One Book Two Book Festival

A celebration of children’s literature in the city of literature

February 22-23, 2025

Students in grades 1-8 in Iowa City-Cedar Rapids Corridor area school districts, or home school students in those equivalent grades, are encouraged to submit one page of writing for the 2025 One Book Two Book festival from the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature. This can be any type of writing: story, essay, poem, song lyric, graphic novel page, etc. The piece must be an original work, written this school year, and in polished form – ready for publication. It should be on one side of an 8.5×11 page. It can be single-spaced, but must be at least 12-pt. and in Times or equivalent font. The page should have margins of 1” on each side. Submissions that are longer than one page will not be considered. The deadline to submit writing is Friday, December 20, 2024.

The student work will be judged by a team from ACT in Iowa City. Recognized students will be honored at a “Write Out Loud” event during One Book Two Book in February 2025. Two grade level winners will be chosen, one in each of the following categories:

  • “The Write Stuff”: For language, clarity, structure, and emotional impact.
  • “From the Heart”: For creativity, passion, and expressiveness.

These students will be invited to read their winning submissions. In addition, a percentage of all students whose submissions are deemed to be of outstanding quality also will be honored with a “certificate of distinction.” They also will be invited to attend the “Write Out Loud” event. 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.

Questions? Contact John Kenyon with the City of Literature office at (319) 356-5245 or john-kenyon@iowacityofliterature.org.

I Hear a Búho with Raquel MacKay

February 22, 2025
FilmScene at The Chauncey
404 E College St
Iowa City, IA 52240 United States
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Thank you to the United Way of Johnson & Washington Counties (UWJWC) for their support recruiting volunteers for the One Book Two Book Festival. We are able to present one-of-a-kind, children’s literary programming because of our volunteers, who recognize the importance of celebrating creative writing with young people in our community.

2025 Volunteer Opportunities will be posted in January 2025.

Each year, the writing selected for recognition is gathered into a booklet. Read some of the amazing stories, poems, and essays awarded over the years as part of One Book Two Book!

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About the festival

Our community is very supportive of young people. We know who scores the winning touchdown for City High. We celebrate students who make all-state in music for Northwest Junior High. We cheer the top debaters at Regina. But do we know the best young writers in our community?

We should. As a UNESCO City of Literature, we rightly laud the published and soon-to-be published authors among us, but we tend to overlook the most abundant pool of talent in our area: our K-12 schools.

Recognizing and celebrating this talent is a big reason behind the City of Literature organization’s annual One Book Two Book Children’s Literature Festival. Like traditional festivals, it offers the chance for attendees — in this case, children and their families — to hear from published authors about their work. But more important is its ultimate goal: to champion writing by children.

 

 

 

 

Why Iowa City?

The oldest creative writing program in the country, and still regarded the best. More than forty Pulitzer Prize winners. North America’s only UNESCO City of Literature. How did the midwestern college town of Iowa City, Iowa become the capital of creative writing in America? Check out the City of Literature documentary to find out.

Support the Festival

We are able to present one-of-a-kind, children’s literary programming because of people like you, who recognize the importance of celebrating creative writing with young people in our community. Please donate to the City of Literature and One Book Two Book today!




Selected Student Writing

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