Literature

John Elizabeth Stintzi  will read from their surreal, darkly humorous short stories told from a queer, non-binary perspective, Bad Houses. They will be joined in conversation by Mason Andrew Hamberlin.  "Bad Houses is a rare, incomparable collection, surreal yet firmly anchored to the mechanics of contemporary living. Mimes, dismemberment, pumpkin patch trolls, creatures made of mould and laundry--these...

Poets Shane Book and Mark Levine will read from their work.  Shane Book will read from All Black Everything (Kuhl House Poets, 2023). Mark Levine will read from Sound Fury (Univ of Iowa Press). “All Black Everything proposes an expansive, global poetics, which is equally a poetics of Black diasporan fluency. All Black’s poems ride the crosscurrents of history and popular...

Bessie Flores Zaldívar will read from Libertad, a queer YA coming-of-age novel set during the rigged Honduran presidential election about a young poet discovering the courage it takes to speak her truth about the people and country she loves.  Kirkus Reviews calls it “An emotionally charged must-read,” and in a starred review, Publishers Weekly says, “Through...

Join us for a special afternoon event with Professor Emeritus Lyell Henry, who will  talk about his new book, Trekking across America: An Up-Close Look at a Once-Popular Pastime, published by University of Iowa Press. “Trekking across America vividly recalls a bygone era when people would cross the continent on foot, hoping the publicity would lead to...

Join us with restaurant reviewer of over 25 years, cookbook author Wini Moranville, who will read from and discuss her new book, Love Is My Favorite Flavor: A Midwestern Dining Critic Tells All.  She will be joined in conversation by Iowa City food blogger, Meredith Lumberg. "In the tradition of the great food writers of our...