Iowa City Book Festival
October 19-25, 2026
Support the Festival
While most City of Literature events are free to attend, they come with real costs. Your tax-deductible donation helps ensure we can continue offering meaningful programs like this festival. Please consider supporting the City of Literature with a contribution today.
Note: The deadline to express interest in participating in the 2026 festival has passed. The team is making decisions now and schedule information will be shared here once it is confirmed. Check back for updates!
The window to express interest for the 2027 festival will open next spring.
Bonnie Jo Campbell
Melissa Febos
Melissa Febos is the author of five books, including the national bestselling essay collection Girlhood, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism, and the bestselling craft book Body Work. Her newest memoir, The Dry Season, was published in 2025.
A Guggenheim Fellow and recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, MacDowell, LAMBDA Literary, and other organizations, Febos’s essays have appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The New York Times Magazine, Granta, Vogue, and numerous other publications.
Febos is the Roy J. Carver Professor in the University of Iowa’s Nonfiction Writing Program, where she teaches creative nonfiction. She lives in Iowa City with her wife, poet Donika Kelly.
Tiffany Hanssen
Tiffany Hanssen is an on-air host at public radio station WNYC in New York City. During her decades-long career in broadcasting, she has produced award-winning national programs and worked at stations from Las Vegas to Washington D.C. She is also a screenwriter and mom to two boys. And although she was born in Iowa and spent many years in Minnesota, she currently lives in Manhattan.
Yiyun Li
Yiyun Li is the award-winning author of five novels, two short story collections, two books of nonfiction, and one memoir. Her latest memoir, Things in Nature Merely Grow, won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Memoir and the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. Her acclaimed novel The Book of Goose received the 2023 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, and her debut collection, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, won the PEN/Hemingway Award.
Born in China, Li came to the University of Iowa to study immunology before discovering her passion for writing at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She is the recipient of numerous honors, including a MacArthur Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, Whiting Award, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Literature Award. Li is a professor of creative writing at Princeton University, where she directs the Creative Writing Program. Her next novel, Music Against the Night, will be published in October 2026.
Brenda Navarro
Brenda Navarro was part of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa in 2023. Her first novel Casas vacías (Empty Houses, London, Daunt Books, 2018) won the Tigre Juan Award and the Pen Translation Award. Her second novel, Ceniza en la boca (Ashes in the Mouth) (2022) won the Cálamo Award, El Premio de la Asociación de Librerías de Madrid, the Todos tus libros Award and the San Clemente Award as best book of the year 2022, as well as being a finalist in the Vargas Llosa Biennial 2022.
She has been an editor, scriptwriter, and she teaches creative writing workshops. Navarro has collaborated with media outlets such as El País, Pikara Magazine, La Marea, El Salto, Milenio, Tierra Adentro, and more.
Pilar Quintana
Pilar Quintana is the author of five novels and a book of short stories. La perra (The Bitch, New York, World Editions, 2020), which has been translated into more than twenty languages, was on the long list for the Dublin Literary Award, was a finalist for the Premio Nacional de Novela and the National Book Award, and won the Premio Biblioteca de Narrativa Colombiana, an English PEN Translates Award, and the LiBeraturpreis. With her book Los abismos (Abyss, New York, World Editions, 2023), translated into multiple languages, she won the Alfaguara Novel Prize in 2021 and was a finalist for the National Book Award. She is the editor of the Biblioteca de Escritoras Colombianas (The Library of Colombian Female Writers), a publishing project of the Ministry of Culture to rescue and promote women’s literature.
Melissa Tedone
Melissa Tedone is Assistant Professor in the Department of Art Conservation at the University of Delaware and Associate Director of the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation. A specialist in the conservation of library and archival materials, she previously served as Library & Archives Conservator at Iowa State University.
Tedone is the lead conservator of the Poison Book Project, an international research initiative investigating the use of toxic pigments in nineteenth-century bookbindings. Her work explores the history of books, bookmaking, and preservation, with a focus on making library collections safer and more accessible.
She holds a PhD in Slavic literary history from Yale University and a master’s degree in library and archives conservation from the University of Texas at Austin.
Special thanks to the United Way of Johnson & Washington Counties for their help recruiting volunteers.
Print copies also can be picked up at the Iowa City Public Library, Coralville Public Library, North Liberty Community Library, Prairie Lights Books, Sidekick Books, Black Rose Books (West Branch), Daydreams Comics, and the Iowa City Senior Center, as well as at Festival events.
Recorded Readings
2025
Kazim Ali, Rajaa Alsanea, Anna Barker, Venise Berry, Anna Bruno, Tisa Bryant, Erin Casey, Art Cullen, Siddharth Dasgupta, Johanna Drucker, Carey Dunne, Teresa Dzieglewicz, Jennifer Fawcett, Kellee Forkenbrock, Gregory Galloway, Royal C. Gardner, Mackie Garrett, Ted Geltner, Joe Haldeman, Laura Julier, Donika Kelly, Steve Kemp, Patricia Lockwood, Ndongolera C. Mwangupili, Scott Phillips, Chris Pio, Jesus “Chuy” Renteria, John Scalzi, Tatiana Schlote-Bonne, John Ira Thomas, Daniel Umemezie, Christina Ward, John Warner, Morgan Webb, Yu Yuen Lan
2024
Hatice Açıkgöz, Corban Addison, Yassin Adnan, Lisa Allen-Agostini, Jarod K. Anderson, Anna Barker, Ari Berman, S. Toriano Berry, Venise Berry, Hannah Bonner, Tisa Bryant, Ezra Claytan Daniels, Josh Cowen, Jennifer Croft, Stuart Dybek, Sarah Elgatian, James Fitzmaurice, Forrest Gander, Mackie Garrett, Natalie Goldberg, Catarina Gomes, Nancy Miller Gomez, Priya Hein, Sam Helmick, Putra Hidayatullah, Perry Janes, Amanda Jones, Nurit Kasztelan, Tracy Kidder, Daryl LI 李振宏, Bruna Dantas Lobato, Nina Lohman, Jennifer MacBain-Stephens, Nicolás Medina Mora, Christopher Merrill, Anna Morrison, Felipe Franco Munhoz, Chris Offutt, Tanya Rastogi, Jesus “Chuy” Renteria, Marc Ribot, Megan Rosenbloom, Theodore Rosengarten, Pervin Saket, Josh Sazon, Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz, Steve Semken, Marguerite Sheffer, John Ira Thomas, Chris Tse, Willy Vlautin, Sharon Wahl, Mélanie Werder-Avilés, Elizabeth Willis, Nicholas Wong, Péter Závada
2023
Sarah Cypher, Élise DesChamps, Miriam Gilbert, Cecile Goding, Werner Herzog, Nathan Hill, John Irving, Eskor David Johnson, Chris Jones, Erin Jordan, Daniel Kraus, John Lake, Brooks Landon, Josh Larsen, Jonathan Lethem, Ayana Mathis, Marta McDowell, Mindy Mejia, Tracie Morris, Joanne Ramos, Kristen Roupenian, Keith Schneider, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Justin Torres
2022
Anna Barker, Curtis Bauer, Cristalle “Psalm One” Bowen, Lan Samantha Chang, Elizabeth Crane, Darrin Crow, Angie Cruz, Anthony Doerr, Johnnie Each, Lori Erickson, John Irving, Sarah Kendzior, Jennifer L. Knox, John Koethe, Alex Kotlowitz, Lyz Lenz, Beth A. Livingston, Ruthina Malone, Debra Marquart, Mary J. Mascher, Elizabeth McCracken, Don McLeese, Randall Munroe, Kyle Munson, Jennifer Ohman-Rodriguez, Zachary Oren Smith, Victor Ray, Jason Reynolds, María Sánchez, Rebecca Solnit, Jim Throgmorton, Jerald Walker, Elizabeth Weiss
2021
Robert Costa, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Gina Frangello, Gregory Galloway, Laura Gellot, Julie Hanson, Pierre Joris, Shreya Khullar, Deb Marquart, Dr. Reuben Jonathan Miller, Kristy Nabhan-Warren, Marc Rahe, Emily Rapp, Chuy Renteria, Fiona Sampson, Habib Tengour, Bob Woodward
2020
James Autry, Dr. Rana Awdish, Erika Billerbeck, David Bluder, Kelly Carlin, Charles Connerly, Thomas Cook, Lisa Dillmann, Hope Edelman, Dr. Eve L. Ewing, Fatima Farheen, Barbara Feller, Thomas Frank, Anja Kampmann, Jill McCorkle, David Perkins, Anne Posten, Pilar Quintana, Ron Rash
2019
Kendra Allen, Paula Becker, Toi Derricota, Joseph Dobrian, John Domini, Andy Douglas, Cornelius Eady, Sarah Elgatian, Lori Erickson, Melissa Febos, James Geary, Josh Gondelman, David Hamilton, Donika Kelly, Amanda Lee Koe, Jessica Laser, Lyz Lenz, Lauren Markham, Joe Michaud, Kei Miller, Kassandra Montag, Raj Patel, Eileen Pollack, Daniel Poppick, John Sandford, William Steele, Lisa Tetrault, Novuyo Rosa Tshuma, Christina Ward, Don Waters, Dr. Angela Sadler Williamson, Andrea Wilson
2018
Haifa Abu Al-Nadi, Usman Ali, Sadagat Aliyeva, Eman Alyousuf, Anastacia-Renee, James Anderson, James A. Autry, Kateryna Babkina, Bayasgalan Bastuuri, Ari Berman, Denise Pattiz Bogard, Rumena Bužarovska, Dr. Ira Byock, Tameka Cage Conley, Chow Hon-Fai, Max Allan Collins, Dan Coman, Common, Art Cullen, Z. P. Dala, Kathy Eldon, Jane Gregory, Tahila Hakimi, Eduardo Halfon, Rick Harsch, Tim Harwood, Silvia Hidalgo, Huang Chong-Kai, Dan Kaufman, Rasha Khayat, William Kent Krueger, Mary Kubica, Emily Liebowitz, Bejan Matur, Mindy Meija, Fatima Farheen Mirza, Wayetu Moore, Mike Mullin, Derek Nnuro, Faisal Oddang, Sunni Overend, Melissa Palma, Chuy Renteria, Nancy Rommelmann, Alex Salkever, Chandramohan Sathyanathan, Sjón, David Small, Mark Wilson
2017
Francesca Abbate, Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, Chris Adrian, Ramsha Ashraf, Larry Baker, Will Bardenwerper , Gary Boelhower, Luis Bravo, Dan Campion, Rafael Campo, Frances Cannon, Alexander Chee, Audrey Chin, Jennifer Colville, Loren W. Cooper, Eliza David, Li Di An, Joseph Dobrian, Michelle Edwards, Nathan Englander, Lori Erickson, Bi Feiyu, Jin Feng, Julia Fierro, Ed Folsom, Melissa Fraterrigo, Alberto Fuguet, Kaori Fujino, Kathryn Gamble, Enza Garcia Arreaza, Ted Genoways, Erin Gitchell, Lorna Goodison, Garth Greenwell, Barbara Hall, Ya Hsien, John Ira Thomas, Justine Johnson Hemmestad, Jon K. Lauck, Dung Kai-Cheng, Hilary Kaplan, Lisa Katz, Anne Kennedy, Jon Kerstetter, Joe Kyugen Michaud, Mike Lankford, Luljeta Lleshanaku, Okky Madasari, Christopher Merrill, Sadek Mohmmed, Peter Nazareth, Pola Oloixarac, Tim Parks, Steve Paul, Jim Perlman, Sarah Prineas, Jennifer Pritchard, Donald Ray Pollock, Julie Russell-Steuart, Jeffrey Ryan, Steve Semken, Yuriy Serebriansky, Yaara Shehori, Daniel Simon, Crystal Spring Gibbons, Whitney Terrell, Jeremy Tiang, Antionette Tidjani Alou, Zachary Turpin, Anja Utler, Inara Versemnieks, Manual Vilas, Xavier Villanova, Jacquelyn Vincenta, Daniel Wallace, Kenneth Whyte, G. Willow Wilson, Andrea Wilson, Poon Yiu Ming
2016
alea adigweme, Wasi Ahmed, Khaled Al Khamissi, Eros Atalia, Rachel Aukes, Yusi Avianto Pareanom, Anna Barker, Dan Barry, Odeh Bisharat, Daniel Boscaljon, Velibor Bozovic, James F. Brooks, Julie A. Burns, Angie Carter, Crystal Chan, Ryan Collins, Jennifer Colville, Rachel Corbett, Galit Dahan-Carlibach, Zp Dala, Eliza David, Joseph Dobrian, John Domini, Ricky Dragoni, Legodile ‘Dredd X’ Seganabeng, Anaïs Duplan, Allen Eskens, John Freeman, Roxane Gay, Mara Genschel, Obari Gomba, Mortada Gzar, Tse Hao Guang, Donald Harstad, Craig A. Hart, Mallory Hellman, Aleksandar Hemon, Ray Hendrickson, Nathan Hill, Claire Hoffman, Adam G. Hooks, Michelle Hoover, Helen Horn, Allegra Hyde, Marie Jackson, Leslie Jamison, Zhou Jianing, Ruel Johnson, Akhil Katyal, Daniel Khalastchi, Suki Kim, Jennifer L. Knox, Chen Ko Hua, Tom Lutz, Alexander Maksik, Emily Martin, Allison Means, Christopher Merrill, Rachel Morgan, Amanah Mustafi, Okey Ndibe, Marc Nieson, Lynne Nugent, Robert Oldshue, Robert Olen Butler, Ukamaka Olisakwe, Robert Owens, Shenaz Patel, Carlos Patiño Pereda, F. Paul Wilson, Alice M. Phillips, Leonard Pitts Jr., Hilary Plum, Vladimir Poleganov, Carolyn Raffensperger, Hensli Rahn Solorzano, Nell Regan, Rick Riordan, Melvin Rivers, Julie Rubini, Julie Russel-Stewart, Deb Schense, Steve Semken, Vivek Shanbhag, Tomoka Shibasaki, Tom Shroder, Courtney Sina Meredith, Katherine E. Standefer, Stephanos Stephanides, Catherine A. Stewart, Kalmia Strong, Kenriikka Tavi, Mariano Tenconi Blanco, Erik Therme, Genevieve Trainor, Tatiana Troitskaya, B.C. Tweedt, Kali VanBaale, Ng VirginiaSuk-Yin, Angelo Volandes, Andrea Wilson, Andrea Wulf, Rachel Yoder, Christina Yohannes, Alice S. Yousef
About the festival
WELCOME TO IOWA CITY! The 18th annual Iowa City Book Festival will be held Oct. 19-25, 2026, at locations throughout downtown and beyond. It will showcase a dynamic mix of original events and collaborative programs with partner organizations, all celebrating the power of the written word and the exchange of ideas.
The Iowa City Book Festival is organized by the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature, a nonprofit 501(c)3 that manages the Iowa City area’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature. The City of Literature works to advance its mission of celebrating and supporting literature on a local, regional, national, and international level, connecting readers and writers through the power of story.
Why Iowa City?
The oldest creative writing program in the country, and still regarded the best. More than forty Pulitzer Prize winners. North America’s only UNESCO City of Literature. How did the midwestern college town of Iowa City, Iowa become the capital of creative writing in America? Check out the City of Literature documentary to find out.
Support the Festival
The vast majority of City of Literature events are offered without charge, but they are not free. Your tax deductible donation gives us the ability to offer programs like this festival. Please consider supporting the City of Literature by making a donation today.
