The American Writers Museum (AWM) is excited to announce its new special exhibit and programming series American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture, supported by a $2.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative.

A groundbreaking AWM content initiative, American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture journeys through the pages of American history and both real and fictionalized spiritual practices to explore the profound ways literature reflects and influences our understanding of religion. An immersive exhibit opening at the American Writers Museum on Friday, November 21, 2025, will showcase rare artifacts, interactive displays, and related creative works spanning literature, film, music, comedy and more. AWM invites visitors to discover how storytelling serves as a powerful lens for examining belief systems, personal identity, and the ever-evolving relationship between religion and American culture.

Along with a variety of interactive displays, the exhibit will include a selection of unique objects of religious significance to writers that can be tied to their works. Featured artifacts include:

• Flannery O'Connor's rosary
• Ursula K. Le Guin's annotated copy of the Tao Te Ching
• Samira Ahmed's amulet with a Muslim prayer
• Louie Pérez's statue of the Santo Niño de Atocha
• Harold Ramis' pocket-sized primer The Five-Minute Buddhist
• Pauli Murray's vestments
• Rachel Pollack's statue of a Greek goddess
• Brad Wagnon's Cherokee turtle shell rattle
• Sanjay Patel's prayer bell

The content of the American Prophets exhibit will span countless religions and faiths including, but not limited to, Agnosticism, Atheism, Baha'i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Humanism, Indigenous spiritualities, Islam, Judaism, Scientology and Taoism. More details on the writers and
works featured in the exhibit will be announced later this year.

“Because religion is a central theme in American literature, with so many writers influenced by their own and others' religion or faith, we must explore religion to remain true to our mission,” says AWM President Carey Cranston. Cranston further emphasized the importance of showcasing the interconnectedness of beliefs through the words of great writers.

AWM kicked off its programming for American Prophets with “Making New Gods,” a free event in partnership with the Chicago Public Library on April 22 at the Harold Washington Library Center. Acclaimed and bestselling fiction authors N.K. Jemisin, Nnedi Okorafor, Nghi Vo and Matthew Kirby spoke about how they explore religious beliefs in their speculative fiction, drawing from personal traditions and invented theologies, and the influence of faith on their writing. 

Additional American Prophets events with authors spanning genres will be presented throughout this year into early 2026. Check the events calendar at AmericanWritersMuseum.org for updates on American Prophets programming.

AWM's American Prophets initiative also includes a touring version of the special exhibit Dark Testament: A Century of Black Writers on Justice, which originally premiered at the museum in 2022. Inspired by a poem from a 20th-century human rights activist, legal scholar, feminist, author, poet, Episcopal priest, labor organizer, and multiracial Black, LGBTQ+ community member Pauli Murray, this exhibit explores the enduring impact of Black writers from the end of the Civil War through the Civil Rights era.

For more information, please visit AmericanWritersMuseum.org.