BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature - ECPv5.16.1.1//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
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
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/Chicago
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0600
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:CDT
DTSTART:20260308T080000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0600
TZNAME:CST
DTSTART:20261101T070000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261020T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261020T190000
DTSTAMP:20261012T134131
CREATED:20260817T172005Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261012T161909Z
UID:5914-1792522800-1792522800@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Megan Greenwell: Bad Company
DESCRIPTION:Acclaimed journalist Megan Greenwell’s Bad Company unearths the hidden story of corporate greed and the world of private equity by examining the lives of four American workers that were devastated as private equity upended their employers and communities: a Toys R Us floor supervisor\, a rural doctor\, a local newspaper journalist\, and an affordable housing organizer. Taken together\, their individual experiences also pull back the curtain on a much larger project: how the relentless pursuit of shareholder value reshaped the American economy to serve its own interests\, creating a new class of billionaires while stripping ordinary people of their livelihoods\, their health care\, their homes\, and their sense of security. \nThis event will be streamed live at: www.youtube.com/thelibrarychannel
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/megan-greenwell-bad-company/
LOCATION:Iowa City Public Library\, 123 S. Linn St.\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Bad-Company.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261021T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261021T180000
DTSTAMP:20261012T134131
CREATED:20260813T163354Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T230604Z
UID:5884-1792602000-1792605600@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Slamovision: International Slam Poetry Judging
DESCRIPTION:Join Iowa City poets and poetry lovers during the Iowa City Book Festival to watch and rank slam poets from UNESCO Cities of Literature around the world as they compete for the 2026 Slamovision title. Scores from this international competition will help determine the winner\, who will be crowned at the Slamovision final on November 1 at The James Theater in Iowa City. There will be free pizza at the event… first come\, first served!
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/slamovision-international-slam-poetry-judging/
LOCATION:Iowa City Public Library\, 123 S. Linn St.\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SlamOVision-1024x1024-1.gif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261022T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261022T190000
DTSTAMP:20261012T134131
CREATED:20260817T171632Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260929T162914Z
UID:5911-1792695600-1792695600@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Panel Discussion: Weirdos Writing for Weirdos: A Contemporary Approach to Speculative Fiction
DESCRIPTION:Sci-fi\, fantasy\, and horror used to be the outcasts of literature\, but now more than ever these speculative genres are growing in popularity–and in quality. With huge properties like Fourth Wing\, Dungeon Crawler Carl\, and other “weird” series running rampant across the NYT bestseller lists\, it’s evident that readers crave these odd genres\, and more and more authors are answering the call to deliver captivating stories–many of them independent of traditional publishing altogether. \nFeaturing Ben Wolf\, Darby Harn\, and Seth McDuffee \nPresented by the Iowa City Book Festival and ICON\, Iowa’s Longest Running Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/panel-discussion-weirdos-writing-for-weirdos-a-contemporary-approach-to-speculative-fiction/
LOCATION:Iowa City Public Library\, 123 S. Linn St.\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Weirdos-Writing-for-Weirdos.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261023T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261023T120000
DTSTAMP:20261012T134131
CREATED:20260918T161750Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260921T185142Z
UID:6165-1792756800-1792756800@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:International Writing Program: Writers from Cities of Literature
DESCRIPTION:Participants in this year’s International Writing Program fall residency who live in UNESCO Cities of Literature will discuss what it is like to live and write in a City of Literature. Featuring Sarah Gilmartin (Dublin)\, Zodwa Nyoni (Manchester)\, Ingeborg von Zadow (Heidelberg)\, Yaiza Berrocal Guevara (Barcelona).
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/international-writing-program-writers-from-cities-of-literature/
LOCATION:Iowa City Public Library\, 123 S. Linn St.\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IWP.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261024T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261024T100000
DTSTAMP:20261012T134131
CREATED:20260821T164135Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261012T161953Z
UID:5976-1792836000-1792836000@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Lori Erickson: Travels with the Muse
DESCRIPTION:Travels with the Muse is a journey into the creative life\, told through Lori Erickson’s travels to places where art and spirit meet. From the luminous interior of Barcelona’s Sagrada Família to the rhythms of the Mississippi Blues Trail\, from quilting traditions in Nebraska to the turning dance of the whirling dervishes in Türkiye\, Erickson explores what happens when we approach art not as experts\, but as beginners willing to pay attention. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAlong the way\, she sketches\, listens\, and learns from artists and places\, discovering that creativity is less about talent than about presence. At its heart\, Travels with the Muse is an invitation to see more deeply\, make something with your own hands\, and recognize the sacred woven through the world around us. \nThis event will be streamed live at: www.youtube.com/thelibrarychannel
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/lori-erickson-travels-with-the-muse/
LOCATION:Iowa City Public Library\, 123 S. Linn St.\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Travels-with-the-Muse-cover.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261024T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261024T150000
DTSTAMP:20261012T134131
CREATED:20230915T171850Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260901T143614Z
UID:3177-1792836000-1792854000@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Friends Foundation Pop-up Used Book Sale
DESCRIPTION:Stop by the lobby of the Iowa City Public Library between festival events to browse for a new (to you) book.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/friends-foundation-pop-up-used-book-sale/
LOCATION:Iowa City Public Library\, 123 S. Linn St.\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Friends-Foundation.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261024T113000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261024T113000
DTSTAMP:20261012T134131
CREATED:20260821T165402Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261012T162011Z
UID:5978-1792841400-1792841400@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:James Geary: The World in a Phrase
DESCRIPTION:Aphorisms are literature’s hand luggage. Light and compact\, they contain everything you need to get through a rough day at the office or a dark night of the soul. Aphorisms\, the oldest written art form on the planet\, have been going viral for thousands of years\, delivering the short\, sharp shock of old forgotten truths. Today\, visual artists are mixing pithy language with compelling imagery and using social media to take the form into the future. In a world of disinformation and deepfakes\, aphorisms point to the power of fresh debate over tired dogma and inconvenient truths over comfortable lies. \nStarting in ancient China and ending with contemporary meme-makers and street artists\, The World in A Phrase tells the story of the aphorism through brief biographies of some of its greatest practitioners: sages like Lao-tzu and the Buddha\, philosophers like Schopenhauer and Nietzsche\, writers like George Eliot and Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach\, humorists like Mark Twain and Dorothy Parker\, activists like James Baldwin and Audre Lorde\, poets like Langston Hughes and Kay Ryan\, and artists like Jenny Holzer and David Byrne. \nThe World in A Phrase is for lovers of words and seekers of wisdom. This new edition of The New York Times bestseller features 26 additional aphorists and explores the aphorism in the age of social media\, showing why these short sentences are the ultimate deep dives in an era when TL;DR has become a cultural catchphrase. \nThis event will be streamed live at: www.youtube.com/thelibrarychannel
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/james-geary-the-world-in-a-phrase/
LOCATION:Iowa City Public Library\, 123 S. Linn 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-World-in-a-Phrase.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261024T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261024T130000
DTSTAMP:20261012T134131
CREATED:20260821T165556Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261012T162030Z
UID:5980-1792846800-1792846800@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Tiffany Hanssen: My Name was Gerry Sass
DESCRIPTION:Gerry Sass is not who he appears to be. On the surface\, he is the proud owner of a local country music station outside of Mystic\, Iowa. Beneath it\, he’s a mob-connected hitman-for-hire who launders money through the station WIOA. \nOne morning in 1986\, his life of crime catches up to him when two men march him out into the woods and shoot him in the back of the head. Plunged into purgatory\, he’s doomed to a painful examination of his life. Unbeknownst to the assassins\, Gerry’s closest friend\, a Catholic priest named Father Dan\, witnesses his execution yet does nothing to stop it. \nMeanwhile\, Gerry’s daughter\, Early\, jumps into his prized Mustang with a thirst for revenge. On her adrenaline-fueled hunt\, she comes to realize that she’s more like Gerry than she ever chose to admit. \nAlternating between the voices of a grieving and adrenaline-fueled daughter\, a guilt-ridden priest with no one he can trust\, and the voice of a dead killer not quite yet gone\, My Name Was Gerry Sass exposes the complicated natures of family\, grief\, and God in this propulsive and darkly funny novel. \nThis event will be streamed live at: www.youtube.com/thelibrarychannel
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/tiffany-hanssen-my-name-was-gerry-sass/
LOCATION:Iowa City Public Library\, 123 S. Linn St.\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/MyNameWasGerrySassHC-340x509-1.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261024T143000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261024T143000
DTSTAMP:20261012T134131
CREATED:20260821T171104Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260821T171210Z
UID:5988-1792852200-1792852200@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Tisa Bryant: Residual
DESCRIPTION:In the aftermath of her mother’s death\, Tisa Bryant’s Residual retrieves and catalogs what remains of her home\, her psyche\, and her creative practice. She filters through the remnants of her mother’s everyday life\, asking what becomes an archive—a bookshelf\, a dresser\, a relationship\, a secret? Drawing on personal memories as well as archives of renowned Black women who died prematurely—including playwright Lorraine Hansberry and science fiction writer Octavia E. Butler—Bryant’s hybrid memoir details the intimate accretion of ephemera\, outrage\, and failure in the wake of loss. \nThis event is co-presented with the University of Iowa Nonfiction Writing Program in celebration of the program’s 50th anniversary.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/tisa-bryant-residual/
LOCATION:Iowa City Public Library\, 123 S. Linn St.\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Residual.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261024T143000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261024T143000
DTSTAMP:20261012T134131
CREATED:20260821T171337Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260821T171404Z
UID:5992-1792852200-1792852200@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Sarah Minor: Carousel
DESCRIPTION:Carousel opens as a professor begins delivering a lecture to a hot room. Her students have the internet in their pockets\, screens on their wrists\, seeing in more directions than students ever could before. But what\, in fact\, are they looking at? \nIn the spirit of John Berger’s Ways of Seeing\, Sarah Minor’s Carousel explores how the pursuit of panoramic vision frames power\, distorts reality\, and implicates both viewer and subject. Across short\, loping sections that weave history with memoir\, close looking with confession\, Minor masterfully fuses the slide lecture with the lyric essay\, tying medieval tapestries to surrealism and Instagram reels to predator drones. In language that captures the disorientation of that other carousel\, the whirling carnival ride\, Minor shows how the more we strive to see\, the more we ultimately reveal ourselves. \nThis event is co-presented with the University of Iowa Nonfiction Writing Program in celebration of the program’s 50th anniversary.
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/sarah-minor-carousel/
LOCATION:Iowa City Public Library\, 123 S. Linn St.\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Carousel.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261024T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261024T160000
DTSTAMP:20261012T134131
CREATED:20260918T165029Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261012T162055Z
UID:6179-1792857600-1792857600@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Nonfiction Writing Program 50th Anniversary Panel
DESCRIPTION:As graduates of the University of Iowa’s Nonfiction Writing Program gather to celebrate the program’s 50th anniversary\, we will hear from three about their most recent work and their time writing in Iowa City: Helen Betya Rubenstein (Feels Like Trouble)\, Stephanie Krzywonos (The Blue Hours)\, and Angela Pelster (The Evolution of Fire)  \nThis event will be streamed live at: www.youtube.com/thelibrarychannel
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/nonfiction-writing-program-50th-anniversary-panel/
LOCATION:Iowa City Public Library\, 123 S. Linn St.\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/NWP-50TH-ANNIVERSARY-INVITES-MOCKUP-8.11-1-e1789750212142.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261025T123000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261025T123000
DTSTAMP:20261012T134131
CREATED:20260817T170216Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T170216Z
UID:5906-1792931400-1792931400@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:Poetry in Public Reading featuring Iowa Student Poet Ambassador Josie Nabhan-Warren
DESCRIPTION:Poetry in Public celebrates our community’s rich literary tradition and local writing talent by displaying poems by writers of all ages. Hear from some of the 2026 Selected Poets. This event is live and in-person\, and will be streamed live at: https://www.youtube.com/thelibrarychannel \nFeaturing special guest\, Josie Nabhan-Warren\, the 2026–27 Iowa Student Poet Ambassador. \nIf your poem was selected for Poetry in Public 2026 and you’d like to read it at the event\, please email us at info@iowacityofliterature.org
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/poetry-in-public-reading-featuring-iowa-student-poet-ambassador-josie-nabhan-warren/
LOCATION:Iowa City Public Library\, 123 S. Linn St.\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Poetry-in-Public-icon.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261025T133000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261025T133000
DTSTAMP:20261012T134131
CREATED:20260817T170548Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260817T170548Z
UID:5908-1792935000-1792935000@www.iowacityofliterature.org
SUMMARY:National Youth Poet Laureate Daniel Somtochukwu Umemezie
DESCRIPTION:Daniel Umemezie is a Nigerian-American poet whose work explores cultural inheritance and displacement\, using bodily transformation as both metaphor and form. His poetry develops a realm between interior experience and external reality. His work has appeared in the North American Review\, Scholastic\, Magpie Journal and many more. He is forthcoming in Polyphony Lit\, and has been recognized as the Iowa Student Poetry Ambassador\, the Kenyon Young Writers Program\, the Iowa Poetry Association\, Humanities Iowa\, and others. As the 10th National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States\, Daniel positions cultural specificity as formal resistance\, creating what he describes as “architecture of consciousness.”
URL:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/event/national-youth-poet-laureate-daniel-somtochukwu-umemezie/
LOCATION:Iowa City Public Library\, 123 S. Linn St.\, Iowa City\, IA\, 52240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iowa City Book Festival
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iowacityofliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/National-Youth-Poet-Laureate-of-the-United-States.jpeg
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR