Writers' Workshop alum and New York Times best-selling author Leslie Jamison will read from her highly anticipated memoir, Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story. She will be joined in conversation by Kaveh Akbar. âIn Splinters, Jamison offers a riveting portrait of rupture that is at once a page-turner about divorce, a romance about parenthood, a mystery of self...
Iowa Writers' Workshop graduate Christina Cooke will read from her enthralling debut novel, Broughtupsy. She will be joined in conversation by fellow alum Sarah Thankam Mathews. (Broughtupsy is) âA luminous tale of a latter-day Antigone who navigates grief, love, death, sex, violence, language, queerness, race, and three countries with courage, joy, and a tender heart. Broughtupsy is an instant classic...
Please join us with the UIowa Office of the Vice President for Research for a special reading and reception as part of the Book Matters Series, celebrating Writers' Workshop Faculty member and New York Times bestselling author Margot Livesey. Livesey will read from her new novel, The Road From Belhaven, and be joined in conversation by Workshop...
Iowa Nonfiction Writing Program alum Darius Stewart will read from Be Not Afraid of My Body: A Lyrical Memoir. "Darius Stewart is a charming, searching, and unflinching interlocutor, whether he's speaking through the book's presiding influence, Essex Hemphill, or regaling the reader with messy hookups and botched attempts to snort coke through a cigarette. Calling Be Not Afraid...
Join us with Iowa City author Steve Sherman, who will read from his latest book, A Bass Reeves Adventure: Give Me the Warrant. Enjoy the riveting true tale of Bass Reeves on the trail of his own son who discovers much more than he bargained for in the wild untamed Indian Territory of Oklahoma. "In 1902 Bass...
National Book Award Finalist and bestselling author Bonnie Jo Campbell will read from her fierce, mesmerizing novel about exceptional women and the soul of a small town, The Waters.  "Campbell has been exploring hardship, especially the hardships that independent and exploratory women have to work through, for most of her writing career. She knows that unexpected...
Come celebrate the Chinese New Year at Prairie Lights! Writers' Workshop alum Aaron Hwang will read from and talk about his books The Chinese Zodiac: And Other Paths to Luck, Riches & Prosperity and a brand new children's version,  A Kid's Guide to the Chinese Zodiac: Animal Horoscopes, Legendary Myths, and Practical Uses for Ancient Wisdom.  In the books,...
Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award-Winning author Kij Johnson will read from her short story collection, The Privilege of the Happy Ending, published by Small Beer Press.  "Ursula Le Guin comes immediately to mind when you turn the pages of Kij Johnson's first book of short stories, her debut collection is that impressive. The title piece...
Acclaimed poet and memoirist Jonathan Wells will read from his first work of fiction, The Sterns are Listening. âIn The Sterns Are Listening, Jonathan Wells gives us a touching, beautifully observed and very funny portrait of a 21st century Manhattan family sliding slowly down the American dream. Benjamin Sternâs wife is turning Italian, his teenage son is coming...
Kathleen Renk will read from her new historical novel, The Rossetti Diaries. She will be joined in conversation by Mary Helen Stefaniak. "Poet Christina Rossetti and artist/enigma Elizabeth Siddal step right out of the mid-19th century and into the 21st as Maggie, a historian with artistic longings of her own, finds and reads their diaries, which...
Writers' Workshop alum Kevin Clouther will read from his latest short story collection, Maximum Speed. Booklist enthuses, "These wonderfully evocative, interconnected stories are about growing up, growing apart, and how modern communications technology enables distant figures from the past to suddenly be brought into the present." Author Frances de Pontes Peebles writes, "With meticulous craft and profound...
Please join us for a special early launch of award-winning poet Kaveh Akbarâs first novel, Martyr! One of the most eagerly anticipated books of 2024, Martyr! has received praise from writers including John Green, Raven Leilani and Mary Karr. Tommy Orange calls Martyr! âAn absolute jewel of a novel. A diamond. I havenât loved a book this much in years....
