time.

11/12/2025

Join us at the Madison Central Public Library on Monday, November 17 at 5:30 p.m. for a panel exploring Wisconsin’s history related to slavery. We hope you can join us!

11/06/2025

Nominations are now open for the 2026-2027 Go Big Read! Suggest a book before November 19th.

11/04/2025

Join us this evening for the Go Big Read keynote event featuring award-winning author Percival Everett and University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin.

Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025 | 7-8:30 p.m. CT
Varsity Hall, Union South
No tickets required. A live webstream will be available on Tuesday Nov. 4 on the Go Big Read website.

Free and open to the public

11/03/2025

Join us tomorrow, November 4 at 7 p.m. for a special Go Big Read event with author Percival Everett, presented in partnership with the Wisconsin Book Festival! Everett will discuss his acclaimed novel James—winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award—this year’s Go Big Read selection, at Union South’s Varsity Hall (1308 W. Dayton St.).

This event is free and open to the public, with seating on a first-come basis—come early, this one will be packed! A livestream will also be available. Learn more at our website or gobigread.wisc.edu

10/29/2025

10/27/2025

Join us next week for the 2025 Go Big Read Author Keynote Event with Percival Everett!

As a reminder, this event is free and open to the public. No tickets required. Along with the option for in-person attendance, the event will be live streamed. The livestream link will be posted on the Go Big Read website homepage on November 4th.

CART Captioning and ASL Interpreters available. Please email gobigread@library.wisc.edu to request other accommodations.

10/24/2025

10/20/2025

10/14/2025

Another community book club discussion of “James: A Novel” by Percival Everett at Hawthorne Library tonight at 6 PM!

10/14/2025

What happens when we reimagine an American classic through the eyes of the character who’s too often been left in the margins?

This Friday, join the Wisconsin Book Festival for The Story Won’t Tell Itself: The Cultural Legacy of Jim from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a powerful conversation with David F. Walker and Marcus Kwame Anderson, creators of Big Jim and the White Boy, a radical retelling of Mark Twain’s iconic novel.

In discussion with local scholars and educators, they’ll explore the enduring legacy of Jim—a character who has long deserved more than stereotype or silence—and what it means to tell his story on his own terms.

Friday, October 17 | 5–6:30 p.m. | Chazen Museum of Art, Auditorium

Presented in partnership with UW–Madison Go Big Read and the Chazen Museum of Art . A meet and greet and self-guided gallery walk will follow the panel. Don’t miss out!

10/10/2025

Don’t forget to join us at the Chazen next Friday at 5 p.m. for a panel with the author and illustrator of “Big Jim and the White Boy: An American Classic Reimagined” and local educators. We hope to see you there!