Local Author Book Fair! Join us as local authors present their latest works, answer questions, and sign books. Browse each author's table where various books will be available for purchase. R.C. Davis | Jason Liegois | Erin Casey | Jose M. Rodriguez Jr. | J. A. Webb | Bill Witherspoon | David Markward | Todd
Daniel Umemezie, 2025–26 Iowa Student Poet Ambassador Poetry in Public celebrates our community’s rich literary tradition and local writing talent by displaying poems by writers of all ages. Hear from some of the 2025 Selected Poets. This event is live and in-person, and will be streamed live at: https://www.youtube.com/thelibrarychannel Featuring special guest, Daniel Somotochukwu Umemezie,
This panel will explore writing beyond publishing, focusing on how the practice itself can bring joy, healing, and meaning. Panelists will also consider how books, reading, and art can serve as medicine, balm, or even dessert, nourishing both mind and spirit. Featuring: Erin Casey, Kellee Forkenbrock, Mackie Garrett, and Morgan Webb | Moderated by Jesus
Panelists will discuss this new anthology, The Black Superwoman & Mental Health: Power & Pain by Venise Berry and Janette Taylor. It is not easy to reveal oneself and to be vulnerable in a public way as the authors in this book have done. This is the act of resisting the voices and social scripts
Poet, novelist, and essayist Kazim Ali will read as a special guest of the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program. He is joined by IWP participants Rajaa Alsanea (Saudi Arabia) and Yu Yuen Lan (Hong Kong), who will also read from their work.
Year after year, some of the area’s most treasured comics and writers gather together to relentlessly burn and mock everything sacred and dear about our town. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. This year is hosted by Karen Vásquez and features a lineup of talented comics, plus LV’s Dear Kiki Live!, where we read your anonymous love and relationship
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. The group will meet at PorchLight Literary Arts Center (1019 E Washington St, Iowa City) and is co-hosted
In her book Relational Mindfulness: A Handbook for Deepening Our Connection with Ourselves, Each Other, and the Planet, Deborah Eden Tull writes that “Deep listening is an act of love. Listening to life as it unfolds moment by moment, with our full presence, is the essence of meditation.” In this workshop we’ll explore–through writing and mindfulness exercises–
Cole Swensen has been named the 14th recipient of the Paul Engle Prize, presented by the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature organization. The prize, established in 2011, honors an individual who, like Paul Engle, represents a pioneering spirit in the world of literature through writing, editing, publishing, or teaching, and whose active participation in
Join us for a special conversation with Paul Engle’s daughter, Mary Burge. Growing up during the early years of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Mary witnessed its history firsthand and will share vivid stories from that time. She will be joined by her partner, Will Boutelle, the “boy next door” in Engle’s American Child sonnets, who
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. The group will meet at PorchLight Literary Arts Center (1019 E Washington St, Iowa City) and is co-hosted
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. The group will meet at PorchLight Literary Arts Center (1019 E Washington St, Iowa City) and is co-hosted
