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Writing-related events take place nearly every day of the year in Iowa City. Use this page to stay up to date on upcoming author readings, book signings, lectures, Q&As, and other unique opportunities scheduled around town. 

Upcoming

Iowa New Play Festival promotional image

Iowa New Play Festival

Friday, May 8, 2026 (all day)
Theatre Building
We are thrilled to present our annual Iowa New Play Festival in the Theatre Building featuring full productions written by MFA playwrights. Plus, there are readings daily from new, full plays written by MFA and undergraduate playwrights.
Deep Fried Dolphins promotional image

Deep Fried Dolphins

Friday, May 8, 2026 5:30pm to 7:30pm
Theatre Building
By Cianon Jones
Directed by Tony Meneses, Cianon Jones, and the Cast & Team of Deep Fried Dolphins
Part of Iowa New Play Festival – Production Series
Deep Fried Dolphins promotional image

Deep Fried Dolphins

Friday, May 8, 2026 9:00pm to 11:00pm
Theatre Building
By Cianon Jones
Directed by Tony Meneses, Cianon Jones, and the Cast & Team of Deep Fried Dolphins
Part of Iowa New Play Festival – Production Series

All Events

Iowa New Play Festival promotional image

Iowa New Play Festival

Friday, May 8, 2026 (all day)
Theatre Building
We are thrilled to present our annual Iowa New Play Festival in the Theatre Building featuring full productions written by MFA playwrights. Plus, there are readings daily from new, full plays written by MFA and undergraduate playwrights.
Deep Fried Dolphins promotional image

Deep Fried Dolphins

Friday, May 8, 2026 5:30pm to 7:30pm
Theatre Building
By Cianon Jones
Directed by Tony Meneses, Cianon Jones, and the Cast & Team of Deep Fried Dolphins
Part of Iowa New Play Festival – Production Series
Deep Fried Dolphins promotional image

Deep Fried Dolphins

Friday, May 8, 2026 9:00pm to 11:00pm
Theatre Building
By Cianon Jones
Directed by Tony Meneses, Cianon Jones, and the Cast & Team of Deep Fried Dolphins
Part of Iowa New Play Festival – Production Series
Live from Prairie Lights | Uchenna Awoke in conversation with Reyumeh Ejue - "A Seige of Owls" promotional image

Live from Prairie Lights | Uchenna Awoke in conversation with Reyumeh Ejue - "A Seige of Owls"

Monday, May 11, 2026 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Prairie Lights Books
Uchenna Awoke will read from his new novel, A Siege of Owls, and will be joined in conversation with Iowa Writers' Workshop graduate, Reyumeh Ejue. Described as "An urgent and unforgettable work of magical realism following a young man coming of age in rural West Africa as he bears witness to the violence, upheaval, and hope in a rapidly changing society," A Siege of Owls is praised by The Malvern Observer as "a deeply human, urgent, and earnest story," while Chimezie Chika, author of Afrocritik, says: "A Siege of Owls is a masterpiece . . . If mythmaking—that is, mythmaking the becoming or unbecoming of our country—is Awoke’s goal in writing this novel, he immensely succeeds in mythologising the aggressive extremities of our times."
Live from Prairie Lights | Mitchell L.H. Douglas in conversation with Lauren Haldeman - "Universal Corner" promotional image

Live from Prairie Lights | Mitchell L.H. Douglas in conversation with Lauren Haldeman - "Universal Corner"

Wednesday, May 13, 2026 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Prairie Lights Books
Mitchell L.H. Douglas will read from his new poetry collection, Universal Corner, and will be joined in conversation with local author Lauren Haldeman. Publisher Persea Books offers this description: "Dancing at the intersection of melody and humanity, Mitchell L. H. Douglas' Universal Corner imagines what beat moves the world. Douglas' poetry rides the skip and pop of vinyl, radio waves, and mixtape collage through a complex modern life, his voice equally shaped by freestyling and stage diving, having come of age in two seemingly different musical cultures: punk and Hip-Hop. These seemingly disparate genres reveal surprising connections in Douglas' poems, in which he finds that, through the experience of memory and musical communion, common ground abounds. Reconciling rage and joy, public and private, Mitchell Douglas is one of our most vital voices of the urban Midwest, a poet of with both a critical and compassionate perspective on the pulse of America's heartland."
Live from Prairie Lights | Barry Markovsky - "Everyday Extraordinary" promotional image

Live from Prairie Lights | Barry Markovsky - "Everyday Extraordinary"

Thursday, May 14, 2026 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Prairie Lights Books
Barry Markovsky will read from his new book, Everyday Extraordinary. Publisher Simon & Schuster describes Everyday Extraordinary as a book that "provides an antidote for the conspiracy theories, medical quackery, and science denial prevailing in today’s pop culture," and it concludes: "The stories gently encourage readers to ask questions rather than jump to conclusions; to consider alternative explanations for what happened; to distinguish good evidence from bad; to suspend judgment when the evidence isn’t there; to have a mind both open and skeptical; to consider that what we wish to be true may not always be so. Without being preachy, the scientific explanations prove extraordinary in their own right. Along the way, readers accumulate tools for thinking critically about all sorts of claims, extraordinary and otherwise."

Barry Markovsky is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of South Carolina. His articles on ghosts, UFOs, and coincidences appear at TheConversation.com, which disseminates them to major news outlets worldwide. To date, more than a million readers have downloaded them. He has appeared on radio programs nationally and worldwide: “Morning Edition” on NPR, “Nightlife” on ABC Australia, and Public Radio International’s “The World,” to name a few. He has also made numerous TV, radio, and print appearances in local markets, from L.A. to New York, and in many other countries.
Application Deadline: Summer 2026 Obermann Writing Collective promotional image

Application Deadline: Summer 2026 Obermann Writing Collective

Friday, May 22, 2026 5:00pm
111 Church Street

This program offers accountability to artists, scholars, and researchers working on any kind of writing project (articles, essays, fellowship or grant applications, dissertations, book projects, edited volumes, etc.) who want dedicated time, a cozy space, and a community for the practice of writing.Each group meets once a week for 1.5 hours. Weekly writing sessions include brief check-ins, goal setting, and sustained writing time. All groups are open to everyone in the University of Iowa...

Live from Prairie Lights | Alice Martin - "Westward Women" promotional image

Live from Prairie Lights | Alice Martin - "Westward Women"

Friday, May 22, 2026 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Prairie Lights Books
Alice Martin will read from her new novel, Westward Women. Described as "a hypnotic and hopeful debut—part fever dream, part dystopian road trip that claws its way towards a jaw-dropping finale," Westward Women is praised by Joyce Carol Oates as "an audacious first novel to set beside Margaret Atwood," while Anna North, New York Times bestselling author of Outlawed, says: "This taut and shocking debut is part Western, part zombie thriller, and all cautionary tale about what happens when women’s bodies and desires are marginalized for too long. With twists you won’t see coming, Martin weaves an alternate history that’s only too relevant today."

Alice Martin is a writer, reader, and teacher from North Carolina. She holds a PhD in Literature from Rutgers University and works as an Assistant Professor of English Studies at Western Carolina University, where she teaches fiction writing and American literature. She lives outside of Asheville, North Carolina with her husband, her son, and too many typewriters. Westward Women is her debut novel.
Write at the Stanley: A Generative Writing Workshop promotional image

Write at the Stanley: A Generative Writing Workshop

Sunday, May 24, 2026 2:30pm to 4:15pm
Stanley Museum of Art

Join us monthly to generate new creative writing inspired by works in the Stanley collection. Each session will be led by a different talented writer from our area, who will be offering a new prompt and a new approach to ekphrastic writing (writing inspired by visual art). Bring your own notebook and pencil or computer and leave with the beginning of a newly written piece.

Co-sponsored by Iowa City Poetry. Teen and adult writers in all genres are welcome.

Write at the Stanley meets every fourth...

Paige Lewis - "Canon" promotional image

Paige Lewis - "Canon"

Tuesday, May 26, 2026 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Prairie Lights Books
Paige Lewis will read from their new novel, Canon. Described by Publisher Penguin Random House as "Two unlikely heroes embark on quests to win God’s favor," Canon is praised by bestselling author John Green as "A scorchingly brilliant, wildly funny, and deeply moving epic," while Karen Russell, bestselling author of The Antidote, says: "An unprecedented page-turner . . . I wish I could spend a thousand more pages with the narrator of Canon, whose keenness, kindness, associative brilliance, storytelling authority, and crow-black humor make every line of this utterly singular novel a surprise and a delight . . . Canon filled me with overwhelming joy, joy that such an extraordinary story exists."

Paige Lewis is the author of the poetry collection Space Struck and coeditor of Another Last Call: Poems on Addiction and Deliverance. Lewis teaches at the University of Iowa; Canon is their first novel.
Tom Lin in conv with Thomas Mira y Lopez - "Babylon, South Dakota" promotional image

Tom Lin in conv with Thomas Mira y Lopez - "Babylon, South Dakota"

Wednesday, May 27, 2026 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Prairie Lights Books
Tom Lin will read from his new novel, Babylon, South Dakota, and will be joined in conversation with University of Iowa visiting assistant professor Thomas Mira y Lopez. Described as "a tantalizing, American West saga about a Chinese American family trying to survive on their Dakota farm as a powerful, mysterious, and morally dubious military secret shapes their lives," Babylon, South Dakota is praised by bestselling author and University of Iowa colleague Kaveh Akbar as a "wildly ambitious, deeply strange world with its own ecology and physics and sociology that is also, importantly, our world in all times past, present, and future," while fellow U of Iowa colleague and bestselling poet and author Paige Lewis says: "Tom Lin has written a flawless novel that belongs in a category all its own. The prose is so precise, so vivid, that even everyday objects seem fantastical, invented just for this world. I’ll never be able to look at stained glass, or chrysanthemums, or even binoculars without being immediately transported back to Babylon, South Dakota."
Live from Prairie Lights | Julie Schumacher in conv with Louisa Hall - "Patient, Female" promotional image

Live from Prairie Lights | Julie Schumacher in conv with Louisa Hall - "Patient, Female"

Thursday, May 28, 2026 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Prairie Lights Books
Julie Schumacher will read from her new short story collection, Patient, Female, and will be joined in conversation by University of Iowa associate professor Louisa Hall. Publisher Milkweed offers this description of Patient, Female: "In this irreverent collection, celebrated novelist Julie Schumacher balances sorrow against laughter. Here, we experience story not only as narrative, but as syllabus and as board game. Each protagonist—ranging from girlhood to senescence—receives her own indelible voice as she navigates social blunders, generational misunderstandings, and the absurdity of the human experience. Exquisitely honest and expertly crafted, Patient, Female renders—with dark humor and wit—the foibles of human behavior and our endearing imperfections." Bestselling author and former Prairie Lights employee Claire Lombardo also praises Patient, Female as "Shrewd, sage, and so darkly funny."
Live from Prairie Lights | Eva Adderley - "Raised" promotional image

Live from Prairie Lights | Eva Adderley - "Raised"

Friday, May 29, 2026 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Prairie Lights Books
Eva Adderley will read from her new novel, Raised. Publisher Campfire Press gives this teaser of Raised:

Thirteen years ago, Sadie’s father left her to live with a family of bears in the enchanted forest that surrounded her peculiar hometown.

Yesterday, the bears ate him.

In the wake of her father’s death, Sadie befriends a mysterious Wolf-Woman who is mourning a loss of her own. Together, they work to rebuild a sense of normalcy.

But “normal” looks different for everyone, and their magical town has its own ideas about how they should heal.

There’s a story in the town library that needs an ending.

There’s a golden thread that needs a knot.

And The Festival of The Fireflies is fast approaching.

Eva Adderley is a playwright, teacher, and artist based in Minneapolis. She has a BFA in studio arts with minors in theater and English from the University of Iowa. Her plays have been performed in Iowa, Minnesota, New York, and Sydney, Australia. She was a presenting writer at the 2015 Women Playwrights International Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. In addition to her work as a playwright, she is a costume designer, puppet maker, and illustrator.
Art & Write Night promotional image

Art & Write Night

Friday, June 5, 2026 6:00pm to 8:00pm
University of Iowa Museum of Natural History

Join the long, rich, historical tradition of artists creating in our spaces.

Professional, aspiring, and amateur artists alike, make our museum your muse. The return of this popular program series welcomes guests into the Museum of Natural History's magical gallery spaces after-hours to work on sketching or writing projects with other campus and community artists.

Tell a friend, grab a notebook, and join us on the first Friday of each month. We'll provide a new inspo prompt for each session and...

Read on the Rug promotional image

Read on the Rug

Friday, June 12, 2026 10:30am to 11:00am
University of Iowa Museum of Natural History

Read on the Rug is back with monthly offerings but we're moving to FRIDAYS!

Join us on the second Friday of each month in Iowa Hall at the UI Museum of Natural History for Read on the Rug. Ideal for families or caregivers with kiddos aged 2-5, all are welcome to this free educational program. This program series was designed with our youngest museum lovers in mind. Come along as we build community and inspire a sense of wonder, curiosity, and respect for our natural and cultural worlds with...

Read on the Rug promotional image

Read on the Rug

Friday, July 10, 2026 10:30am to 11:00am
University of Iowa Museum of Natural History

Read on the Rug is back with monthly offerings but we're moving to FRIDAYS!

Join us on the second Friday of each month in Iowa Hall at the UI Museum of Natural History for Read on the Rug. Ideal for families or caregivers with kiddos aged 2-5, all are welcome to this free educational program. This program series was designed with our youngest museum lovers in mind. Come along as we build community and inspire a sense of wonder, curiosity, and respect for our natural and cultural worlds with...

Art & Write Night promotional image

Art & Write Night

Friday, August 7, 2026 6:00pm to 8:00pm
University of Iowa Museum of Natural History

Join the long, rich, historical tradition of artists creating in our spaces.

Professional, aspiring, and amateur artists alike, make our museum your muse. The return of this popular program series welcomes guests into the Museum of Natural History's magical gallery spaces after-hours to work on sketching or writing projects with other campus and community artists.

Tell a friend, grab a notebook, and join us on the first Friday of each month. We'll provide a new inspo prompt for each session and...

Read on the Rug promotional image

Read on the Rug

Friday, August 14, 2026 10:30am to 11:00am
University of Iowa Museum of Natural History

Read on the Rug is back with monthly offerings but we're moving to FRIDAYS!

Join us on the second Friday of each month in Iowa Hall at the UI Museum of Natural History for Read on the Rug. Ideal for families or caregivers with kiddos aged 2-5, all are welcome to this free educational program. This program series was designed with our youngest museum lovers in mind. Come along as we build community and inspire a sense of wonder, curiosity, and respect for our natural and cultural worlds with...

Art & Write Night promotional image

Art & Write Night

Friday, September 4, 2026 6:00pm to 8:00pm
University of Iowa Museum of Natural History

Join the long, rich, historical tradition of artists creating in our spaces.

Professional, aspiring, and amateur artists alike, make our museum your muse. The return of this popular program series welcomes guests into the Museum of Natural History's magical gallery spaces after-hours to work on sketching or writing projects with other campus and community artists.

Tell a friend, grab a notebook, and join us on the first Friday of each month. We'll provide a new inspo prompt for each session and...

Read on the Rug promotional image

Read on the Rug

Friday, September 11, 2026 10:30am to 11:00am
University of Iowa Museum of Natural History

Read on the Rug is back with monthly offerings but we're moving to FRIDAYS!

Join us on the second Friday of each month in Iowa Hall at the UI Museum of Natural History for Read on the Rug. Ideal for families or caregivers with kiddos aged 2-5, all are welcome to this free educational program. This program series was designed with our youngest museum lovers in mind. Come along as we build community and inspire a sense of wonder, curiosity, and respect for our natural and cultural worlds with...

Art & Write Night promotional image

Art & Write Night

Friday, October 2, 2026 6:00pm to 8:00pm
University of Iowa Museum of Natural History

Join the long, rich, historical tradition of artists creating in our spaces.

Professional, aspiring, and amateur artists alike, make our museum your muse. The return of this popular program series welcomes guests into the Museum of Natural History's magical gallery spaces after-hours to work on sketching or writing projects with other campus and community artists.

Tell a friend, grab a notebook, and join us on the first Friday of each month. We'll provide a new inspo prompt for each session and...

Read on the Rug promotional image

Read on the Rug

Friday, October 9, 2026 10:30am to 11:00am
University of Iowa Museum of Natural History

Read on the Rug is back with monthly offerings but we're moving to FRIDAYS!

Join us on the second Friday of each month in Iowa Hall at the UI Museum of Natural History for Read on the Rug. Ideal for families or caregivers with kiddos aged 2-5, all are welcome to this free educational program. This program series was designed with our youngest museum lovers in mind. Come along as we build community and inspire a sense of wonder, curiosity, and respect for our natural and cultural worlds with...

Read on the Rug promotional image

Read on the Rug

Friday, November 13, 2026 10:30am to 11:00am
University of Iowa Museum of Natural History

Read on the Rug is back with monthly offerings but we're moving to FRIDAYS!

Join us on the second Friday of each month in Iowa Hall at the UI Museum of Natural History for Read on the Rug. Ideal for families or caregivers with kiddos aged 2-5, all are welcome to this free educational program. This program series was designed with our youngest museum lovers in mind. Come along as we build community and inspire a sense of wonder, curiosity, and respect for our natural and cultural worlds with...

Art & Write Night promotional image

Art & Write Night

Friday, December 4, 2026 6:00pm to 8:00pm
University of Iowa Museum of Natural History

Join the long, rich, historical tradition of artists creating in our spaces.

Professional, aspiring, and amateur artists alike, make our museum your muse. The return of this popular program series welcomes guests into the Museum of Natural History's magical gallery spaces after-hours to work on sketching or writing projects with other campus and community artists.

Tell a friend, grab a notebook, and join us on the first Friday of each month. We'll provide a new inspo prompt for each session and...

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