The Iowa Summer Writing Festival began in 1987 at the University of Iowa, growing out of the university's reputation as home to the Iowa Writers' Workshop, widely regarded as the world's premier academic center for creative writing. From the start, the festival was built as a noncredit, open-enrollment program rather than a competitive academic one — welcoming writers from 18 to 98 years of age, from all 50 states, and from every continent, during the summer months in Iowa City.

The festival ceased operations in the fall of 2025. For more information about writing at Iowa, please visit our home page: https://writing.uiowa.edu. You can also access recordings of the Eleventh Hour lecture series on our Podcast Network here.