Literal Hoaxes

Books Claimed to be Real and Other Non-Works of Literature

April 1 - 30, 2026

This exhibit brings together literary hoaxes and self-referential works that sit uneasily between invention and authenticity, where the idea of a “book” becomes less stable than it first appears. Drawing on examples of metafiction, fabricated texts and uncertain authorship, it traces the grey area between what can be accepted as real and what only performs that role convincingly.

Rather than offering clear answers, the display lingers on the questions these works raise—who wrote them, why they exist and how easily readers accept them at face value—leaving space to reconsider the stories we encounter and the assumptions we bring to them.

Curated by: Abigail Traska and Stephen Singer.

Content contributors:

• Sarah Garretson '27, IL Scholar - Blind Assassin
• Grace Suhadolnik '26, IL Scholar - An Imperial Affliction
• Austin Glock '27, IL Scholar - The Pandora Infliction
• Isabella Crum '27, IL Scholar - All of them Witches
• Alexander Schulz '26, IL Scholar - Doubled Flowering
• Joel Carpenter '26, IL Scholar - I Libertine