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X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260912T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260912T103000
DTSTAMP:20260722T150651
CREATED:20260708T152842Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260708T152842Z
UID:5659-1789209000-1789209000@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:PorchLight: Poetry Exchange
DESCRIPTION:This writer guided critique group offers poets the chance to receive carefully considered feedback\, and find writerly community.  \nWriters share drafts of work in advance so readers have enough time to provide considered feedback. Feedback is mostly positive\, and descriptive\, but writers can ask for proscriptive feedback if they wish. This workshop model centers the writer\, and gives them control over the amount and type of feedback they receive. \nFor more information on how to join\, visit their website!
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/porchlight-poetry-exchange/2026-09-12/
LOCATION:PorchLight Literary Arts Center\, 1019 E Washington St\, Iowa City\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:General
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/avif:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Porch.avif
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260912T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260912T130000
DTSTAMP:20260722T150651
CREATED:20260708T153803Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260708T153803Z
UID:5664-1789218000-1789218000@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:PorchLight: Queer Writers' Check In
DESCRIPTION:Similar to their Long Project Check In\, this group is for queer writers looking to build literary community together. Each session will include free writing\, discussion of works in progress\, and general literary support. Occasionally\, there will be guests and opportunities for trading work. \nVisit their website to RSVP!
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/porchlight-queer-writers-check-in/2026-09-12/
LOCATION:PorchLight Literary Arts Center\, 1019 E Washington St\, Iowa City\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:General
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260916T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260916T190000
DTSTAMP:20260722T150651
CREATED:20260722T172534Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260722T172534Z
UID:5739-1789585200-1789585200@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:PrairieLights – Luis Muñoz\, Garth Greenwell\, & Idra Novey – One Moment: Poems
DESCRIPTION:Renowned Spanish poet Luis Muñoz will read from his debut North American poetry collection\, One Moment\, and will be joined by his English translators\, his husband Garth Greenwell and Idra Novey. Described as “Sweet\, surreal\, and haunting\,” the poems in One Moment “examine both the frictions and elusiveness that can occur between self and others…the gentle observation of sunlight like ‘golden cookies on the bedspread’ as you lie next to a lover. The feeling of solitude rendering you as small and still as a garbanzo bean\, yearning as much for water and light as to continue being left alone” (simonandschuster.com). Bestselling poet and novelist Kaveh Akbar praises One Moment by saying\, “It’s thrilling to encounter poetry this fresh\, this undeniable\,” and adds\, “No one today sounds like this.” \nLuis Muñoz is the author of seven books of poetry\, including Vecindad. He has received the Ciudad de Córdoba\, Generación del 27\, and Ojo Crítico prizes\, among others. He divides his time between Madrid and Iowa City\, where he directs the Spanish-language creative writing MFA program at the University of Iowa. \nGarth Greenwell is the author of three books of fiction\, most recently Small Rain\, which won the 2025 PEN/Faulkner Award and the PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award\, and was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. His first novel\, What Belongs to You\, won the British Book Award for Debut of the Year\, was longlisted for the National Book Award\, and was a finalist for six other awards\, including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His second book\, Cleanness\, was a New York Times Notable Book and was nominated for several awards\, including the Joyce Carol Oates Prize\, the Gordon Burn Prize\, and France’s Prix Sade. \nIdra Novey is a novelist\, poet\, and translator. Her most recent novel Take What You Need was a New York Times Notable Book of 2023\, a finalist for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize\, longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award\, and chosen as a Barnes & Noble Fiction Pick. Her first novel Ways to Disappear was a finalist for the L.A. Times First Fiction Prize and a winner of the 2016 Brooklyn Public Library Prize and the Sami Rohr Prize. Her fiction and poetry have been translated into a dozen languages and she’s written for The New York Times\, The Atlantic\, The Washington Post\, and The Guardian.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/prairielights-luis-munoz-garth-greenwell-idra-novey-one-moment-poems/
LOCATION:Prairie Lights Books\, 15 S. Dubuque St.\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:General
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/9781668222386.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260917T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260917T190000
DTSTAMP:20260722T150651
CREATED:20260722T172731Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260722T172731Z
UID:5742-1789671600-1789671600@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:PrairieLights – A reading with Camille T. Dungy\, America\, A Love Story
DESCRIPTION:The 2024 Paul Engle Prize winner and celebrated poet Camille T. Dungy will read from her newest poetry collection\, America\, a Love Story. Described by publisher Wesleyan University Press as a “powerful testament to living and loving as a Black woman and mother in today’s America\, and her first book of poetry in almost a decade\,” America\, a Love Story is praised by Charley Burlock of Oprah Daily as an “electrifying new collection [that] arrives just on time\, offering a version of patriotism capable of meeting the present moment and carrying us through to a brighter future\,” while award-winning poet and novelist Kaveh Akbar says: “What a great fan I am of Camille Dungy’s work. I’ve spent so much time sitting at the foot of her language\, just sort of learning what I can in slack-jawed wonder.” \nCamille T. Dungy is the author of Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden (2023). She has also written Guidebook to Relative Strangers: Journeys into Race\, Motherhood\, and History (2017)\, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award\, and four collections of poetry\, including Trophic Cascade (2017)\, winner of the Colorado Book Award. Dungy edited Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry (2009)\, and her work has appeared in Best American Poetry\, 100 Best African American Poems\, Best American Essays\, The 1619 Project\, plus dozens of venues including The New Yorker\, Poetry\, Literary Hub\, The Paris Review\, and Poets.org. A University Distinguished Professor at Colorado State University\, Dungy’s honors include the 2021 Academy of American Poets Fellowship\, a 2019 Guggenheim Fellowship\, an American Book Award\, an Honorary Doctorate from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry\, and fellowships from the NEA in both prose and poetry (weslpress.org).
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/prairielights-a-reading-with-camille-t-dungy-america-a-love-story/
LOCATION:Prairie Lights Books\, 15 S. Dubuque St.\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:General
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/9780819502261.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260917T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260917T190000
DTSTAMP:20260722T150651
CREATED:20260722T174435Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260722T174435Z
UID:5749-1789671600-1789671600@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:SideKick – reading and signing with Paige Towers and Sarah Elgatian
DESCRIPTION:Join Sidekick Coffee and Books for the launch of “What they Stole: Familicide Rooted in Intercountry Adoption” by Paige Towers in conversation with Sarah Elgatian. \nAbout the book: In 1955\, following the devastation of the Korean War\, Bertha and Harry Holt made headlines for adopting eight Korean children. Driven by evangelical convictions and emboldened by a spacial act of Congress\, the couple founded the Holt Adoption Program\, which would facilitate migration of tens of thousands of Korean children to the United States over the following decades. The Sueppels were among the families profoundly shaped by the legacy of the Holt Adoption Program\, until 2008\, when Steven found himself facing federal embezzlement and money laundering chargers\, he murdered Sheryl and their adopted children before ending his own life. What They Stole traces the interwoven histories of the Holts and the Sueppels\, Meticulously researched and sensitive to its storytelling\, Paige Towers examines how goos intentions can coexist with systemic harm- and how the consequences of systems like the Holt’s can reverberate across generations. \nOne book purchase admits two people
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/sidekick-reading-and-signing-with-paige-towers-and-sarah-elgatian/
LOCATION:Sidekick Coffee & Books\, 1310 1/2 Melrose Avenue\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52242\, United States
CATEGORIES:General
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-22-at-12.43.49-PM.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260918T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260918T183000
DTSTAMP:20260722T150651
CREATED:20260722T173204Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260722T173204Z
UID:5745-1789756200-1789756200@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:PrairieLights – [Virtual Event] Nancy Sowell in conv. with Melissa Febos – Internal Family Systems Health Therapy: Treating Trauma-Related Physical Illness & Toxic Stress
DESCRIPTION:[Virtual Event] Find the link on PrairieLights website  \nNancy Sowell\, LICSW\, will read from her new book co-authored with Martha Sweezy\, PhD\, and Richard C. Schwartz\, PhD: IFS (Internal Family Systems) Health Therapy: Treating Trauma-Related Physical Illness & Toxic Stress. She will be joined in conversation by bestselling author and daughter\, Melissa Febos. (Note: This will be a virtual event on Zoom and will start at 6:30 PM CDT.) \nThe publisher\, PESI Publishing\, offers this introduction for IFS Health Therapy: \nMany chronic health conditions–from inflammation and digestive disorders to metabolic syndrome and autoimmune     diseases–are increasingly linked to the lasting effects of chronic stress and trauma. But how do these experiences become embedded in the body\, and how can we help? \nIn IFS (Internal Family Systems) Health Therapy\, Nancy Sowell\, in collaboration with Martha Sweezy and IFS founder Richard Schwartz\, draws upon thirty years of clinical practice and behavioral medicine experience to present a groundbreaking mind-body approach that views protective and vulnerable inner “parts” as key drivers of physical health concerns. From this perspective\, relief emerges as clients support these internal parts and release trauma-related burdens. \nThrough vivid case examples\, experiential exercises\, and practical tools\, clinicians will learn how to use a clear three-phase framework to: \n\nUnderstand how trauma and chronic stress contribute to illness\nConduct an IFS-informed health therapy assessment\nIdentify and befriend protective parts that affect physical symptoms\nHelp vulnerable parts release trauma-related burdens\nCollaborate with other health professionals to support whole-person care\n\nAdversity can alter a person’s mind and body\, but it does not extinguish the Self’s capacity to heal. This book equips you with the tools to support that capacity. \nNancy Sowell\, LICSW\, is an IFS senior trainer\, consultant\, and speaker who teaches internationally and in the US and maintains an IFS health therapy practice. She is a Harvard Medical School teaching associate at the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion at the Cambridge Health Alliance\, where she has served for many years as a clinical consultant and IFS trainer. Her work integrates personal history\, mindful awareness of the body\, emotions\, thoughts\, and deeply held beliefs that influence our mood\, behavior\, relationships\, and health. As the Behavioral Medicine program manager in the Division of Rheumatology\, Immunology\, and Allergy at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston\, she co-created an IFS program that demonstrated positive outcomes for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. She knows both personally and professionally the power of the Self in healing and restoring health. Visit her website: www.nancysowell.com. \nMelissa Febos is the national bestselling author of five books\, including Girlhood—winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism\, Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative\, and a new memoir\, The Dry Season. She is the recipient of awards and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation\, the National Endowment for the Arts\, MacDowell\, LAMBDA Literary\, the Black Mountain Institute\, the British Library\, and others. Her work has appeared in The Paris Review\, The New Yorker\, The Best American Essays\, Vogue\, and The New York Times Magazine. She is a Professor at the University of Iowa\, where she teaches in The Nonfiction Writing Program (melissafebos.com).
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/prairielights-virtual-event-nancy-sowell-in-conv-with-melissa-febos-internal-family-systems-health-therapy-treating-trauma-related-physical-illness-toxic-stress/
CATEGORIES:General
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Nancy-Sowell-Book-IFS-Health-Therapy-2026.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260921T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260921T103000
DTSTAMP:20260722T150651
CREATED:20260714T160440Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260714T160440Z
UID:5685-1789986600-1789986600@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:PorchLight: Write Now - Community Supported Writing Group
DESCRIPTION:PorchLight’s Write Now Writer’s Group provides community\, and learning opportunities for beginning to intermediate writers. At their monthly meetings\, share short craft lessons\, generate writing from prompts\, and\, on occasion\, provide responses to participants’ work in progress. Writers working in any genre are welcome. \nThis is a great group for writers who have not had the time or opportunity to pursue a traditional MFA. \nRSVP one week in advance on their website!
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/porchlight-write-now-community-supported-writing-group/2026-09-21/
LOCATION:PorchLight Literary Arts Center\, 1019 E Washington St\, Iowa City\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:General
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-10.57.53-AM.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260924T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260924T190000
DTSTAMP:20260722T150651
CREATED:20260714T171815Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260714T171815Z
UID:5693-1790276400-1790276400@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Sidekick: Conversation and signing with author Grant Faulkner
DESCRIPTION:Join Sidekick Coffee and Books for an evening with author Grant Faulkner in conversation with Yasmina Din Madden for his new book Something Out There in the Distance on September 24th at 7 pm. \nOne book purchase admits two people. \nAbout the book: Flash-fiction master Grant Faulkner and photographer Gail Butensky have partnered to create this unique narrative made up of stories alongside edge-of-the-world photography. The book tells of two lovers taking a reckless\, searching road trip through the American West. Dawn is a photographer who captures desert landscapes. Jonny drives just to drive\, running away from the end of time or running toward the end of time\, looking for a home even as his restlessness overtakes him. By turns funny\, poignant\, and heartbreaking\, something out there is in the distance is big in emotions while brief in words. An extraordinary collaboration between word and image\, Dawn and Jonny’s journey transports us to a place\, achingly familial\, populated by love\, loss\, and wonder. \nAbout Yasmina Din Madden: \nYasmina Din Madden is the author of the story collection You Know Nothing\, Northwestern University Press (2026)\, and her fiction and nonfiction have been published in Electric Literature\, The Idaho Review\, The Fairy Tale Review\, and other journals. She is the winner of the Oxford Flash Prize and was a finalist for the Iowa Review Award. She teaches creative writing and literature at Drake University. \n 
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/sidekick-conversation-and-signing-with-author-grant-faulkner/
LOCATION:Sidekick Coffee & Books\, 1310 1/2 Melrose Avenue\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52242\, United States
CATEGORIES:General
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/1483950356374041.webp
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261004T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261004T100000
DTSTAMP:20260722T150651
CREATED:20260708T155437Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260708T155437Z
UID:5674-1791108000-1791108000@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:PorchLight: Writing Grief
DESCRIPTION:Grief Writing – A monthly exploration of loss and heartbreak \nJennifer New leads this monthly group that uses writing as a reflective tool to explore loss. Francis Weller’s Five Gates of Grief provides a backbone to consider grief from multiple angles\, e.g.\, death of loved ones\, loss of health or ability\, grief for the world. This is an ongoing group; you’re welcome to attend once or each time. No writing experience is needed.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/porchlight-writing-grief/2026-10-04/
LOCATION:PorchLight Literary Arts Center\, 1019 E Washington St\, Iowa City\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:General
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/avif:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Porch3.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261010T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261010T130000
DTSTAMP:20260722T150651
CREATED:20260708T153803Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260708T153803Z
UID:5665-1791637200-1791637200@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:PorchLight: Queer Writers' Check In
DESCRIPTION:Similar to their Long Project Check In\, this group is for queer writers looking to build literary community together. Each session will include free writing\, discussion of works in progress\, and general literary support. Occasionally\, there will be guests and opportunities for trading work. \nVisit their website to RSVP!
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/porchlight-queer-writers-check-in/2026-10-10/
LOCATION:PorchLight Literary Arts Center\, 1019 E Washington St\, Iowa City\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:General
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/avif:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Porch1.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261019
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261026
DTSTAMP:20260722T150651
CREATED:20260507T150646Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260507T150646Z
UID:5537-1792368000-1792972799@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Iowa City Book Festival
DESCRIPTION: The Iowa City Book Festival is happening October 19–25\, 2026! Join us for a week of literary events\, author talks\, readings\, and more at various locations throughout downtown Iowa City. Mark your calendars. More information coming soon.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/iowa-city-book-festival-2/
LOCATION:Downtown Iowa City
CATEGORIES:General
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ICBF-featured.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261019T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261019T103000
DTSTAMP:20260722T150651
CREATED:20260714T160440Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260714T160440Z
UID:5686-1792405800-1792405800@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:PorchLight: Write Now - Community Supported Writing Group
DESCRIPTION:PorchLight’s Write Now Writer’s Group provides community\, and learning opportunities for beginning to intermediate writers. At their monthly meetings\, share short craft lessons\, generate writing from prompts\, and\, on occasion\, provide responses to participants’ work in progress. Writers working in any genre are welcome. \nThis is a great group for writers who have not had the time or opportunity to pursue a traditional MFA. \nRSVP one week in advance on their website!
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/porchlight-write-now-community-supported-writing-group/2026-10-19/
LOCATION:PorchLight Literary Arts Center\, 1019 E Washington St\, Iowa City\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:General
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-10.57.53-AM.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261115T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261115T100000
DTSTAMP:20260722T150651
CREATED:20260708T155437Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260708T155437Z
UID:5675-1794736800-1794736800@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:PorchLight: Writing Grief
DESCRIPTION:Grief Writing – A monthly exploration of loss and heartbreak \nJennifer New leads this monthly group that uses writing as a reflective tool to explore loss. Francis Weller’s Five Gates of Grief provides a backbone to consider grief from multiple angles\, e.g.\, death of loved ones\, loss of health or ability\, grief for the world. This is an ongoing group; you’re welcome to attend once or each time. No writing experience is needed.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/porchlight-writing-grief/2026-11-15/
LOCATION:PorchLight Literary Arts Center\, 1019 E Washington St\, Iowa City\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:General
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/avif:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Porch3.avif
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