Scott Turow to be awarded the Fuller Prize from Literary Hall of Fame

Scott Turow famously wrote many of his books while riding the train from his home in the northern suburbs to his law offices downtown. He is now one of the best selling, and best, novelists of his time, with an estimated 30 million copies of his books having been sold and read and enjoyed.

His career reaches a milestone on the evening of Oct. 5, when he will receive the Fuller Award from the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame in ceremonies at the Harold Washington Library. This award is named for Henry Blake Fuller, a relatively unknown author, editor, poet, critic and composer who lived from 1857 to 1929. His best known work is the 1893 novel “The Cliff-Dwellers.”

Previous recipients of this honor include Sandra Cisneros, Gene Wolfe, Harry Mark Petrakis, Haki Madhubuti, Rosellen Brown, Angela Jackson, Stuart Dybek, Sara Paretsky and Sterling Plumpp. Last year it was presented to me.

Turow was there that night and seeing him reminded me of the many times we had talked over the years and of his mom. Her name was Rita. She died in 2011 but in honor of her 90th birthday the year before he wrote in Parade magazine, “My dad was an M.D., revered and beloved by his patients. He had endured a hard upbringing after his mother died when he was only 4. I felt his love at times, but his routine sarcasm and occasional anger often cut me to the quick. Thus, my mother was my beacon. I can say with conviction that I would simply not be who I am without her love, support, and boundless faith in me.”

Turow grew up with her in West Rogers Park. The family moved north, allowing him to attend New Trier High School, where he wrote for and became editor of the school paper. He went to Amherst College, won a prestigious fellowship to the creative writing program at Stanford University and later taught there. But he decided to turn down a tenure track position teaching at University of Rochester to enter Harvard Law School.

His first book was “One L” and it charted Turow’s first year in law school. The New York Times wrote that it should “be read by anyone who has ever contemplated going to law school. Or anyone who has ever worried about being human.”

Turow graduated, started working as an attorney here and then came the novels, the first one beginning simply, with Turow writing 13 words on a yellow Post-it note: “A man is sitting on a bed on which a dead woman lies.”

That note sat on his desk until, as he told me some years ago, “I visualized the man and the woman as Rusty and his wife, Barbara.”

That man was Rusty Sabich, introduced to readers in 1987′s “Presumed Innocent,” which redefined crime-courtroom writing and rested comfortably on the New York Times bestseller list for one year and was given cinematic life by Harrison Ford in the successful 1990 movie of the same name.

And the hits kept coming, 13 novels and three nonfiction books in total, with titles such as “Burden of Proof” (1990), “Reversible Errors” (2002), “Ordinary Heroes” (2005), “Identical” (2013) and the most recent, 2022′s “Suspect,” which I noted in a Tribune review finds Turow in a “fine form. Comforting, yes, but also satisfyingly fresh and creative.”

That admirably prolific output is, of course, one of the main reasons the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame is honoring Turow. But throughout his literary career he has accomplished a remarkable juggling act as a practicing attorney. He handled big cases as a U.S. attorney, including serving as lead counsel in the Operation Greylord trial and later, in private practice, helping free an innocent man from death row. He was president of the Authors Guild, during which he filed an antitrust suit against Apple and major publishers, alleging that they conspired to raise the price of e-books.

He has also written articles for such publications as the Tribune, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and The Atlantic. In 2016, he wrote about the Cubs in Time magazine, saying in part, “According to anecdotal reports, there was also heavy traffic in area cemeteries the following weekend ... At gravesides throughout Chicagoland, fans will announce to departed loved-ones what I screamed outside my house when the Cubs won Game 7 that Wednesday night: ‘It finally happened.’”

He has also long been a member of the band the Rock Bottom Remainders, with such other bestselling authors as Stephen King, Mitch Albom, Dave Barry and Amy Tan. It performed for fun and to benefit literacy groups and other charitable endeavors.

He has three adult children from his first marriage and grandchildren spread around the country. He still lives here much of the time, with a lovely wife named Adriane. He looks as healthy as a man in his 70s can look.

In short, Turow is easy to admire and equally easy to envy.

At the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame event, people will have some complimentary words to say about Turow, the man and the writer. Turow will say a few words and maybe he will mention his mom. Or the Cubs. Or … who knows? And that’s part of the ongoing pleasure of having Turow and his words in our midst.

rkogan@chicagotribune.com