Join us for a reading and discussion, co-sponsored by Prairie Lights, to celebrate recent works from Louisa Hall and Bennett Sims, faculty in the University of Iowa Department of English. After the reading, Donika Kelly, associate professor of English, will join Hall and Sims for a conversation and Q&A with the audience. Light refreshments will follow.

What if everyone in the community used art to connect with nature? Could this inspire positive changes? Prompt for the Planet: Community Promises is a free community event that will highlight local artists whose performances inspire action that leads to big changes and bring people together. This free event draws inspiration from U.S. Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman’s Prompt for the Planet, originally conceived in 2018 when University of Iowa student, Shannon Nolan and her instructor David...

Join us for a reading with award-winning author of Bliss Montage and Severance, Ling Ma.

Iowa Writers’ Workshop alum Jennifer Banks will read from her fascinating and thought-provoking book Natality: Toward a Philosophy of Birth. She will be joined in conversation by IWP Director Christopher Merrill. This special event has been co-sponsored by the University of Iowa Department of History, the International Writing Program, Digital Studio, and the Office of the Vice President for Research, and a grant from AHI. "Banks’s insights are nothing short of revelatory. Using Arendt’s...

Writers' Workshop alum m.s. RedCherries will read from her stunning, multimorphic work of poetry and prose about Indigenous identity, mother. “This is an extraordinary debut by an innovative new voice in Native American literature. Throughout mother, m.s. RedCherries weaves a multigenerational and polyphonic narrative that spirals across time and space to explore themes of indigenous identity, adoption, residential schools, and reservations. While there is a profound sense of loss and trauma in...

Writers’ Workshop graduate Afabwaje Kurian will read from her debut novel, Before the Mango Ripens.  She will be joined in conversation by Claire Lombardo.  “Before the Mango Ripens is a historical novel that avoids predictable oppositions. Its characters’ relationships and internal qualities are complex, its locals speak in indigenous Gbagyi, and its focus is realistic throughout. It depicts an array of individual viewpoints, desires, and motivations, spotlighting the challenges of political...