Bonnie Jo Campbell: The Spirits

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

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,

Megan Greenwell: Bad Company

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

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

Pilar Quintana: La perra (The Bitch)

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

On a bluff overlooking Colombia’s rough Pacific coast, at the edge of the jungle—a world where nothing is taken for granted –Damaris lives in a shack with her fisherman husband.

Slamovision: International Slam Poetry Judging

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

Join Iowa City poets and poetry lovers during the Iowa City Book Festival to watch and rank slam poets from UNESCO Cities of Literature around the world as they compete

Mark Leidner: Elegy for Pangaea

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

Mark Leidner’s third poetry collection, Elegy for Pangaea, is as funny, strange, and epic as his two previous collections, Returning the Sword to the Stone and Beauty Was the Case that They Gave Me.

Melissa Tedone: The Poison Book Project

University of Iowa Main Library 125 W Washington St,, Iowa City, IA

The Poison Book Project is an interdisciplinary research initiative at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library and the University of Delaware. This ongoing investigation explores the materiality of Victorian-era publishers’ bindings.

An Evening with Pulitzer Prize Winner Yiyun Li

Levitt Center for University Advancement 1 East Park Road, Iowa City, IA

Internationally acclaimed author Yiyun Li won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for her resonant memoir, Things in Nature Merely Grow, a deeply moving account of losing her younger son to suicide a

Lori Erickson: Travels with the Muse

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

Travels with the Muse is a journey into the creative life, told through Lori Erickson’s travels to places where art and spirit meet. From the luminous interior of Barcelona’s Sagrada

Friends Foundation Pop-up Used Book Sale

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

Stop by the lobby of the Iowa City Public Library between festival events to browse for a new (to you) book.

Book Fair

MERGE 136 S Dubuque St, Iowa City, IA

A diverse collection of titles, journals, magazines, and book arts from local and regional publishers and literary organizations. A unique opportunity for book lovers to discover new authors and genres.