Prairie Lights Diana Goetsch will read from her memoir, This Body I Wore,  which was labeled a Must-Read by publications including The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, and Literary Hub. Praise from Manuel Betancourt describes the book as "Achingly beautiful . . . This Body I Wore tenderly sketches out a history of the budding trans communities...

Prairie Lights Native Iowan and Iowa Writers' Workshop alum Charles Holdefer will read from his novel, Don't Look at Me.  "Don't Look at Me is a literary mystery, a journey of discovery, and a testament to the power of art. Witty, lyrical, and wise, this ​is one of the most entertaining novels of this—or any—year." —Curtis...

Prairie Lights Author Sally Stevens will read from and talk about her new book, I Sang That: A Memoir of Hollywood!   This book is a personal journey behind the scenes into the world of music-makers who created the film scores, television music, sound recordings, commercials and concert evenings over the last sixty years. It's about a...

Prairie Lights Join us with Iowa City author Larry Baker, who will read from his latest novel, Harry and Sue: A Story of Love and Ghosts.  “Most ghost stories are scary campfire tales that make you huddle close and fear the night. In Larry Baker’s seventh novel, HARRY AND SUE, the ghosts exude tremendous personality and...

Prairie Lights Wayne Johnson will read from his acclaimed Buck Fineday mystery, The Witch Tree.  The Witch Tree is a prequel to The Red Canoe,  praised by William Kent Krueger, who calls Wayne Johnson “one of the most original voices of the past several years.” The Red Canoe was a most anticipated title of 2022 from CrimeReads. Wayne Johnson...

Prairie Lights Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month, Grant Faulkner, will talk about his book on writing, The Art of Brevity: Crafting the Very Short Story.  He will be joined in conversation by author Mary Helen Stefaniak. "Absolutely essential reading on the power and craft of very short stories. Worth it for the brilliant analysis...

Prairie Lights Regan Penaluna will read from and talk about her new book, How to Think Like a Woman: Four Women Philosophers Who Taught Me How to Love the Life of the Mind, with Iowa City author Rachel Yoder.  "A feminist rallying cry informed by centuries of thought on the 'woman question,' this elegantly written and...

Prairie Lights Iowa City author Louisa Hall will read from her genre-defying novel that explores the surreality of pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood in a country in crisis, Reproduction. "I read this novel in a single rapturous sitting, torn between the desire to hurtle through its hypnotic prose and the desire to reread every perfect sentence. Reproduction...

Prairie Lights New Yorker staff writer Burkhard Bilger will read from Fatherland: A Memoir of War, Conscience, and Family Secrets.  “A profoundly haunting work of historical investigation, a reporter’s dogged inquiry into the tangled history of his Nazi grandfather . . . Fatherland is an unflinching, gorgeously written, and deeply moving exploration of morality, family, and...

Prairie Lights Acclaimed writer and professor of philosophy Clancy Martin will read from his intimate, insightful, at times even humorous memoir, How Not to Kill Yourself:A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind, based on his viral essay, “I’m Still Here.”  He will be joined in conversation by Iowa City therapist Tyler Fyotek.   Author David Shields calls the How Not to...