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

Sundays with the Docents | "it's a fine thing" exhibition tour promotional image

Sundays with the Docents | "it's a fine thing" exhibition tour

Sunday, March 16, 2025 12:30pm to 1:30pm
Stanley Museum of Art
Join us for a tour of the Stanley Museum of Art's latest exhibition, it's a fine thing. This tour is presented in conjunction with the NEA Big Read and will draw connections between the show and Toni Morrison's novel Beloved. . This tour is part of the Sundays with the Docents program where Stanley docents create unique tours to share with our audiences throughout the year. Registration is strongly recommended. Walk-ins are welcome, but tours are capped at 20 participants. Reserve your spot at...
Write at the Stanley promotional image

Write at the Stanley

Sunday, March 23, 2025 2:30pm 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 | Mary Jo Bang & Yuki Tanaka: Translation

Monday, March 24, 2025 6:00pm
Prairie Lights Books
Mary Jo Bang and Yuki Tanaka will discuss their translation of, A Kiss for the Absolute: Selected Poems of Shuzo Takiguchi, the first book of poems by the great Japanese surrealist to be published in English. Mary Jo Bang is the author of nine books of poems—including A Film in Which I Play Everyone, nominated for a Lambda Literary Award, a PEN Voelcker Award, and the Heartland Booksellers Award, A Doll for Throwing, and Elegy which received the National Book Critics Circle Award. She’s...