Iowa Writers’ Workshop alum and current Iowa Summer Writing Festival instructor Kelly Dwyer will read from her newest novel, Ghost Mother. Compared to stories written by Stephen King, Shirley Jackson, and Henry James, Ghost Mother follows a protagonist named Lilly who’s wanting but struggling to have a baby with her husband Jack when they buy an old house that appears to be haunted…or is it? Kate Christensen, PEN/Faulkner award-winning author of The Great Man and Welcome Home, Stranger, praises Ghost Mother as a book that “has so many pleasures: a gorgeous old wreck of a house, a charmingly flawed and sympathetic heroine, supernatural goings-on so real they feel historical, an incredible sex scene, no spoilers, and an enthralling story.” She adds, “It’s the perfect summer book.”

Kelly Dwyer, a graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, published two literary novels back in the ’90s: The Tracks of Angels and Self Portrait with Ghosts. She’s also written plays that have been produced in New York; Boston; Madison, WI; and Glasgow, Scotland.