A novel-poem taking us to the Pulitzer-prize winning poet Forrest Gander's birthplace in the Mojave Desert and his current northern California home, where tumultuous memories coalesce with the present. Mojave Ghost initiates an unusually tender bond with the reader as it chronicles an intimate relationship with arresting honesty and vividness. Moving through grief and loss

Join author James Fitzmaurice for a conversation about his new young adult novel, Hobgoblin Gennel. In this off-beat tale of adventure, teenagers Irie and Fred are fast friends. Irie, of Afro-Caribbean heritage, was born in Sheffield where they both live. Fred is an expat American transplanted from Yuma, Arizona with a keen interest in Sheffield’s

Ari Berman is the national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones and a reporting fellow at Type Media Center. He will read from Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People—and the Fight to Resist It,. He is also the author of Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America (finalist,

With his signature crackling prose, literary master Chris Offutt has staked out his own territory in crime fiction, a place of familial allegiances, old wounds, and revenge—the code of the hills. His new book, a sharp, twisty southern noir with echoes of James Sallis and Daniel Woodrell, will force Mick to face up to the

Poets Perry Janes, Anna Morrison and Hannah Bonner will read from and discuss their work, in partnership with Refocus Film Festival.

In this panel, writers will discuss some of their favorite writing by others, sharing the things they like to read and important books they would like to recommend. Featuring: Nicolás Medina Mora, Chris Tse (International Writing Program), Sharon Wahl, Nicolas Wong (International Writing Program), Peter Závada (International Writing Program)

Natalie Goldberg has influenced generations of aspiring creative writers with books like Writing Down the Bones and Wild Mind. Her books offer  down-to-earth guidance for developing a meaningful writing practice in the real world, however different that is for each of us. In her new book, Writing on Empty, she opens up about a new experience; that of losing

After performing his score for Yakov Protazanov’s pioneering sci-fi film Aelita: Queen of Mars as part of FilmScene's Refocus Film Festival, Ribot joins the Iowa City Book Festival where he will read from his book Unstrung: Rants & Stories of a Noise Guitarist.  “Guitarist Marc Ribot helped Tom Waits refine a new, weird Americana on 1985's Rain Dogs, and since then he's

The Body Alone is an inquiry into the experience, meaning, and articulation of pain. It is a personal hybrid account incorporating research, scholarship, and memoir to examine chronic pain through the multi-lens of medicine, theology, and philosophy. Broken bodies tell broken stories. Nina Lohman’s pain experience is portrayed through a cyclical narrative of primers, vocabulary lessons,

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

Moving between New York City, Mexico City, and Iowa City, a young member of the Mexican elite sees his life splinter in a centuries-spanning debut that blends the Latin American traditions of Roberto Bolaño and Fernanda Melchor with the autofiction of US writers like Ben Lerner and Teju Cole. Split between the US and Mexico,

Join us for an insightful panel discussion on 'Publishing for Beginners,' where seasoned professionals share essential tips and strategies for navigating the publishing world. Whether you're aspiring to publish your first book or curious about the process, this session will provide you with practical advice and valuable insider knowledge. Panelists: Sarah Elgatian, Midwest Writing Center;