Panel Discussion: Beyond Publishing – Writing as Joy, Healing, and Priority
2025-10-12 13:00 (America/Chicago) | MERGE, 136 S Dubuque St, Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
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 “Chuy” Renteria

Panel Discussion – The Black Superwoman & Mental Health: Power & Pain
2025-10-12 14:30 | DREAM CITY, 611 Southgate Avenue, Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
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 that say we do not air our “dirty laundry”, we should keep “secrets” to remain safe, yet unhealthy. We must find safe spaces to speak our truths, to heal. It is through the process of seeking, doing, and being, sometimes in public like this anthology and sometimes in private (counseling or psychotherapy), that many of us learn to acknowledge, analyze, speak, and eventually write the truth of/about our lives in order to move closer to being whole Black women. Enjoy poetry, short stories, essays, and assessable research in this powerful anthology.
Featuring: Venise Berry, Professor of Journalism and African American Studies, University of Iowa; Averi Bryant, Graphic Arts Designer & Social Media Promoter; Katrina Harden-Williams, Doctoral Candidate in School of Education, Drake University; Tianna Newell, First Lady of Purpose Place Church in Iowa City; Tiana Warner, Spoken Word Artist, Writer.

Kazim Ali with Rajaa Alsanea and Yu Yuen Lan
2025-10-12 15:30 | Prairie Lights Books, 15 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
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.

Little Village Presents: Roast of Iowa City
2025-10-12 18:00 | ReUnion Brewery, 113 E College St, Iowa City, 52240, United States
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 questions and Kiki answers them on the spot. The Roast of Iowa City is sponsored by Romantix, who said they’ll be sending a box of “fun prizes for on-stage giveaways.” =
This is and always has been a free event, but guests are encouraged to make a donation so Little Village can continue doing what they do (journalism, etc.) well into our dystopian future.

Writing from Stillness: A Workshop on Mindfulness, Presence, and Creative Clarity
2025-11-16 09:30 - 11:30 | PorchLight Literary Arts Center, 1019 E Washington St, Iowa City, 52240, United States
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– how paying close, mindful attention to what’s around us, and within us, can enhance both our writing and our lived experience as creators. We’ll learn how mindful awareness can quiet the inner critic, calm our hearts, sharpen our powers of observation, and deepen our writing practice. With the help of guided meditations and generative writing prompts, participants will leave feeling more grounded, open, and creatively engaged. This workshop may be of benefit to writers, professionals, creatives, journalers, or anyone seeking clarity and calm through mindful writing.
Link: This workshop is free but registration is required.
Instructor Bio:
Stephen Pradarelli is the communications director for the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation, a global Buddhist organization founded by Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. In 2016, he founded Winding Path Sangha, which offers regular sitting and walking meditation opportunities. He’s a former journalist, communications strategist, crisis manager, book editor, essayist, and fiction writer. He’s also a private pilot and loves reading, hiking, traveling, and playing guitar.

2025 Paul Engle Prize Ceremony Honoring Cole Swensen
2025-11-16 14:00 | Coralville Public Library, 1401 5th St., Coralville, IA, 52241, United States
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 the larger issues of the day has contributed to the betterment of the world through the literary arts.
Swensen is a poet, editor, and translator, who taught in the Iowa Writers’ Workshop from 2001 to 2012. She then taught at Brown University until her retirement in 2023.
She is the author of 20 collections of poetry, including And And And, a finalist for the Griffin Poetry Prize, Art in Time, Gravesend, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award in Poetry; Goest, a finalist for the National Book Award; Try, winner of the Iowa Poetry Prize and the San Francisco State University Poetry Center Book Award; and New Math, winner of the National Poetry Series.
Swensen has translated more than 30 books of French poetry, creative nonfiction, and art criticism, and won the 2024 National Translation Award from ALTA and the 2025 Stephen Mitchell Translation Prize. She was awarded a 2006 Guggenheim Fellowship and has been a writer-in-residence at Yale’s Beinecke Library, the Pratt Institute, and Temple University. Swensen was the founder and editor of La Presse, an imprint of Fence Books that was dedicated to the translation of contemporary French poetry.
Swensen will receive the award at a ceremony at 2 p.m. on November 16, at the Coralville Public Library. Christopher Merrill will join Swensen in conversation. The event is free and open to the public. Book signing and reception to follow.
The Paul Engle Prize is made possible through the generous support of the City of Coralville, which is home to 11 permanent sculptures with artistic and literary ties to Iowa. The sculptures all have ties to work found in The Iowa Writers’ Library, housed in the Hyatt Regency Coralville Hotel, which features about 800 books written by former students, graduates and faculty of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
Paul Engle (October 12, 1908 – March 22, 1991), though best remembered as the long-time director of the Writers’ Workshop and co-founder with his wife, Hualing Nieh Engle, of the UI’s International Writing Program, also was a well-regarded poet, playwright, essayist, editor and critic. In 2000, then-Gov. Tom Vilsack declared Engle’s birthday, Oct. 12, as “Paul Engle Day” in Iowa.
Previous winners of the prize are: James Alan McPherson, Kwame Dawes, Luis Alberto Urrea, Roxane Gay, Alexander Chee, Dina Nayeri, Toi Derricotte, Cornelius Eady, Dr. Eve L. Ewing, Rebecca Solnit, Joan Naviyuk Kane, and Camille Dungy. Visit www.iowacityofliterature.org/paul-engle-day for more information about the prize and past winners.

Paul Engle’s Community of Writers
2025-11-18 19:00 | Iowa City Public Library, 123 S. Linn St., Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
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 will also share memories and reflections.
Featuring special guest, Reed Hagan, winner of the 2025 Paul Engle Glory of the Senses High School Essay Contest.
This program is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
Paul Engle (October 12, 1908 – March 22, 1991), was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on October 12, 1908, and grew up in a frame house in the Wellington Heights area. After graduating from Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Engle attended Coe College and the University of Iowa where he was one of the first students to earn an advanced degree based on a thesis of creative work—a collection of poems. His first published collection, Worn Earth, went on to win the Yale Series of Young Poets. His best-selling second book of poetry, American Song, was heralded on the cover of the New York Times Book Review in a headline declaring him “A New Voice in American Poetry”. After Iowa, Engle travelled as a Rhodes Scholar to Oxford University in England.
Though Engle did not found the Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa, he built its reputation as the top graduate writing program in the United States. During his tenure as director, he was responsible for luring some of the finest writers of the day to Iowa City: Phillip Roth, John Berryman, Kurt Vonnegut, and many other prominent novelists and poets served as faculty under Engle. Additionally, Engle increased enrollment and oversaw numerous students of future fame and influence, including Flannery O’Connor, John Irving, Raymond Carver, William Stafford, and Robert Bly.
After directing the Writers’ Workshop for twenty-four years, Engle and future-second-wife Nieh Hualing co-founded The University of Iowa’s International Writing Program, which invited dozens of published authors from around the globe to visit the University of Iowa to write and collaborate. For their work with the IWP, Engle and his wife were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976. Engle died at the age of eighty-two, having published fourteen books of poetry, a novel, a memoir, and an opera libretto, and his literary legacy lives on in the lives and works of those authors he helped to educate and inspire.
In 2000, nearly a decade after his death, Paul Engle was declared Iowa’s “Poet of the Century” and then-Governor Tom Vilsack declared that Engle’s birthday, October 12th, would hereafter be known as “Paul Engle Day” to honor this life of creativity, mentorship, and generosity.
Learn more about Paul Engle by watching our documentary, City of Literature

Trains!
2026-02-21 10:00 | MERGE, 136 S Dubuque St, Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
Full steam ahead for Lego and BRIO train fun with Dan Daly. Stop in at MERGE on the pedmall and play all day! (136 S. Dubuque Street Iowa City, next to the library and playground)
🚂 Calling all train lovers & helpers! 🚂
We need 4 awesome volunteers to make Trains! at One Book Two Book extra magical. This is the event where kids get to explore a whole room full of Brio & LEGO train fun, and YOU can help make it happen!
✨ Volunteer roles we need:
🔹 2 Track Builders — Help design & set up the tracks on Friday, Feb. 20
🔹 2 Train Assistants — Help kids, keep things moving, and spread the train joy on Saturday, Feb. 21
No experience necessary — just energy, teamwork, and a love of trains (or a willingness to learn 😉).
🚆 Sign up to volunteer!

Book Fair at One Book Two Book
2026-02-21 10:00 | FilmScene at The Chauncey, 404 E College St, Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
At FilmScene at The Chauncey
Join us for a celebration of children’s literature and writing! Books, author readings, writing workshops, film screenings, crafts, costume characters, and more!
Coralville Public Library | Iowa City Public Library | Midwest Chinese Academy | PaperPie | Scattergood Friends School | Sidekick Coffee & Books | The Book End | The Iowa Children’s Museum | Toadally Awesome Pets | Willowwind School

Sponsored by FilmScene

Jacqueline Briggs Martin: Turtles Heading Home
2026-02-21 10:00, 2026-02-21 10:30 | FilmScene at The Chauncey, 404 E College St, Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
Version 1.0.0
The waters around Cape Cod used to cool off gradually, signaling to sea turtles that it was time to swim south. But now, due to climate change, the water stays warm too long and cools off too quickly, making the turtles too cold to migrate.
Join author Jacqueline Briggs Martin as she reads from her latest book, Turtles Heading Home. Learn about the efforts of conservationists as they rescue the turtles, nurse them back to health, and release them into warmer waters. The operation involves hundreds of people, from the volunteers patrolling beaches, to the veterinarians in the hospital, to the pilots who fly the turtles south. All of them share the goal of helping save the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle—the most endangered sea turtle in the world.
Note – There will be two readings at 10-10:30 a.m., and again 10:30-11 a.m.

Drop-in Illustration Workshop with Matt Laux
2026-02-21 10:00 - 12:00 | MERGE, 136 S Dubuque St, Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
Join an all-ages free draw with Iowa City artist Matt Laux. Matt is a father, chef, and artist, inviting everyone to be creative and joyful. We will provide the paper and drawing tools, you provide the creativity!

Snapshots Cover Contest
2026-02-21 10:00 - 15:00 | MERGE, 136 S Dubuque St, Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
Kids, this is your chance to make snapshots extra special! Everyone’s art will get a spot in the magazine, but one person will get to be our cover — and it could be you!
snapshots is the University of Iowa’s literary magazine for children! The journal is written, produced, edited, and published by undergraduate/graduate students enrolled at the University of Iowa.

Slither, Stick, and Scribble: Writing with Reptiles
2026-02-21 10:30 - 11:30 | FilmScene at The Chauncey, 404 E College St, Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to chase your dinner up a wall? Or see heat? Or smell with your tongue? Join us to interact with live reptiles, learn how they experience the world, then explore your ideas through the very human act of creative writing. Prepare to slither and scribble with a bearded dragon, a black and white tegu, a Russian tortoise, some crested geckos, and a couple of snakes!
Recommended for grades 1-6. Please register ahead if your child plans to attend so we can get a sense of numbers. Walk-ins are always welcome! Only children who will participate need to register—parents or caregivers attending do not need to register.
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Brought to you by Extant Relatives and Iowa City Poetry in partnership with the One Book Two Book Festival.

Sing-Along
2026-02-21 11:00 | FilmScene at The Chauncey, 404 E College St, Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
The Iowa Children’s Museum Sing Along will feature creature sounds, animal songs and dancing for the whole family!

The Big Picture show presents: ICE AGE
2026-02-21 11:00 | FilmScene at The Chauncey, 404 E College St, Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
Free for Kids! Adult Admission $5!
Twenty-thousand years ago, Earth is a wondrous, prehistoric world filled with great danger, not the least of which is the beginning of the Ice Age. To avoid really bad frostbite, the planet’s majestic creatures—and a few small, slothful ones—begin migrating south as we follow our sub-zero heroes: a woolly mammoth (Ray Romano), a saber-toothed tiger (Dennis Leary) , a sloth (John Leguizamo) and a prehistoric combination of a squirrel and rat that is known as Scrat (Chris Wedge).
About the Series

The Picture Show family and children’s series is an ongoing series featuring the best in all ages programming, selected from the past century of cinema. Parents can revel in beloved classics and kids make new discoveries. On weekends, each film is preceded by a media literacy lesson to help children understand the images and sounds they encounter every day. Kids can pick up their Picture Show Passport to collect stickers at every show and redeem them for concessions treats or a free t-shirt!

Local Children’s Book Author Fair
2026-02-21 11:00 - 15:00 | MERGE, 136 S Dubuque St, Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
Join us as local children’s book authors share their newest stories, answer questions, and sign books. Explore each author’s table, where a variety of books for young readers will be available for purchase.
Sandra Rhea | Allison Ward | Michelle Gillitzer | Ashlyn Solinsky | Breanna Ferry | Nalina Siva

Book Character Meet & Greet
2026-02-21 12:00 | FilmScene at The Chauncey, 404 E College St, Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
Bring your camera and snap a picture with Clifford and Frog & Toad

Toadally Awesome Pets Presents An Amphibian Open House
2026-02-21 12:30 - 15:00 | FilmScene at The Chauncey, 404 E College St, Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
Hop on over to meet some of the coolest frogs, toads, and salamanders around! Join Toadally Awesome Pets’ Mobile Amphibian Education Center for a hands-on open house where kids and families can explore the amazing world of amphibians up close. You’ll get to see and touch a variety of live amphibians on display, learn fun facts about what makes each species special, and discover why these creatures are so important to our ecosystems.

Storytime
2026-02-21 13:00 - 13:30 | FilmScene at The Chauncey, 404 E College St, Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
Join your favorite librarians for a very special storytime!

Lunar New Year Storytime
2026-02-21 13:30 | FilmScene at The Chauncey, 404 E College St, Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
Join Midwest Chinese Academy for a festive Lunar New Year storytime! Enjoy a heartwarming Chinese New Year story about family reunion and learn how to say “Happy New Year” in Mandarin. Perfect for curious young learners and families!

Book Character Meet & Greet
2026-02-21 14:00 - 14:30 | FilmScene at The Chauncey, 404 E College St, Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
Bring your camera and snap a picture with Clifford and Frog & Toad!

Write Out Loud Student Award Ceremony
2026-02-22 13:00 - 14:00 | Macbride Auditorium, 17 N. Clinton St., Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
Students in grades 1 through 8 in Corridor area districts have been invited to submit writing to One Book Two Book! Those submissions are evaluated by a team at ACT in Iowa City. Grade-level winners will be selected in two categories:

The Write Stuff, which is judged based on language, clarity, structure, and emotional impact.
From the Heart, judged based on creativity, passion, and expressiveness.

Recognized students will read their winning submissions at “Write Out Loud,” a special award ceremony Sunday, February 22, at 1 p.m. in Macbride Auditorium, on the campus of the University of Iowa. In addition, a percentage of all students whose submissions were deemed to be of outstanding quality also will be honored with a “certificate of distinction.” All recognized students will receive certificates and prizes at the event. The grade-level prize winners will have their work published in a booklet available at the festival.

MusicIC Presents: THE BLACK ANGEL: Music, Myth, and Memory
2026-04-30 - 2026-05-02 | Downtown Iowa City
MusicIC, Iowa City’s premiere chamber music festival exploring the connections between music and literature, presents THE BLACK ANGEL: Music, Myth, and Memory, a three-day festival examining how composers across centuries have engaged with themes of mortality, symbolism, and the unseen, while also drawing inspiration from Iowa City’s own Black Angel legend. Now entering its 16th season, MusicIC continues its long-standing mission of innovative, text-driven programming rooted in Iowa City’s identity as a UNESCO City of Literature.
At the heart of this year’s festival is George Crumb’s Black Angels, “Thirteen Images from the Dark Land,” (1971), a landmark work for amplified string quartet, marking the 55th anniversary of its publication in 2026. Crumb has called his seminal work “a kind of parable on our troubled contemporary world.” The piece incorporates poetic epigraphs, symbolic numerology, and images of darkness and transformation. Crumb’s score also directly quotes Franz Schubert’s Death and the Maiden, forging a powerful musical and philosophical link between Romantic-era meditations on death and a 20th-century response shaped by war and rupture.
The festival further connects this repertoire to Iowa City’s Black Angel statue in Oakland Cemetery, a landmark that has inspired generations of local storytelling and provides a powerful, place-based lens for this exploration of music, literature, and memory.
Festival Events All events are free and open to the public
Thursday, April 30, 2026 – 7:30 p.m.
Preview Event “Looking at the Black Angel”
Location: The Black Angel Restaurant, 630 Iowa Ave., Iowa City
Selections and written responses to Franz Schubert’s Death and the Maiden and George Crumb’s Black Angels.
Friday, May 1, 2026 – 7:30 p.m.
Location: Masonic Building, 312 E College St, Iowa City
Concert Program will include:

Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, Death and the Maiden
George Crumb: Black Angels for amplified string quartet

Saturday, May 2, 2026 – 10:30 AM
Family Concert
Iowa City Public Library
A 40-minute family concert introducing young audiences to chamber music as storytelling through sound, symbol, and place.
The festival is made possible by support from sponsors including the University of Iowa, Dunn Investment Co, the Iowa City Public Library, and Iowa Public Radio.
Performers include MusicIC Founding Artistic Director Tricia Park, violin and Kenny Lee, cello, (University of Iowa School of Music, Director of Orchestral Studies) alongside guest artists and University of Iowa faculty.

Page Against the Machine
2026-05-23 14:00 - 15:30 | Pentacrest, (at Clinton St and Washington St), Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature & the Iowa City Public Library co-present:
Page Against the Machine is a global reading event that encourages people of all ages and backgrounds to take a break from screens, pick up a book, and enjoy a well-deserved reading detox in a beautiful spot in their city.
This annual event was founded in Norwich, England in 2019 and spread to other Cities of Literature over the years. 2026 marks the first time Iowa City will participate, and we’ll be joining thousands of others across the globe who stop to read a book in public on this day.
We hope to gather a crowd of book lovers on the Pentacrest to read silently and explore the world of ideas in resistance to our culture of doomscrolling and disengagement. Bring a blanket or chair and any book you like, but bonus points go to novels and nonfiction that explore things like politics, human rights, and contemporary culture.
Rain location: Old Capitol Museum Senate Chamber (no food or drink inside, please)
Registration is optional to receive an email reminder. You’re welcome to drop in and out anytime during the scheduled event. See you there!

Open to the public

If you need disability-related accommodations in order to participate in this event, please contact the Library.

Reading and Signing with Author Frances Mei Hardin
2026-06-18 15:30 | Sidekick Coffee & Books, 1310 1/2 Melrose Avenue, Iowa City, IA, 52242, United States
Hosted by Sidekick Coffee and Books
Join Sidekick for an afternoon with Frances Mei Hardin, MD, as she reads from and signs her debut memoir, Surgeon on the Edge.
Part reckoning, part reinvention, the book pulls back the curtain on medical training: the burnout, the unwritten rules, and what it means to reclaim your own voice inside one of the most demanding professions in the world.

Prairie Lights Reading: Karen Parkman – The Jills
2026-06-22 19:00 | Prairie Lights Books, 15 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate Karen Parkman will read from her new novel, The Jills. Listed by both PEOPLE Magazine and CrimeReads as a “best book of February,” The Jills is praised by Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists, as “a nuanced, incisive exploration of the world of NFL cheerleading—and the complex power of sisterhood, both familial and chosen,” while Andrea Bartz, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Ferry Out and We Were Never Here, says: “Parkman’s character-driven mystery comes roaring out of the gate with all the poise and power of an NFL athlete. With its nuanced character work, propulsive prose, and intricate web of secrets and lies, The Jills is an unforgettable debut. I couldn’t put it down.”
Karen Parkman holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her work has been supported by MacDowell, Yaddo, the Sozopol Fiction Seminars, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Vermont Studio Center. Karen’s stories have appeared in Michigan Quarterly Review, Joyland, and elsewhere. She has taught writing at the University of Iowa, the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio, and Kirkwood Community College. The Jills is her debut novel.

Rooftop Music & Reading Series
2026-06-26 19:00 | Market House, 202 N. Linn St., Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
Join the Porchlight Literary Arts Center on the deck of Market House for an evening of music, poetry, and prose. The Rooftoop Music & Reading Series brings together some of Iowa’s most exciting artists for a one-of-a-kind collaborative program. Bring a buddy, date, or come alone. Stay for the gorgeous views, drinks and good company.
Visit Porchlight Literary Arts Center for tickets and more information.

PorchLight: Season Pass to the Rooftop Music & Reading Series
2026-06-26 19:00 | PorchLight Literary Arts Center, 1019 E Washington St, Iowa City, 52240, United States
A Magical Melange of Music, Words, and Views

Join PorchLight Literary Arts Center on the deck of MarketHouse for an evening of music, poetry, and prose. The Rooftop Music & Reading Series brings together some of Iowa’s most exciting artists for a one-of-a-kind collaborative program.
Bring a buddy, date, or go alone. Stay for the gorgeous views, drinks, and good company.
Tickets available for purchase on their website: https://www.porchlightliterary.org/event-details/season-pass-to-the-rooftop-music-reading-series-2026-06-26-19-00

Prairie Lights Reading: Susan McCarty – 2008
2026-07-09 19:00 | Prairie Lights Books, 15 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA, 52240, United States
Susan McCarty will read from her new novel, 2008. The University of Chicago Press offers this summary of 2008:
“It’s 2008: the age of the blog, the dawn of social media, and the birth of the smartphone. Obama is running for president on a slogan of hope, while in the shadows, an opioid crisis emerges, and the housing market teeters. Stevie and Sam, two old high school flames who have grown up and grown apart, are brought back together in the aftermath of a tragedy that throws them off the tracks of their lives. Sam, a struggling realtor, is determined to solve a mystery at any cost. Stevie hits on a plan for a “redo” that involves abandoning her adult life to relive her teenage glory days. As both struggle inside the mediocrity of their early adulthoods, the disenchanted world begins to reveal itself, and secrets threaten to overwhelm them. On the cusp of a new era of uncertainty, these old friends must find ways to reconcile their past and find their way home” (press.uchicago.edu).
Foreward Reviews praises 2008 as “a layered novel in which teenage friendship leads to chain reactions that continue years into the future,” while Aaron Burch, author of Year of the Buffalo, says: “2008 pulled me in from its very first pages and then never let me go.”
Susan McCarty is the author of the story collection Anatomies. Her essays have appeared in Creative Nonfiction, Ecotone, Lit Hub, Juked, Zone 3, and other journals. She is an associate professor of English and creative writing at Oakland University in the metro Detroit area.
