'

News, Publications, and Awards

Yiyun Li wins 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Memoir Scott Anderson a finalist for the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in History Hajar Hussaini wins 2026 Whiting Award in Poetry Garth Greenwell wins 2025 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Jenny George, Daniel Khalastchi and Jerald Walker are finalists for 2025 PEN Literary Awards Jamel Brinkley and Charles D'Ambrosio awarded Academy of Arts and Letters 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

Hard Times 
Jeff Boyd 
March 17, 2026 | Fiction

Last Night in Brooklyn 
Xochitl Gonzalez 
April 21, 2026 | Fiction

 

This Household of Earthly Nature 
Cody-Rose Clevidence 
September 15, 2025 | Poetry

 

The Jills 
Karen Parkman 
February 10, 2026 | Fiction

 

Browse Publications
See Prizes & Awards

The Latest Alumni Updates

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Friday, October 9, 2026
Sunday! 10/11 at 4 p.m., the International Writing Program will hold its Sunday Afternoon Reading at Prairie Lights bookstore, feat. Radu Vancu, Harumi Kawaguchi 川口晴美 , and Amber Esau, joined by Workshop grad, Lizzie Cusick https://events.uiowa.edu/event/39699/70154

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Friday, October 9, 2026
Tucker Malarkey in Lafayette, CA on October 21 https://crosswatercreek.com/pages/wild-salmon-wild-journeys-an-evening-with-tucker-malarkey?srsltid=AU7gw4V0UDZKepeR5-pD5sZ0ygLfiKJx0sRSTJiB1yqGVdvqJe6TeO48

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Friday, October 9, 2026
Ben Shattuck leading a workshop in Blue Hill, ME on October 24 on Dimensions of Historical Fiction https://www.eventbrite.com/e/workshop-dimensions-of-historical-fiction-with-ben-shattuck-tickets-2002663723106

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Friday, October 9, 2026
Poetry by Stuart Dybek, "Nine Bluegills" | Poets.org https://poets.org/poem/nine-bluegills

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Friday, October 9, 2026
Remembering Monroe Lerner (MFA 1973) https://www.feerickfuneralhome.com/obituary/monroe-lerner

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Thursday, 10/8 at 1pm, The Writers’ Workshop, Hancher Auditorium, and Iowa String Quartet Residency Program present the Brentano String Quartet for an afternoon concert in the Frank Conroy Reading Room at Dey House/Glenn Schaeffer Library https://events.uiowa.edu/event/38132/67137

Follow Us On Bluesky

Alumni News

A portrait of University of Iowa alumna Brenda Hillman.

Iowa Writers’ Workshop alumna named finalist for National Book Award

Thursday, October 8, 2026
Sara Epstein Moninger
Iowa Now
Poet Brenda Hillman, who earned an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop in 1976, is a 2026 finalist for the prestigious National Book Award.
A portrait of University of Iowa professor Matthew Neill Null.

Matthew Neill Null helps students find a distinctive voice

Thursday, October 1, 2026
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
The Iowa Writers’ Workshop alumnus and associate professor brings a unique approach to fiction and a commitment to helping students develop their own artistic voices.
A headshot of University of Iowa visiting professor Tony Tulathimutte.

A writing life is not a ‘pipe dream’

Thursday, September 17, 2026
Sara Epstein Moninger
Iowa Now
Tony Tulathimutte went from an unhappy career in Silicon Valley to the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Now the acclaimed writer is helping University of Iowa students envision their own paths forward.
A headshot of award-winning author and Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate Tony Tulathimutte, the inaugural recipient of the Jack Galef Literary Arts Award.

Iowa grad Tony Tulathimutte receives inaugural Jack Galef Literary Arts Award

Thursday, August 20, 2026
Sara Epstein Moninger
Iowa Now
Award-winning author and Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate Tony Tulathimutte is the inaugural recipient of the Jack Galef Literary Arts Award. Tulathimutte is a visiting faculty member in residence at the workshop this fall.
More Alumni News
speech bubble icon

We love hearing from alumni! If you have news to share, reach out to us!