Open Books is an award-winning nonprofit social venture that operates an extraordinary bookstore, provides community programs, and mobilizes passionate volunteers to promote literacy in Chicago and beyond.

We work with more than 4,000 students across Chicago each year through our creative, colorful, and collaborative literacy programs, which include...

- 1:1 weekly reading sessions with elementary school students through Open Books Buddies

- Inspiring Adventures In Creative Writing field trips for 4th-12th graders

- Mentoring for high school juniors through VWrite

- An immersive reading, writing, and publishing experience for teens, aka ReadThenWrite

Support for our programs comes in part from our store, which holds more than 50,000 donated books and has been hailed by the press as "the most beautiful bookstore in Chicago," and "a rainbow-hued literary Wonka Wonderworld."