Art Cullen: We Crapped In Our Nest

Iowa City Public Library 123 S. Linn St., Iowa City, IA

We have fouled our nest over the past half century in a way that was almost unavoidable, given our history of seeking domination — first over the Indigenous people of the Western World, then over their land. Native people for millennia lived with the land in a vital relationship. Europeans set out to transform that

Joe Haldeman and The Forever War

Iowa City Masonic Building 312 E College St, Iowa City, IA

The Forever War, Joe Haldeman’s 1974 novel and the first sci-fi work shaped by the Vietnam War, continues to resonate decades later. Haldeman, a Vietnam veteran and Iowa Writers’ Workshop alum, crafted a story that John Scalzi calls “timeless, because what’s in the book touches on something that never goes away.” Join Haldeman, his wife

Incognito Lounge: Celebrating the work of Denis Johnson

Riverside Theatre 119 E College St, Iowa City, IA

Denis and Cindy Johnson Friends and admirers of the late Denis Johnson read from and discuss his work at this special event co-presented with FilmScene’s Refocus Film Festival and the University of Iowa Office for Writing and Communication. Participants include Chris Offutt, Cindy Lee Johnson, Will Patton, Red Danielson, and James Galvin.

Candle Light Press 30th Anniversary signing

Daydreams Comics 229 E Washington St, Iowa City, IA

Come celebrate the 30th anniversary of Iowa City's own Candle Light Press! Carter Allen, Austin Allen Hamblin, and John Ira Thomas will be signing books at Daydreams on Saturday, October 11th at 200p-400p. It's been a big year for the press, so there's lots of new books--Zoo Force: Blue Route and Stops Along the Way,

Panel Discussion: Sense of Place

Iowa City Masonic Building 312 E College St, Iowa City, IA

In this panel, writers will discuss place and setting as key in many kinds of writing. They will explore the following questions: How do you convey a sense of place or paint a unique landscape? In what ways does location contribute to your writing? Can a literary work truly be ‘universal,’ or will place always

Tatiana Schlote-Bonne: The Mean Ones

Prairie Lights Books 15 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA

So what if Sadie hears talking dead animals and a strange, comforting male voice in her head? The therapist insists these are just symptoms of PTSD. It makes sense considering that she hid under the bed and watched as her best friends were slaughtered. But the murders were seventeen years ago, back when her name

Christina Ward: Holy Food

Iowa City Public Library 123 S. Linn St., Iowa City, IA

Does God have a recipe? Christina Ward’s Holy Food:  How Cults, Communes, and Religious Movements Influenced What We Eat – An American History investigates the explosion of religious movements since the Great Awakenings that birthed a cottage industry of food fads and cookbooks.  Ward uncovers the interconnectivity between obscure sects and communities of the 20th Century who dabbled

Anna Barker: 13 Notes from Napoleon, Iowa: Musings on the Edge of the French Empire

Iowa City Public Library 123 S. Linn St., Iowa City, IA

Born on August 15, 1769, in Ajaccio, on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, Napoleon was the ruler of Iowa between 1800 and 1803 when he served as the First Consul of the French Republic. Iowa City, Iowa, evolved out of the 1838 settlement named after him — Napoleon, Iowa — the location marked today by

Patricia Lockwood: Will There Ever Be Another You

Prairie Lights Books 15 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA

Amid a global pandemic, one young woman is trying to keep the pieces together – of her family, stunned by a devastating loss, and of her mind, left mangled and misfiring from a mystifying disease. She’s afraid of her own floorboards, and “WHAT IS LOVE? BABY DON’T HURT ME” plays over and over in her

Panel Discussion: Importance of Genre

Iowa City Masonic Building 312 E College St, Iowa City, IA

A lively conversation with writers exploring how genre shapes stories, readers, and the writing process. Featuring: Anna Bruno, Gregory Galloway, Scott Phillips, and Tatiana Schlote-Bonne. Moderated by Nina Lohman.

John Ira Thomas: Tire Magazine

Daydreams Comics 229 E Washington St, Iowa City, IA

Join John Ira Thomas for a journey through the mystical and the mundane through the metafictional series of Tire magazine! John will read from Tire June 2000, Tire Annual 2021, Tire May 2038, and work in progress from The Best of Tire Classifieds. Alternate timeline John's life may have been ruined by a New Age boomlet fixated on something

Sidekick Coffee and Books Presents: It’s Getting Plot in Here A Romance Book Festival

Sidekick Coffee & Books 1310 1/2 Melrose Avenue, Iowa City, IA

Join Sidekick Coffee and Books for the Romance Book Festival, a night of romance, creativity, and community.  $35 — available now! bit.ly/Sidekick_Romance_Book_Festival  Author Meet & Greet Line-Up: Chloe Angyal – Pointe of Pride, Pas de Don’t, Barre Fight Kelly Farmer – Fanning the Flames, Secret Spark, It’s a Fabulous Life Gin Griffith – Holy Smoke, Cat Fight Megan Murphy