Ready to get some eyes on your work? This group provides careful readings and positive, descriptive feedback on works-in-progress. They meet twice a month and workshop two submissions of up to 20 pages at each meeting. They are currently open to adding one or two more members. They advise sitting in on a session to
Join them for their annual IWP Sunday Afternoon Reading Series! This week’s event features IWP Residents Radu Vancu (Sibiu, Romania), Harumi Kawaguchi 川口晴美 (Japan), and Amber Esau (New Zealand). They will be joined by recent Iowa Writers' Workshop graduate, Lizzie Cusick. Radu Vancu (Sibiu, Romania, 1978) is a Romanian poet, scholar, and translator. A professor
In 2000, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack declared Oct. 12 to be “Paul Engle Day,” in honor of the Iowa-born poet who served as head of the Writer’s Workshop from 1942 to 1977, helping to develop it from an obscure experimental program to an internationally renowned literary center. Check out the City of Literature documentary to
Join Sidekick Coffee and Books for a reading by author Tatiana Schlote-Bonne for her new book "What Feeds Below." Purchase of one book admits two guests. About the book: The darkness isn't empty. It's hungry. At the edge of the City of the Void, a massive chasm extends miles into the earth, its treacherous terrain
Emily Ogden will read from her new book, Darkness Becomes Bright: On the Brief Life and Immortal Art of Edgar Allan Poe. Described as "A fascinating and intimate inquiry into Edgar Allan Poe’s shadowy life and horrifyingly compelling work" (penguinrandomhouse.com), Darkness Becomes Bright is praised by Meghan O’Rourke, author of The Invisible Kingdom, as "profoundly insightful," while Sarah Waters, author
The Iowa City Book Festival is happening October 18–25, 2026! Join us for a week of literary events, author talks, readings, and more at various locations throughout downtown Iowa City.
Christopher Merrill has been named the 15th 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
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. This is a great group for writers who have not had the
Explore the Literary Grove with University of Iowa Arborist Andy DahlTake a guided stroll through the Literary Grove, where each tree has a story to tell. Arborist Andy Dahl will share the unique histories and literary connections of these remarkable trees, many linked to celebrated authors from the world-renowned Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
Marilynne Robinson and Nicholas Kristof in Conversation Marilynne Robinson is the author of the novels Housekeeping, Gilead, Home, Lila, and Jack. Gilead won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award, while Home received the Orange Prize for Fiction and Lila won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Robinson is also
Bonnie Jo Campbell, a master of rural American fiction, brings us a hair-raising winter tale to warm us by the fireside. In this contemporary Christmas Carol, Campbell has created a gritty, spooky, and ultimately heartening holiday story that unfolds in an isolated farmhouse. It is the night before Christmas in a small town in Michigan, and
Acclaimed journalist Megan Greenwell’s Bad Company unearths the hidden story of corporate greed and the world of private equity by examining the lives of four American workers that were devastated as private equity upended their employers and communities: a Toys R Us floor supervisor, a rural doctor, a local newspaper journalist, and an affordable housing organizer. Taken
