Alumni Updates

Steven Willis standing outside Prairie Lights

Writers' Workshop Alumni

Our alumni work as teachers and writers across many disciplines and publish books in every genre. 6 recent U.S. Poets Laureate have been graduates of the Writers' Workshop and some of the most distinctive, celebrated voices in contemporary poetry and fiction have come through our program and used their time here to develop their work and their voice.

"I do not in fact know what I would have done, or who I would have been as an adult, if I hadn’t lived in and around Iowa City"

- Jane Smiley, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, MFA Writers' Workshop

News, Publications, and Awards

Jamel Brinkley wins 2024 Maya Angelou Book Award Juan Felipe Herrera awarded 2024 MacArthur Genius Grant Ruthvika Rao shortlisted for the Center For Fiction First Novel Prize Elizabeth Willis and m.s. RedCherries longlisted for the 2024 National Book Award in Poetry Tony Tulathimutte longlisted for the 2024 National Book Award in Fiction V. V. Ganeshananthan wins the 2024 Carol Shields Prize for Fiction Jayne Anne Phillips wins the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction Jorie Graham, Yiyun Li, and Robyn Schiff are finalists for the 2024 Pulitzer Prizes in Fiction and Poetry

Before the Mango Ripens, by Afabwaje Kurian

Before the Mango Ripens
Afabwaje Kurian
_{September 24, 2024 | Fiction}

The Goner School
Jessica Laser
_{September 27, 2024 | Poetry}

Small Rain
Garth Greenwell
_{September 3, 2024 | Fiction}

Terminal Maladies
Okwudili Nebeolisa

Browse Publications

See Prizes & Awards

The Latest Alumni Updates

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Friday, January 31, 2025

Sunday! February 2nd at 8 p.m., Margaret Ross will read in the Frank Conroy Reading Room at Dey House/Glenn Schaeffer Library events.uiowa.edu/92055 https://events.uiowa.edu/92055

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Monday, January 27, 2025

Congratulations to Ruthvika Rao! On the longlist for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize 2025 for 'The Fertile Earth' https://www.swansea.ac.uk/press-office/news-events/news/2025/01/longlist-revealed-for-swansea-university-dylan-thomas-prize-2025.php

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Monday, January 27, 2025

"Literary Arts: The Archive Project - Abraham Verghese" [2024 interview] | Oregon Public Broadcasting https://www.opb.org/article/2025/01/13/the-archive-project-abraham-verghese/

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Monday, January 27, 2025

"Peak Iowa: Poet John Berryman’s brief, troubled time in Iowa City" | 'Little Village' [Iowa City, IA] https://littlevillagemag.com/peak-iowa-poet-john-berrymans-brief-troubled-time-in-iowa-city/

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Monday, January 27, 2025

Evan James author talk online on February 20 via Johns Hopkins University https://hub.jhu.edu/events/2025/02/20/author-talks-presents-evan-james/

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Monday, January 27, 2025

Nicole Cooley teaching online on February 1st https://www.writerscenter.org/event-details/tiny-texts-short-poems-flash-fiction-micro-diaries-with-nicole-cooley-via-zoom-1