The Iowa City Book festival presents an afternoon reading of The Unsettled by Writers' Workshop graduate Ayana Mathis, whom Yiyun Li has described as "one of the most brilliant writers working in today's America."

"[A] powerful book.” —Marilynne Robinson

Mathis’ first novel, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie was a New York Times bestseller, an NPR Best Book of 2013, the second selection for Oprah’s Book Club 2.0. and has been translated into sixteen languages. Her nonfiction has been published in...

The Iowa City Book Festival presents Writers' Workshop graduate Eskor David Johnson, who will read from his debut novel Pay As You Go. 

“A madcap odyssey through the hellscape that is the metropolis of the near future. […] Like Dante, Slide wanders in circles, soaking in weirdness, tragedies, and occasional flashes of beauty. And like Joyce, Johnson builds a world that, for all its improbabilities, is recognizable. […] An inventive, beautifully written debut that will leave readers wanting more...

Justin Torres is the author of We the Animals, which won the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, was translated into 15 languages, and was adapted into a feature film. A graduate of the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he will read from and discuss his new book, Blackouts. Fellow Workshop graduate Jamel Brinkley will moderate.

This event is live and in-person.

This event is part of the 2023 Iowa City Book Festival and is sponsored by the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature.

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Hear Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate, renowned novelist, and Oscar award-winning screenwriter John Irving (67MFA) read from his latest novel, The Last Chairlift, during this special evening at Hancher Auditorium, which will include a chat between the author and Workshop Director Lan Samantha Chang.

Irving studied under writer Kurt Vonnegut at Iowa and served as an Iowa Writers’ Workshop instructor from 1972 to 1975. While on campus, the avid wrestler struck up a lifelong friendship with famed...