PrairieLights: Reading – Asha Leena Bhandary – Being at Home: Living Autonomously in an Unjust World

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

University of Iowa professor Asha Leena Bhandary will read from her new book, Being at Home: Living Autonomously in an Unjust World. Described as a "a care-responsive theory of liberalism to address intersectionality and racism," Being at Home is praised by José Medina, Walter Dill Scott Professor of Philosophy at Northwestern University, as "an ambitious and brilliant rethinking

PrairieLights – A Reading with Matthew Neill Null, Floodgate

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

Writers' Workshop graduate Matthew Neill Hull will read from his new novel, Floodgate. Described by publisher Blair as a story about "a former West Virginia coal miner encounters corruption and cultural upheaval working on a dam project that will submerge his town," Floodgate is praised by Jayne Anne Phillips, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Night Watch, as " a masterpiece

Prairie Lights: IWP Sunday Afternoon Reading Series

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

Join Prairie Lights for their annual IWP Sunday Afternoon Reading Series! This week’s event features IWP Residents Sarah Gilmartin (Ireland) and Iván Hochman (Argentina). They will be accompanied by local author and IWP Senior Editor Lauren Haldeman and a current Iowa Writers' Workshop student (to be announced soon). Sarah Gilmartin’s short stories have been published in The

Prairie Lights: Will Boast – The Submerged

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

Will Boast will read from his new short story collection, The Submerged, which was named the 2026 Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction by the University of Georgia Press. The University of Georgia Press offers this introduction to The Submerged, which is praised by Molly Antopol, author of The UnAmericans, as "Bursting with compassion and wit and intelligence:"

PrairieLights – A Reading with Giano Cromley, American Mythology

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

Giano Cromley will read from his debut novel, American Mythology. Described as a "charming and comic debut novel about a quirky ensemble embarking on an epic quest to find Bigfoot," American Mythology is praised by Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Child, as a book that has " has completely stolen my heart,"

PrairieLights – A reading with Chris Vinsonhaler, Beowulf: An Epic Enigma

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

University of Iowa PhD graduate Chris Vinsonhaler will read from her translation of Beowulf: An Epic Enigma. Descibred as a "radical reappraisal of the Old English epic" (beowulf.live), Beowulf: An Epic Enigma (Book I) is praised by Robert E. Bjork, Editor of Klaeber’s Beowulf  and A Beowulf Handbook as "a riddling maze never seen before, a murder mystery of smoke and mirrors

Prairie Lights: Tabatha Leggett in conv with Jan Steyn – Enchantment

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

University of Iowa Literary Translation MFA candidate Tabatha Leggett will read from her translation of Riikka Pulkkinen's novel, Enchantment, and will be joined in conversation with Jan Steyn. Described as "a spellbinding literary mystery that explores the uneasy terrain of girlhood, where one is always being watched, shaped, and judged by others" (scribepublications.com), Enchantment is praised by Shelf Awareness as

PrairieLights – Patricia Albers in conv with Garth Greenwell, Everything Is Photograph: A Life of André Kertész

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

Patricia Albers will read from her new biography, Everything Is Photograph: A Life of André Kertész, and will be joined in conversation with Garth Greenwell. Described as "The first full biography of the innovative 'father of modern photography' vividly depicts his life and works, from Hungary to France and America, across the 20th century," Everything Is Photograph is

PrairieLights – Lizzie Buehler in conv with Julia Conrad, The Obsessed

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

Iowa graduate Lizzie Buehler will read from her debut novel, The Obsessed, and will be joined in conversation by Julia Conrad. Described as "A bighearted portrait of the anxieties of desire explores the trials of modern dating, the strange ennui of academia, and the question of how to create a world for yourself within and without

PrairieLights – Luis Muñoz, Garth Greenwell, & Idra Novey – One Moment: Poems

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

Renowned Spanish poet Luis Muñoz will read from his debut North American poetry collection, One Moment, and will be joined by his English translators, his husband Garth Greenwell and Idra Novey. Described as "Sweet, surreal, and haunting," the poems in One Moment "examine both the frictions and elusiveness that can occur between self and others...the gentle observation of

PrairieLights – A reading with Camille T. Dungy, America, A Love Story

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

The 2024 Paul Engle Prize winner and celebrated poet Camille T. Dungy will read from her newest poetry collection, America, a Love Story. Described by publisher Wesleyan University Press as a "powerful testament to living and loving as a Black woman and mother in today's America, and her first book of poetry in almost a decade," America,

PrairieLights – [Virtual Event] Nancy Sowell in conv. with Melissa Febos – Internal Family Systems Health Therapy: Treating Trauma-Related Physical Illness & Toxic Stress

Find the link on PrairieLights website  Nancy Sowell, LICSW, will read from her new book co-authored with Martha Sweezy, PhD, and Richard C. Schwartz, PhD: IFS (Internal Family Systems) Health Therapy: Treating Trauma-Related Physical Illness & Toxic Stress. She will be joined in conversation by bestselling author and daughter, Melissa Febos. (Note: This will be a