<figure><figcaption>(SIU Press / SIU Press)</figcaption></figure>

Journey back Inside The Blanket Fort as we continue our conversations with authors at the 40th Annual Printers Row Lit Fest in Chicago.

This week, we’re talking with Cathy Jean Maloney, author of Olmsted’s Riverside: Stewardship Meets Innovation in a Landmark Village, which was published last December. Olmsted’s Riverside won a Certificate of Excellence in “Scholarly Publications” at the Illinois State Historical Society’s 2025 Best of Illinois History Awards and an Honorable Mention in History at the 2025 Society of Midland Authors Awards. This beautifully written and photographed book provides engaging examples of how citizen involvement can protect a community’s ideals. This richly illustrated volume combines landscape architecture, regional history, and urban design to show how audacious civic planning and thoughtful conservation can provide a model for future American suburbs.