Comprised of three main parts—a year-long set of TV writing courses, the Big Binge, and post-graduate fellowships—the Iowa Writers’ Room (IWR) is focused on preparing students to enter a career in writing for television. Iowa alumni have a rich history of success in the industry, writing for shows that include The Sopranos, Girls, Watchmen, The Summer I Turned Pretty, Six Feet Under, Blue Bloods, and many more. The IWR's bespoke structure and course work are helping the next generation of TV writers find their voice.
The cornerstones of the IWR are its two workshop courses: CSI:3325 and CSI:4325. These interdisciplinary, application-based practicums are taught by an industry professional and feature guest visits from other acclaimed TV insiders. The courses are currently taught by television writer Josh Parkinson. Before becoming a professor, Parkinson worked in writers' rooms for ongoing and limited series while also developing and pitching scripts for new television and film projects.
“One [show I worked on] was called The Terror [co-created by Iowa alumni David Kajganich], which was on AMC. That’s probably my favorite thing I’ve ever worked on. [I also] worked on an HBO comedy called Eastbound & Down,” Parkinson said.
Parkinson began teaching at the university five years ago. “There are quite a few Iowa Writers’ Workshop alums who work in the television industry—after working with them on some projects, they suggested I might be a good fit to help launch this exciting program.”
CSI:3325, accepts a total of 16 students who are then split into two different "rooms" in the fall semester—one for comedy writing and one for adaptation. Both sections simulate a real writers’ room where students develop ideas and pitch them to Parkinson, who acts as the showrunner. Throughout the semester, students work collaboratively to write scripts for a three-to-four episode limited television series, which they present in their final class. During the second semester, all 16 students come together and enroll in the second IWR course, CSI:4325, which focuses specifically on pitching, drafting, workshopping, editing, and finalizing their own individual pilot scripts.
"The class is really about demystifying television writing,” Parkinson says. “I know as a fiction writer, going into the TV world... there’s a learning curve in figuring out how to navigate it. Our goal is to show these interdisciplinary students what's possible.”
The set of courses are available to all undergraduate and graduate students, regardless of major; however, interested students must apply during the spring semester and then be accepted into the class before adding it to their schedule.
A third course offered by the IWR, CSI:1325—the Big Binge, is also open to all students at the university. Students spend a week with a television writer and showrunner “binging” a show they’ve created and learning first-hand what it takes to make a television program. Instructors for the Big Binge have included David Kajganich (The Terror, Bones and All, Suspiria), Gina Welch (Clipped), and Dahvi Waller (Mad Men, Mrs. America).
Meanwhile, the IWR fellowships offer select post-MFA graduates the opportunity to develop their projects with a successful and experienced writer in the field. Students are given the time and space to work intensively on one or more scripts and develop ideas for future projects, while also exploring ways to navigate the business of writing for long-form television. This fellowship take place during the academic year (August - May) with a stipend of roughly $17,000 thanks to the Meta and George Rosenberg Foundation. On April 27th, the IWR announced Brandon J. Choi and Maya Sherwood (both alumni of the Iowa Writers' Workshop) as the program’s 2026-2027 post-graduate fellows. Recent fellows have already secured representation by CAA and are having their work read by showrunners and network executives.
Interested in learning more about the Iowa Writers' Room? Go to https://writing.uiowa.edu/iowa-writers-room or email us at prov-owc@uiowa.edu.
Watch the interview with Josh!