A person’s body affects the way they navigate the world, and their experiences in it. How much power does a body (with regard to, for instance, race, gender, sexuality, physical ability) have over, or in, an artist’s work? And, with what devices can a writer affect issues their body can present-- for instance via symbolism,
Presented in collaboration with the Iowa Writers' Workshop, University Lecture Committee, Iowa City Book Festival, and Refocus Film Festival Part of Hancher's Infinite Dream festival John Irving is one of the foremost writers of the 20th and 21st centuries. He is the author of several books, including the novels The Cider House Rules, The World According to Garp, and most recently The Last Chairlift. He
Terry Pratchett takes Shakespeare’s Macbeth and then turns it up ’till the knob comes off. It’s all there – a wicked duke and duchess, the ghost of the murdered king, dim soldiers, strolling players, a land in peril. And who stands between the Kingdom and destruction? Three witches. Written by Sir Terry Pratchett, and adapted
Involving the Japanese poet YOTSUMOTO Yasuhiro (IWP 2023), the Akutagawa Prize-winning writer LI Kotomi (IWP 2023), the Japanese poet SUGA Keijiro, UI students from JPNS 3201 Workshop in Japanese Literary Translation; International Writing Program writers from Japan, Taiwan, Jamaica, Nigeria, and Kazakhstan; 10 young Japanese poets and several dozen Japanese undergraduates who will connect to
Josh Larsen is the co-host of the radio show and podcast Filmspotting and author of Movies Are Prayers. He will discuss his new book, Fear Not! A Christian Appreciation of Horror Movies. Presented in partnership with the ReFocus Film Festival.
Justin Torres is the author of We the Animals, which won the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, was translated into fifteen languages, and was adapted into a feature film. A graduate of the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he will read from and discuss his new book, Blackouts. Fellow Workshop graduate Jamel Brinkley will moderate.
Daniel Kraus is a New York Times bestselling author. His collaboration with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero, The Living Dead, was acclaimed by The New York Times and The Washington Post. The Iowa native will discuss his new novel, Whalefall.
Note: Kurt Vile will no longer be a part of this event. We are excited to present instead a conversation between Lonnie Holley, a renowned visual artist and musician, and musician and writer Lee Baines. Holley's most recent album Oh Me Oh My reflects on his difficult personal experiences growing up in the Alabama Industrial
Kristen Roupenian holds a PhD in English from Harvard, an MFA from the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan, and a BA from Barnard College. She is the author of the short story, “Cat Person,” which was published in The New Yorker. She will read from her short story collection, Cat Person.
Eskor David Johnson is a writer from Trinidad and Tobago and the United States. His writing has appeared in BOMB Magazine, and McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern. A graduate of Harvard University and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he currently lives in New York City. Pay As You Go is his debut novel.
Mindy Mejia is a CPA and a graduate of the Hamline University MFA program. Her debut novel, The Dragon Keeper, was published by Ashland Creek Press in 2012. She lives in the Twin Cities with her family, and is the author of Strike Me Down, Everything You Want Me to Be, and Leave No Trace.
Nathan Hill’s best-selling debut novel, The Nix, was named the number one book of 2016 by Entertainment Weekly and one of the year’s best books by The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, Slate, and many others. The native Iowan returns with Wellness. Moving from the gritty ’90s Chicago art scene to a suburbia
