For 80 years, Iowa City has been committed to celebrating writing. The Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa pioneered the teaching of creative writing at the university level; and dozens of creative programmes exist at the university and throughout the city.

 

Known as a long-standing home for writers, Iowa City has a unique set of influential literary institutions which explore new ways of teaching and supporting writers. Many of these cultural assets are housed at the University of Iowa. In addition to the Writers’ Workshop, the University is home to the International Writing Programme, the Nonfiction Writing Programme, the Translation Workshop, the Playwrights Workshop, the Spanish Language Creative Writing MFA, and the Iowa Center for the Book, to name but a few. 

 

The community is also home to a rich array of literary spots, from the world-renowned Prairie Lights independent bookstore to the Iowa City Public Library – the busiest library building in the state per capita.

These organizations, and the City of Literature organization, provide rich programming that includes the Iowa City Book Festival, the Iowa Summer Writing Festival and the One Book Two Book Children’s Literature festival.

 

The city also boasts several presses and publishing houses, all of which support the many writers who have called or who continue to call Iowa City their home.