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
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
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:"
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,"
Please join us for our annual IWP Sunday Afternoon Reading Series! This week’s event features IWP Residents Nisrine Mbarki Ben Ayad (Netherlands), Nina Dragičević (Slovenia), and Hidayat Nordin (Singapore). They will be accompanied by Iowa Literary Translation MFA candidate Zubair Ibrahim Siddiqui. Nisrine Mbarki Ben Ayad (she/her), the Poet Laureate of the Netherlands (2026–2027), is an
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
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
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
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
Please join us for our annual IWP Sunday Afternoon Reading Series! This week’s event features IWP Residents Zodwa Nyoni (Zimbabwe, United Kingdom), Jun Li (Hong Kong), and Ingeborg von Zadow (Germany). They will be accompanied by Iowa Playwrights Workshop MFA candidate Darrin Terpstra. Zodwa Nyoni is a Zimbabwean-born writer and director whose multidisciplinary work spans theatre,
Sara Levine will read from her new novel, The Hitch. Describes as "a delightfully unhinged comedy following a woman as she attempts to exorcise the spirit of a dead corgi from her nephew and renegotiate the borders of her previously rational world" (sara-levine.com), The Hitch is praised by bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert as "one of the most wildly
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
