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X-WR-CALNAME:Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20241019T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20241019T100000
DTSTAMP:20260414T063943
CREATED:20240910T185024Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240910T185024Z
UID:3899-1729332000-1729332000@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Christopher Merrill – After the Fact
DESCRIPTION:Christopher Merrill has published eight collections of poetry\, including Watch Fire\, for which he received the Lavan Younger Poets Award from the Academy of American Poets\, and On the Road to Lviv; many edited volumes and translations; and six books of nonfiction\, among them\, Only the Nails Remain: Scenes from the Balkan Wars\, Things of the Hidden God: Journey to the Holy Mountain\, and Self-Portrait with Dogwood. As director of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa since 2000\, Merrill has conducted cultural diplomacy missions to more than fifty countries. \nAfter the Fact is a lively and imaginative conversation between two legendary poets. Marvin Bell\, writing from Iowa City and Port Townsend\, and Christopher Merrill\, writing from around the world\, give us an intimate look into collaboration at its best.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/christopher-merrill-after-the-fact/
LOCATION:Iowa City Masonic Building\, 312 E College St\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/After-the-Fact.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20241019T113000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20241019T113000
DTSTAMP:20260414T063943
CREATED:20240910T190041Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240910T190041Z
UID:3905-1729337400-1729337400@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Marguerite Sheffer – The Man in the Banana Trees and Sharon Wahl – Everything Flirts
DESCRIPTION:Marguerite (Maggie) Sheffer is a writer who lives in New Orleans. She is a Professor of Practice at Tulane University\, where she teaches courses in design thinking and speculative fiction as tools for social change. Formerly\, she taught English at the East Oakland School of the Arts\, Castlemont High School\, Life Academy\, and GW Carver High School. \nHer debut short story collection\, The Man in the Banana Trees\, was selected by judge Jamil Jan Kochai for the Iowa Short Fiction Award\, and will be published in Fall 2024. \n  \n  \n  \nSharon Wahl is a writer and documentary film producer.  Her collection of love stories inspired by classic philosophy texts\, Everything Flirts\, won the John Simmons Short Fiction Award and will be published by the University of Iowa Press in the fall of 2024.  Her stories\, essays\, and poems have appeared in the Iowa Review\, the Chicago Tribune\, Harvard Review\, Pleiades\, and other periodicals.  She is currently writing Bitter Tales\, a collection of flash fiction and essays. \n 
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/marguerite-sheffer-the-man-in-the-banana-trees-and-sharon-wahl-everything-flirts/
LOCATION:Iowa City Masonic Building\, 312 E College St\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/The-Man-in-the-Banana-Trees-and-Everything-Flirts.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20241019T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20241019T130000
DTSTAMP:20260414T063943
CREATED:20240911T144848Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240911T144848Z
UID:3908-1729342800-1729342800@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Willy Vlautin – The Horse
DESCRIPTION:Born and raised in Reno\, Nevada\, Willy Vlautin is the author of six novels and is the founder of the bands Richmond Fontaine and The Delines. Vlautin started writing stories and songs at the age of eleven after receiving his first guitar. Inspired by songwriters and novelists Paul Kelly\, Willie Nelson\, Tom Waits\, William Kennedy\, Raymond Carver\, and John Steinbeck\, Vlautin works diligently to tell working class stories in his novels and songs. \nIn his latest book\, The Horse\, Al Ward lives on an isolated mining claim in the high desert of central Nevada fifty miles from the nearest town. A grizzled man in his sixties\, he survives on canned soup\, instant coffee\, and memories of his ex-wife\, friends and family he’s lost\, and his life as a touring musician. Hampered by insomnia\, bouts of anxiety\, and a chronic lethargy that keeps him from moving back to town\, Al finds himself teetering on the edge of madness and running out of reasons to go on—until a horse arrives on his doorstep: nameless\, blind\, and utterly helpless. \nA poignant meditation on addiction\, heartbreak\, and the reality of life on the road in smalltime bands\, The Horse is a beautiful\, haunting tale from an author working at the height of his powers.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/willy-vlautin-the-horse/
LOCATION:Iowa City Masonic Building\, 312 E College St\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Horse.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20241019T143000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20241019T143000
DTSTAMP:20260414T063943
CREATED:20240911T145536Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240911T145536Z
UID:3912-1729348200-1729348200@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Chris Offutt – Code of the Hills
DESCRIPTION: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 way of life he thought he’d escaped. \nChris Offutt is the author of two collections of short stories\, three memoirs\, and six novels. His books have been translated into twelve languages and won four international awards. His most recent work is the acclaimed Mick Hardin series from Grove-Atlantic. He also wrote screenplays for True Blood\, Weeds\, and Treme. He is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize\, a Guggenheim Fellowship\, an NEA grant\, and a Lannan Fellowship. He received an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters for “prose that takes risks.” His work is included in many anthologies including Best American Short Stories\, Best American Essays\, Best American Food Writing\, and Modern American Memoirs. He has taught in a number of MFA programs including the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and is professor emeritus at the University of Mississippi. He grew up in the hills of eastern Kentucky and lives in Iowa City\, Iowa. \n 
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/chris-offutt-code-of-the-hills/
LOCATION:Iowa City Masonic Building\, 312 E College St\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Code-of-the-Hills.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20241019T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20241019T160000
DTSTAMP:20260414T063943
CREATED:20240911T150432Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240911T150432Z
UID:3920-1729353600-1729353600@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Nina Lohman – The Body Alone
DESCRIPTION: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\, prescription records\, and hypothesized internal monologues—fractured not for the sake of experimentation but because the story itself demands it. In both form and content\, The Body Alone represents boundary-pressing work that subverts the traditional narrative by putting pressure on the medical\, cultural\, and political systems that impact women’s access to fair and equal healthcare. This is more than an illness narrative\, it is a battle cry demanding change.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/nina-lohman-the-body-alone/
LOCATION:Iowa City Masonic Building\, 312 E College St\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/The-Body-Alone.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251011T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251011T170000
DTSTAMP:20260414T063943
CREATED:20250904T144241Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250904T144842Z
UID:4809-1760180400-1760202000@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:ICON Vendor Hall
DESCRIPTION:The ICON Science fiction convention returns to downtown Iowa City during the Iowa City Book Festival! \nBrowse booksellers\, authors\, and others at the ICON Vendor Hall\, Iowa City Masonic Lodge Social Hall\, 312 E College St. \nFree admission and open to the public.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/icon-vendor-hall/
LOCATION:Iowa City Masonic Building\, 312 E College St\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/ICON-logo-997x430-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251011T113000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251011T113000
DTSTAMP:20260414T063943
CREATED:20250909T153602Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250909T153602Z
UID:4878-1760182200-1760182200@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:John Scalzi: The Shattering Peace
DESCRIPTION:For a decade\, peace has reigned in interstellar space. A tripartite agreement between the Colonial Union\, the Earth\, and the alien Conclave has kept the forces of war at bay\, even when some would have preferred to return to the fighting and struggle of former times. For now\, more sensible heads have prevailed – and have even championed unity. \nBut now\, there is a new force that threatens the hard-maintained peace: The Consu\, the most advanced intelligent species humans have ever met\, are on the cusp of a species-defining civil war. This war is between Consu factions… but nothing the Consu ever do is just about them. The Colonial Union\, the Earth and the Conclave have been unwillingly dragged into the conflict\, in the most surprising of ways. \nGretchen Trujillo is a mid-level diplomat\, working in an unimportant part of the Colonial Union bureaucracy. But when she is called to take part in a secret mission involving representatives from every powerful faction in space\, what she finds there has the chance to redefine the destinies of humans and aliens alike… or destroy them forever.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/john-scalzi-the-shattering-peace/
LOCATION:Iowa City Masonic Building\, 312 E College St\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/The-Shattering-Peace.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251011T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251011T130000
DTSTAMP:20260414T063943
CREATED:20250916T191926Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250917T173032Z
UID:4902-1760187600-1760187600@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Joe Haldeman and The Forever War
DESCRIPTION:The Forever War\, Joe Haldeman’s 1974 novel and the first sci-fi work shaped by the Vietnam War\, continues to resonate decades later. Haldeman\, a Vietnam veteran and Iowa Writers’ Workshop alum\, crafted a story that John Scalzi calls “timeless\, because what’s in the book touches on something that never goes away.” Join Haldeman\, his wife Gay\, Scalzi\, and Haldeman’s former student Mike Miller as they discuss this landmark novel and ICON\, Iowa’s beloved science fiction and fantasy convention\, which marks its 50th anniversary this year. \nModerated by Pete Balestrieri
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/joe-haldeman-and-the-forever-war/
LOCATION:Iowa City Masonic Building\, 312 E College St\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/The-Forever-War.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251011T143000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251011T143000
DTSTAMP:20260414T063943
CREATED:20240919T153211Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251002T172457Z
UID:3980-1760193000-1760193000@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Panel Discussion: Sense of Place
DESCRIPTION: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 determine how a piece is understood? \nFeaturing: Agnes Chew\, Siddharth Dasgupta\, Jennifer Fawcett\, Vlora Konushevci\, and Ndongolera C. Mwangupili. Moderated by Derek Nnuro. \n 
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/panel-discussion-sense-of-place/
LOCATION:Iowa City Masonic Building\, 312 E College St\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Sense-of-Place-2025-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251011T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251011T160000
DTSTAMP:20260414T063943
CREATED:20250919T163103Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251001T165209Z
UID:4928-1760198400-1760198400@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Panel Discussion: Importance of Genre
DESCRIPTION:A lively conversation with writers exploring how genre shapes stories\, readers\, and the writing process. \nFeaturing: \nAnna Bruno\, Gregory Galloway\, Scott Phillips\, and Tatiana Schlote-Bonne. Moderated by Nina Lohman.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/panel-discussion-importance-of-genre/
LOCATION:Iowa City Masonic Building\, 312 E College St\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Importance-of-Genre-2025-1.jpg
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