Iowa Writers' Workshop graduate Jeff Boyd will read from his new novel Hard Times and will be joined in conversation with University of Iowa Visiting Assistant Professor James F. Thomas. Described as "An extraordinary crime novel from a rising star, that follows the ripple effects of a tragic shooting throughout a Chicago community from the view of the teachers, police officers, and students impacted" (us.macmillan.com), Hard Times is praised by Xochitl Gonzalez, New York Times bestselling author of Olga Dies Dreaming and Anita de Monte Laughs Last as "a deeply satisfying story with as much heart, grit, and history as the city that it's set in," while Jess Walter, bestselling author of The Cold Millions and So Far Gone, says: "Hard Times is a sweeping, suspenseful, gripping novel, a gritty and humane love letter to Chicago. Jeff Boyd’s characters will stick with you long after you turn the last page."

Jeff Boyd is the author of two novels: The Weight, published by Simon & Schuster in 2023, and Hard Times, published by Flatiron in 2026. He is a former public school teacher and a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He lives in New York with his family.

James F. Thomas is a writer based in New York City. His first novel, Idlewild, published in 2023, was longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His essays and criticism have appeared in The Paris Review, Vulture, and James Joyce Quarterly. He holds an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he was an Iowa Arts Fellow. He is a lecturer for the MA in Writing program at Johns Hopkins University.

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Readings at Prairie Lights are sponsored by the Writing University.}