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.

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48-Hour Flash Writing Contest | Write Now promotional image

48-Hour Flash Writing Contest | Write Now

Friday, January 17 4:00pm to Sunday, January 19, 2025 4:00pm
Virtual
Mark your calendars for our UI Alumni and Friends Flash Writing Contest—a free, online short story competition for a variety of age groups. You don’t have be an Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate or an accomplished author to join in the fun. The contest begins on Friday, Jan. 17, 2024, at 4 p.m. CST, and runs through Sunday, Jan. 19, 2024, at 4 p.m. CST. At the contest's start, we'll provide a genre, character, and specific object to incorporate into your story. The rest is up to you! Submissions...
Write at the Stanley promotional image

Write at the Stanley

Sunday, January 26, 2025 2:00pm to 4:15pm
Stanley Museum of Art
Write at the Stanley: A Generative Writing Workshop is back for the Spring Semester! Join us monthly to generate new creative writing inspired by works in the Stanley collection. Each session will be led by a different talented writer from our area, who will be offering a new prompt and a new approach to ekphrastic writing (writing inspired by visual art). Bring your own notebook and pencil or computer and leave with the beginning of a newly written piece. Co-sponsored by Iowa City Poetry...

Live from Prairie Lights | Tramaine Suubi

Tuesday, February 4, 2025 7:00pm
Prairie Lights Books
Tramaine Suubi will read from her debut book of poetry, phases. Tramaine Suubi is a multilingual writer from Kampala, and a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She has published creative writing in 16 literary anthologies, magazines, journals, and reviews — and counting. Her debut full-length poetry collection titled phases, was published in January 2025 by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins. Her second full-length poetry collection titled stages, is forthcoming in January 2026. Tramaine...
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