For more than 80 years writers have come to Iowa City to work on their manuscripts and to exchange ideas about writing and reading with each other and with the faculty. Many of them have gone on to publish award-winning work after graduating. With the spirit of an arts colony and the benefits of the research University of which we are a part, the Writers' Workshop continues to foster and to celebrate American literature in all its varied forms.

Upcoming Events

Events

100-Word Microstory Contest promotional image

100-Word Microstory Contest

Friday, July 18 to Friday, July 25, 2025 (all day)
Virtual
Our 100-Word Microstory Contest is a free online writing competition for a variety of age groups. Writing prompts here on Monday, July 14, 2025, at 9 a.m. CDT.You don’t have to be an Iowa Writers’ Workshop grad—or even have participated in a writing contest before—to join in the fun. Just create a story in 100 words or less that uses one of two specific writing prompts.The age categories are:· Grades 3 & 4· Grades 5 & 6· Grades 7 & 8· Grades 9–12· Adult (University of Iowa Alumni)· Adult (Friend...
Summer Faculty Reading: Evan James, Claire Lombardo and Margaret Ross promotional image

Summer Faculty Reading: Evan James, Claire Lombardo and Margaret Ross

Friday, July 18, 2025 7:00pm
Glenn Schaeffer Library
Workshop Assistant Professor of Poetry, Margaret Ross, and Visiting Fiction faculty members, Evan James and Claire Lombardo will read in the Frank Conroy Reading Room of Dey House/ Glenn Schaeffer Library at 7 p.m.Margaret Ross is the author of A Timeshare. Her poems and translations have appeared in The New Republic, The Paris Review, and POETRY, and have been recognized by a Wallace Stegner Fellowship, a Fulbright arts grant, and residencies from Yaddo.​Evan James is the author of I’ve Been...
100-Word Microstory Contest promotional image

100-Word Microstory Contest

Saturday, July 19 to Friday, July 25, 2025 (all day)
Virtual
Our 100-Word Microstory Contest is a free online writing competition for a variety of age groups. Writing prompts here on Monday, July 14, 2025, at 9 a.m. CDT.You don’t have to be an Iowa Writers’ Workshop grad—or even have participated in a writing contest before—to join in the fun. Just create a story in 100 words or less that uses one of two specific writing prompts.The age categories are:· Grades 3 & 4· Grades 5 & 6· Grades 7 & 8· Grades 9–12· Adult (University of Iowa Alumni)· Adult (Friend...