iowa creative writing alumni

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Famous Iowa Writers' Workshop Alumni

List of famous alumni from Iowa Writers' Workshop, with photos when available. Prominent graduates from Iowa Writers' Workshop include some of the greatest English language writers of the twentieth century. This list of distinguished Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni is full of recognizable and notable writers, like Flannery O'Connor and John Irving. This directory is not just composed of graduates of this school, as some of the famous people on this list didn't necessarily earn a degree from Iowa Writers' Workshop, but rather attended it for a spell.

Flannery O'Connor

• Age : Dec. at 39 (1925-1964)
• Birthplace : Savannah, Georgia

David Milch

• Birthplace : Buffalo, New York, USA

Allan Gurganus

• Birthplace : Rocky Mount, USA, North Carolina

Paul Lisicky

John Irving

• Birthplace : Exeter, New Hampshire, USA

Lucy Grealy

• Age : Dec. at 39 (1963-2002)
• Birthplace : Dublin, Republic of Ireland

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Iowa Writers’ Workshop – Acceptance Rate, Alumni, Overview, and More

The Iowa Writers’ Workshop stands as the defining presence among American writing programs. Founded in 1936, some of the biggest names in American literature have been faculty, students, or both.

Located at the University of Iowa in a grandmotherly Victorian home, the Workshop introduced the model that would launch a boom of creative writing MFA programs across the country. By 1967, enough writing programs existed in the United States to merit the forming of the Associated Writing Programs, the professional organization that unites the numerous writing programs today.

The Iowa Workshop brings together writers of talent for support rather than for education. The two-year program, or “residency,” consists primarily of writing time for a thesis to be delivered at graduation. MFA students enroll in workshops in either poetry or fiction, where they meet in groups of 10 to 15 students for weekly critiques.

A few seminars in craft are available each semester, mostly as Form of Fiction or Form of Poetry. Some students take courses in other University of Iowa departments, particularly theater arts and world languages.

Workshop students often take courses at the university’s Center for the Book, a book arts program with its own graduate programs , but with some ties to the Workshop.

Summer programs at the Workshop offer graduate-level coursework for writers, whether or not they are in a degree program. Manuscript review still governs admission for these classes.

Graduates of the program note the advantages of access to giants of the literary and publishing worlds, not so much for artistic guidance but for help navigating the publishing and critical terrain of American letters.

The Workshop maintains that writing can be cultivated, more than taught, and attributes the success of its alumni to their initial talent , seen by the Workshop during the admissions process itself. The role of the Workshop, as they see it, continues to provide a crucible for the development of American literature among the Workshop’s students and faculty.

Iowa Writers’ Workshop Acceptance Rate

In 2017, LitHub, a website devoted to writing culture, published numbers ascribed to a “University of Iowa representative” that would indicate about a 3.7% rate of acceptance. 

That number seems generous, given data from the years 2013-2017 , which places the acceptance rate even lower. It’s safe to assume that Iowa usually gets many applications, over a thousand each year, for 25 slots in Fiction and 25 slots in Poetry.

Harvard Law School has an acceptance rate of 12.9% , and Juilliard accepts around 7% of its applicants . Despite the proliferation of MFA programs, the best-known remains extraordinarily selective, most under 5%, as this data from 2013 shows .

Iowa Writers’ Workshop Alumni

As for accepted students who took courses and graduated from the MFA program, short story master Flannery O’Connor may be the most lauded graduate; she earned her MFA in 1947 and won the National Book Award in 1972. She may be the only Iowa alumna featured on a United States postage stamp.

John Irving is an award-winning writer producing novels, nonfiction, and screenplays; he attended from 1965 to 1967. 

Michael Chabon’s Master’s thesis for the program became his first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh .

United States Poet Laureates Rita Dove and Joy Harjo graduated in 1977 and 1978, respectively. Award-winning poets James Tate, Robert Bly, and Charles Wright, authors Andre Dubus and Raymond Carver earned MFAs.

Denis Johnson and Gish Jen, groundbreaking novelists, and experimental poets Antler and Barrett Watten, and the unclassifiable Joy Williams attended. Williams graduated in 1965; in 2021, she won the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction.

Recent alumni like Alexander Chee continue to redefine genre and adopt new ways of delivering literature through media and technology. Chee was one of five program graduates to win Guggenheim fellowships in 2021.

How to Get Accepted to Iowa Writers’ Workshop

The short answer for how to get accepted to the Iowa Writers’ Conference: be insanely, irresistibly good at writing. Applicants should find the best parts of the best things they’ve ever written, and submit those.

The more nuanced answer: for Fiction applicants, the Workshop asks for two stories, not to exceed 80 pages. 

More work does not help an application. Submitting the most successful passages, whether it’s a chapter from a novel and a work of micro-fiction, two short stories, or two separate chapters from a novel in progress, presents the best picture of a writer ready to develop their craft.

Writers should include parts of stories, if parts of stories demonstrate their best work. Every page submitted should convey urgency and commitment to the narrative. 

Admissions readers look for a singular, undefinable experience when reading applicant submissions; applicants should make every effort to place themselves in the room with readers through their manuscripts.

The poetry submission process parallels the fiction process. Readers look for energy, focus, and commitment to art.

A manuscript of 10-12 poems should include only the work that best features the candidate. It’s far better to have a manuscript that comes in a little short on quantity than to fill in gaps with mediocre work.

No style or genre holds precedence in fiction or poetry; admissions readers seek to bring diverse perspectives to the community.

The Workshop readers emphasize that successful candidates’ work shows spark, originality, and promise, rather than polish or perfection. A successful portfolio submission to the program demonstrates the candidate’s irresistible desire to write.

The application’s statement of purpose can echo the sense of urgency demonstrated in the manuscript, underscoring the applicant’s temperament and dedication to developing their artistic voice. This part of the application won’t help a lackluster manuscript.

No creative writing prerequisites are necessary, and GRE scores are not required. Three letters of recommendation, transcripts, and a CV round out the application materials.

Who Are the Faculty at Iowa Writers’ Workshop?

Given the Workshop’s reputation and profile, the department draws writers from the highest levels of the fiction and poetry worlds , prize-winners and best-sellers. Alumni make up some of the faculty, though nearly any writer might be part of the Workshop for a time.

The current resident faculty include fiction authors like Ethan Canin, Jamel Brinkley, Charles D’Ambrosio, and Margot Livesey, award-winning writers whose work appears in prestigious publications like The New Yorker and The Atlantic .

Poets include Mark Levine, Elizabeth Willis, Tracie Morris, and James Galvin, winners of Guggenheim and NEA fellowships. 

Visiting faculty include Kevin Brockmeier, Jenny Zhang, Charles Baxter, Allan Gurganus, Karen Russell, D.A. Powell, Z.Z. Packer, and many other writers representing the vanguard of American literature. Many visiting faculty members spend a semester on campus; some stay a full school year, and many return to campus for additional terms.

Visiting and resident faculty members teach in the summer and online workshops offered by the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. The Eleventh Hour podcast archives recordings of craft talks from writers who have lectured in the Iowa Writers’ Workshop Summer Festival lecture series.

Similar Schools

The Iowa Writers’ Workshop may be the Harvard, Juilliard, and Mayo Clinic of writing, all rolled into one, but the program doesn’t provide the right fit for every writer. Some students find the blank slate of the Iowa prairie as an oasis, a perfect place to create, while others just don’t want to live in Iowa for two years and find the environment at odds with their writing.

Many students do well with Iowa’s workshop, read-around-the-table model. This model dominates writing programs. But many other MFA writing programs offer a host of other options.

Poets & Writers updates its comprehensive guide regularly , and writers’ resource Read the Workshop organizes lists based on the availability of funding , a crucial element for making an MFA program a sensible choice. For the widest vista , Associated Writing Programs’ searchable guide can take you to any of the over 300 writing programs in the United States.

For writers who want a broader program than a summer workshop or conference, but whose lives don’t allow relocation to another part of the country, Low-Residency MFAs can be the best of all worlds. These programs have expanded since the days of snail-mailing manuscripts to faculty mentors; online tools have made them much more immediate and vibrant.

Low-Residency programs often feature excellent faculty, for the same reason they attract serious students: less time on campus means many people in the program have other life commitments. Warren Wilson College and Vermont College of Fine Arts have Low-Residency MFA programs dating back to the days of shipping paper manuscripts to your classmates.

From traditional, high-ranking programs like Columbia and Florida State, to Saint Mary’s College in California with its Writer in the World courses and craft components , every MFA in writing offers different teaching approaches. Climbing in the rankings are schools like North Carolina State and the small, selective program at the University of New Hampshire.

Many schools now offer technical writing, screenwriting, or nonfiction concentrations. Some MFA programs allow students to work in multiple genres, or in new media and performance contexts.

Is Iowa Writers’ Workshop Worth It?

Two chief benefits to attending the Iowa Writers’ Workshop emerge among alumni stories. First, a residency at Iowa sets aside two full years dedicated to actual writing. Students write every day, and they can access critiques and editing formally and informally among the faculty and their cohorts.

And maybe more importantly, the Iowa Writers’ Workshop provides a kind of exclusive guild or club: members have access to a world of critical reception and publisher attention. Selection for the Iowa Writers’ Workshop conveys credibility. That feature can’t easily be quantified, but it’s very real.

Affording the Workshop might be as big an obstacle as the admissions process. In addition to tuition and fees, students will need to live in Iowa those two years. Tuition remission, teaching fellowships, and other aid can help make the program financially accessible.

Not every student will leave with a book contract and a major advance, though the stories of these successes inspire new candidates. Determining whether or not the program delivers value in a practical way depends on access to funding and on the student’s ability to convert those two years into a career post-graduation.

There’s one more benefit, but this one dodges definition even more than claims of credibility and craft. As an art form, writing belongs to the group of solitary activities. Writers almost universally work in private, and audiences read books alone (with some exceptions).

Yet the compulsion to write derives from a longing for human connection, and almost all writers benefit from a community, no matter how small or specialized. Writing programs can provide that community, cracking the isolation for a couple of years, or even a lifetime, as the bonds created in a writing program sustain long after the degree.

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The Writing University

Menu drawer options, writing at iowa.

More than 40 Pulitzer Prize winners. Seven U.S. Poet Laureates. Countless award-winning playwrights, screenwriters, journalists, translators, novelists and poets. The University of Iowa’s writing programs shape the landscape of American literature.

Departments & Programs

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The History of Writing at Iowa

The University of Iowa’s tradition of great writing originates in its early and enduring commitment to the creative arts. Under the leadership of Carl Seashore in 1922, Iowa became the first university in the United States to accept creative projects as theses for advanced degrees. Traditionally, graduate study culminates in the writing of a scholarly thesis, but, under this new provision, works including a collection of poems, a musical composition, or a series of paintings could be presented to the Graduate College instead. Thus, Iowa established a standard for the Master of Fine Arts degree and secured a place for writers and artists in the academy.

The University of Iowa’s writing community flourished in the wake of this commitment to the arts. Though creative writing coursework was offered at Iowa as early as 1897, the curriculum expanded and diversified in the 1920s. Writers came from all over the country to enroll in courses in playwriting, fiction, and poetry writing.

A new method for the study of writing emerged in these classes: the writing workshop. In a writing workshop, a senior writer leads a discussion about a work written by a member of the class; workshop students share impressions, advice, and analysis. As Paul Engle , director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and founder of the International Writing Program , observed: “the students benefited greatly from hearing a variety of attitudes toward their work. It was like publishing then being reviewed.” Workshop students receive honest and immediate feedback about their writing and become better critics of their own work. Many also discover the sympathetic but critical readers who they will turn to throughout their careers.

The Program in Creative Writing, known worldwide as the Iowa Writers’ Workshop , was founded in 1936 with the gathering together of writers from the poetry and fiction workshops. It was the first creative writing program in the country, and it became the prototype for more than 300 writing programs, many of which were founded by Workshop alumni. The Workshop remains the most prestigious creative writing program in the country and one of the most selective graduate programs of any kind, typically admitting fewer than five percent of its applicants.

Since its establishment, the Workshop has been the cornerstone of the writing community at the University of Iowa. In its early years, the program enjoyed a series of distinguished visitors, such as Robert Frost , Robert Penn Warren , Dylan Thomas , John Berryman , and Robert Lowell . Workshop students met with early success in publishing their work; thus began what Workshop director Frank Conroy would describe as the Workshop’s “self-fulfilling prophecy.” Talented writers teach and study here; this compels more to come and do the same. Iowa's perennial society of writers has grown considerably since the early days of the Workshop; this community has been a dynamic and sustaining force for growth and change. The logic of the “self-fulfilling prophecy” applies at an institutional level, as well as the individual. The University of Iowa set an early precedent for innovation in the study and practice of writing. This precedent created an environment where further advances, including the following, are possible, and likely:

• Students and faculty in UI writing programs collaborate with International Writing Program writers to translate new works of poetry and fiction in English.
• Each summer, students and alumni of the Writers’ Workshop mentor a new generation of authors at the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio , a summer camp for gifted high school-aged writers from around the country.
• A new Screenwriting MFA , where students are instructed on practical skills and knowledge needed to become successful members of the screenwriting industry
• Students from a variety of programs explore and create interpretations of print and print culture by studying book arts in the UI Center for the Book .
•   Nonfiction Writing Program organized “NonfictionNow,” a conference to explore the state of nonfiction writing.
• The Patient Voice Project, created by students at the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop and Arts Share, offers creative writing classes to chronically ill hospital patients.

Iowa’s tradition of writing has been guided by the principle that, though writing is a solitary practice, it’s one significantly enriched by the presence of other writers. As Paul Engle wrote, “Our plan gives the writer a place where he can be himself, confronting the hazards and hopes of his own talent, and at the same time he can measure his capacity against a variety of others.” Through the years, some of the best writers in the world have come here to deepen their understanding of the craft of writing. Since 1939, 40 individuals with ties to the University of Iowa have been awarded Pulitzer Prizes ; four recent U.S. Poet Laureates have been either students or faculty at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. In 2006, Orhan Pamuk, a 1985 fellow of the International Writing Program, won the Nobel Prize in Literature. While the UI has been host to many award-winning authors, Iowa is known as The Writing University because countless numbers of writers at varying stages in their development have found a literary home here. High school students can study writing at the Young Writers’ Studio, and over 1,500 writers each year participate in over 130 workshops at the Summer Writing Festival. The departments of English, Journalism, Theater, and Cinema and Comparative Literature offer writing classes to undergraduates, and Iowa’s graduate programs in playwriting, nonfiction, translation, and journalism are some of the best in the country. The Writers’ Workshop is the country’s oldest and most celebrated graduate program in creative writing, and the International Writing Program hosts accomplished writers from around the world each fall. The following timeline provides an overview of important dates in the history of writing at Iowa. For more information about the writers who have taught and studied at Iowa, please visit the Writers page . or our LitCity project . A directory of all of the writing programs, as well as programs affiliated with writing at Iowa, is available from the Programs page.  

About the Writing University

The Virtual Writing University (VWU) is a collaborative, interdisciplinary initiative sponsored by the Graduate College and the Office of the Provost at the University of Iowa. The project launched in fall, 2006, with the mandate to create a virtual space for the University of Iowa's writing community. Its primary venue is the Writing University website ( www.writinguniversity.org ), a portal to the programs, news, and events associated with writing at Iowa, and a platform for special VWU Projects, such as LitCity, The Undergrad Writing Portal, First-Year Seminars and the Eleventh Hour Podcast .

People Support for the Virtual Writing University comes from many different areas of the University of Iowa community. We are grateful for the many staff and faculty members who have contributed their creative, technological, and administrative expertise to this initiative.  

Writing University Senior Editor

Lauren Haldeman, Senior Editor, The University of Iowa

Writing University Advisory Panel

Aron Aji, director of the Translation Workshop Micah Bateman, Assistant Professor, SLIS Lynne Nugent, Editor-in-Chief, The Iowa Review Lan Samantha Chang, director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop Joan Kjaer, Strategic Communications Officer, International Programs Communications and Relations Amy Margolis, director of the Iowa Summer Writing Festival Christopher Merrill, director of the International Writing Program

Writing University Director

Christopher Merrill, director of the International Writing Program

Writing University Archive

Thomas Keegan, Director, Digital Library Services Mark Anderson, Digital Initiatives Librarian

LitCity Project

Thomas Keegan, Director, Digital Library Services Jim Cremer, Consultant, Computer Science Department Loren Glass, Faculty, English Department Nicole Dudley, Lead Database Developer

History of Writing at Iowa

Robin Hemley Michael Allen Potter, Graduate Assistant

Technological Support

Wendy Brown, Web Production, University Relations Web Unit Ken Clinkenbeard, Instructional Services, Academic Technologies Ann Freerks, Designer, University Relations Web Unit Andrew Rinner, Research Services, Academic Technologies Paul Soderdahl, director of Library Information Technology, UI Libraries

Biographies of Writing University Project Leaders

Lauren Haldeman is the senior editor of the Writing University website. She is the author of Team Photograph , Instead of Dying (winner of the 2017 Colorado Prize for Poetry), Calenday, and The Eccentricity is Zero . Her work has appeared in Poetry, Tin House, The Colorado Review, The Iowa Review, Fence and others. A graphic novelist and poet, she’s received an Iowa Arts Fellowship, a Sustainable Arts Foundation Award and visiting artist fellowships from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Carnegie Mellon University, and Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

Christopher Merrill ’s books include four collections of poetry, Brilliant Water , Workbook , Fevers & Tides , and Watch Fire , for which he received the Peter I. B. Lavan Younger Poets Award from the Academy of American Poets; translations of Aleš Debeljak’s Anxious Moments and The City and the Child ; several edited volumes, among them, The Forgotten Language: Contemporary Poets and Nature and From the Faraway Nearby: Georgia O’Keeffe as Icon ; and three books of nonfiction, The Grass of Another Country: A Journey Through the World of Soccer , The Old Bridge: The Third Balkan War and the Age of the Refugee , and Only the Nails Remain: Scenes from the Balkan Wars . His work has been translated into sixteen languages. He has held the William H. Jenks Chair in Contemporary Letters at the College of the Holy Cross, and now directs the International Writing Program at The University of Iowa.

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Finding Aid

Return to finding aids a-z list.

Scope and Contents

The Records of the Iowa Writers' Workshop consist of thirteen series.

Series I , Student Coursework, consists of photocopies of students' works arranged by semester and class section within each semester. It is the largest series in the collection, dating from Fall 1965 to the present. Note that a few of the semesters are filed out of chronological sequence.

Series II , Award Competitions, consists of writing entries from individuals vying for scholarships and other awards.

Series III , Students and Alumni, consists of files containing correspondence, applications, and other material, arranged alphabetically by name of individual within each accrual. Note that accrual dates cover academic years; e.g., "1986-91" covers the 1986-87 to 1991-92 academic years. Restricted access.

Series IV , Faculty, is arranged alphabetically by name of individual. Restricted access.

Series V , Director's Files, consists of correspondence and other material created and received by the Office of the Director. Restricted access.

Series VI , Administrative Files. Restricted access.

Series VII , Accepted; Not Coming. Restricted access.

Series VIII , Rejected Applicants' Evaluation Sheets. Restricted access.

Series IX , Applicants' Letters of Recommendation. Restricted access.

Series X , Ephemera, includes posters and other printed matter, dating from 1982 to present.

Series XI , Stephen Wilbers Project, consists of correspondence and interview notes prepared by an alumnus of the Workshop who prepared a history of the program in 1980.

Series XII , Jean Wylder Project, consists of survey responses obtained from numerous alumni during the early 1970's as part of a history project. The responses are arranged by era of attendance/graduation.

Series XIII , Newsletters, consists of newsletters released once or twice yearly since 1970 chronicling the publishing activity of Workshop alumni and students, as well as Workshop programs and events.

Organizational History

The Iowa Writers' Workshop, long distinguished as America's premier program in creative writing, was founded in 1936. It was the nation's first creative writing degree program, a result of the University of Iowa's pioneering decision in 1922 to accept creative work as a means to fulfill graduate degree requirements. The following is excerpted from the Workshop's Web site ( http://www.uiowa.edu/~iww/about.htm ):

Verse-Making, the first creative writing class at Iowa, was offered in the spring semester of 1897. In 1922, Carl Seashore, dean of the Graduate College, introduced a new model for the academic study of the arts when he announced that the University of Iowa would accept creative work as theses for advanced degrees. The School of Letters began to offer regular courses in writing in which selected students were tutored by resident and visiting writers. The Workshop as an entity began in 1936, with the gathering together of poets and fiction writers under the direction of Wilbur Schramm. From the outset the program enjoyed a series of distinguished visitors, among them Robert Frost and Robert Penn Warren, who would lecture and stay for several weeks to discuss students' work. John Berryman, Robert Lowell, and others came to teach for a full year. One of the first students to receive an M.A. in creative writing was Paul Engle. He offered as his dissertation a collection of poems, Worn Earth, which won him the Yale Younger Poets prize. Paul Engle assumed the directorship of the Workshop in 1941 and held it for 25 years, a period which saw it flourish and become a significant force in American letters. During World War II enrollment was no more than a dozen students, but after the war it grew, attaining in a few years a strength of over a hundred students, and dividing into the fiction and poetry sections which exist today.

Related Materials

Papers of Paul Engle ( MsC 514 )

Papers of John Towner Frederick ( MsC 513 ) Papers of Jack Leggett ( MsC 503 )

Papers of Wilbur Schramm ( RG 99.0118 )

Conroy, Frank, editor. The Eleventh Draft: Craft and the Writing Life From the Iowa Writers' Workshop , 1999, 235 pp.

Dana, Robert, ed. A Community of Writers: Paul Engle and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. University of Iowa Press, 1999. 294 pp .

Wilbers, Stephen McCoy. "Emergence of the Iowa Writers' Workshop." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Iowa, 1978. 210 pp. Dissertation Abstracts International 39: 3587-A.

Wilbers, Steve. "Inside the Iowa Writers' Workshop: Interviews with Three of Its Teachers." North American Review 262, no. 2 (summer 1977): 7-15, illus. Marvin Bell, Vance Bourjaily, and Donald Justice.

Wilbers, Stephen. The Iowa Writers' Workshop: Origins, Emergence, & Growth . Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1980. 153 pp., illus., notes, bibliog.

In addition, numerous biographies of noted graduates of the Workshop have been published, many of which include references to the Workshop and the Iowa City community. See the Archives' online bibliography , Writing Programs category.

Box Contents List

Series I: Student Coursework   [ return to top ]

Box number:

1 - Fall 1965

2 - Spring 1966

3 - Spring 1969

4 - Spring 1966

5 - Fall 1966

6 - Fall 1966

7 - Spring 1967

8 - Spring 1967, Summer 1967, Fall 1967

9 - Spring 1967, Spring 1968, Fall 1968

10 - Spring 1968

11 - Spring 1968, Summer 1968, Fall 1968

12 - Spring 1967, Fall 1967, Spring 1968, Fall 1968

13 - Spring 1968, Summer 1968, Fall 1968

14 - Fall 1968, Spring 1969, Summer 1969, Fall 1969

15 - Spring 1969 (see also: series I, box 3)

16 - Spring 1969, Fall 1969

17 - Fall 1969

18 - Fall 1968, Fall 1969

19 - Spring 1969, Fall 1969, Spring 1970

20 - Spring 1970

21 - Spring 1970, Summer 1970, Fall 1970

22 - Spring 1970

23 - Spring 1970, Summer 1970

24 - Fall 1970

25 - Fall 1970

26 - Fall 1970, Spring 1971

27 - Spring 1971

28 - Spring 1971, Summer 1971

29 - Summer 1971, Fall 1971

30 - Fall 1971, Spring 1972, Summer 1972, Fall 1972

31 - Fall 1972

32 - Fall 1972, Spring 1973

33 - Spring 1973, Summer 1973, Fall 1973

34 - Fall 1973

35 - Spring 1974

36 - Spring 1974, Fall 1974

37 - Fall 1974

38 - Fall 1974

39 - Fall 1974, Spring 1975

40 - Spring 1975

41 - Spring 1975, Summer 1975, Fall 1975

42 - Fall 1975

43 - Fall 1975

44 - Fall 1975, Spring 1976

45 - Spring 1976

46 - Spring 1976

47 - Spring 1976, Summer 1976

48 - Summer 1976, Fall 1976

49 - Fall 1976

50 - Fall 1976

51 - Fall 1976, Spring 1977

52 - Spring 1977

53 - Spring 1977

54 - Spring 1977

55 - Spring 1977, Fall 1977

56 - Fall 1977

57 - Fall 1977

58 - Fall 1977

59 - Fall 1977, Spring 1978

60 - Spring 1978

61 - Spring 1978

62 - Spring 1978, Summer 1978, Fall 1978

63 - Fall 1978

64 - Fall 1978

65 - Fall 1978

66 - Fall 1978, Spring 1979

67 - Spring 1979

68 - Spring 1979

69 - Spring 1979

70 - Spring 1979, Fall 1979

71 - Fall 1979

72 - Fall 1979

73 - Fall 1979

74 - Fall 1979, Spring 1980

75 - Spring 1980

76 - Spring 1980

77 - Spring 1980, Summer 1980, Fall 1980

78 - Fall 1980

79 - Fall 1980

80 - Fall 1980

81 - Fall 1980, Spring 1981

82 - Spring 1981

83 - Spring 1981

84 - Spring 1981

85 - Spring 1981, Summer 1981

86 - Summer 1981

87 - Summer 1981, Fall 1981

88 - Fall 1981

89 - Fall 1981

90 - Fall 1981

91 - Fall 1981, Spring 1982

92 - Spring 1982

93 - Spring 1982

94 - Spring 1982

95 - Spring 1982, Summer 1982

96 - Summer 1982, Fall 1982

97 - Fall 1982

98 - Fall 1982

99 - Fall 1982

100 - Fall 1982, Spring 1983

101 - Spring 1983

102 - Spring 1983, Summer 1983

103 - Summer 1983, Fall 1983

104 - Fall 1983

105 - Fall 1983

106 - Fall 1983, Spring 1984

107 - Spring 1984

108 - Spring 1984

109 - Spring 1984, Summer 1984

110 - Summer 1984, Fall 1984

111 - Fall 1984

112 - Fall 1984

113 - Fall 1984, Spring 1985

114 - Spring 1985

115 - Spring 1985

116 - Spring 1985, Summer 1985, Fall 1985

117 - Fall 1985

118 - Fall 1985

119 - Fall 1985, Spring 1986

120 - Spring 1986

121 - Spring 1986

122 - Spring 1986, Summer 1986

123 - Summer 1986, Fall 1986

124 - Fall 1986

125 - Fall 1986

126 - Fall 1986, Spring 1987

127 - Spring 1987

128 - Spring 1987

129 - Spring 1987, Summer 1987

130 - Summer 1987, Fall 1987

131 - Fall 1987

132 - Fall 1987

133 - Fall 1987, Spring 1988

134 - Spring 1988

135 - Spring 1988

136 - Spring 1988, Summer 1988

137 - Summer 1988, Fall 1988

138 - Fall 1988

139 - Fall 1988

140 - Fall 1988

141 - Spring 1989

142 - Spring 1989

143 - Spring 1989

144 - Summer 1989

145 - Fall 1989

146 - Fall 1989

147 - Fall 1989

148 - Fall 1989

149 - Fall 1989, Spring 1990

150 - Spring 1990

151 - Spring 1990

152 - Spring 1990, Summer 1990

153 - Summer 1990

154 - 1980's, including Leggett

155 - 1991-1998

156 - Fall 1986

157 - Spring 1988, Summer 1988

158 - Spring 1988, Fall 1988

159 - Fall 1988, Spring 1989

160 - Spring 1989

161 - Spring 1989, Summer 1989, Fall 1989

162 - Fall 1989

163 - Fall 1989

164 - Spring 1990

165 - Spring 1990

166 - Summer 1990, Fall 1990

167 - Summer 1990, Fall 1990

168 - Fall 1990

169 - Fall 1990

170 - Fall 1990, Spring 1991

171 - Spring 1991

172 - Spring 1991

173 - Spring 1991, Summer 1991

174 - Spring 1991, Summer 1991, Fall 1991

175 - Fall 1991

176 - Fall 1991

177 - Fall 1991

178 - Fall 1991, Spring 1992

179 - Spring 1992

180 - Spring 1992

181 - Spring 1992

182 - Spring 1992, Summer 1992, Fall 1992

183 - Fall 1992

184 - Fall 1992

185 - Fall 1992

186 - Fall 1992, Spring 1993

187 - Spring 1993

188 - Spring 1993

189 - Spring 1993, Summer 1993

190 - Spring 1993, Summer 1993

191 - Summer 1993, Fall 1993

192 - Fall 1993

193 - Fall 1993

194 - Fall 1993

195 - Fall 1993

196 - Fall 1993

197 - Fall 1993, Spring 1994

198 - Spring 1994

199 - Spring 1994

200 - Spring 1994

201 - Spring 1994

202 - Spring 1994, Summer 1994

203 - Spring 1994, Summer 1994

204 - Summer 1994, Fall 1994

205 - Fall 1994

206 - Fall 1994

207 - Fall 1994

208 - Fall 1994

209 - Fall 1994

210 - Spring 1995

211 - Spring 1995

212 - Spring 1995

213 - Spring 1995

214 - Spring 1995, Summer 1995

215 - Spring 1995, Fall 1995

216 - Spring 1995, Fall 1995

217 - Summer 1995

218 - Fall 1995

219 - Fall 1995

220 - Fall 1995

221 - Spring 1995, Fall 1995, Spring 1996, Fall, 1996

222 - Spring 1996

223 - Spring 1996

224 - Spring 1996

225 - Spring 1996

226 - Spring 1996, Summer 1996

227 - Spring 1996, Summer 1996

228 - Fall 1996

229 - Fall 1996

230 - Fall 1996

231 - Fall 1996

232 - Fall 1996

233 - Spring 1997

234 - Spring 1997

235 - Spring 1997

236 - Spring 1997

237 - Spring 1997

238 - Spring 1997, Fall 1997

239 - Summer 1997, Fall 1997

240 - Fall 1997

241 - Fall 1997

242 - Fall 1997

243 - Fall 1997

244 - Fall 1997, Spring 1999

245 - Spring 1998

246 - Spring 1998

247 - Spring 1998

248 - Spring 1998

249 - Spring 1998

250 - Spring 1998

251 - Spring 1998

252 - Spring 1998, Summer 1998

253 - Spring 1998, Summer 1998

254 - Spring 1998, Fall 1998

255 - Fall 1998

256 - Fall 1998

257 - Fall 1998

258 - Fall 1998

259 - Spring 1999

260 - Spring 1999

261 - Spring 1999

262 - Spring 1999, Fall 1999

263 - Fall 1999

264 - Fall 1999

265 - Fall 1999

266 - Fall 1999

267 - Fall 1999

268 - Fall 1999

269 - Spring 2000

270 - Spring 2000

271 - Spring 2000

272 - Spring 2000

273 - Spring 2000

274 - Summer 2000, Fall 2000

275 - Summer 2000, Summer 2001

276 - Fall 2000

277 - Fall 2000

278 - Fall 2000

279 - Fall 2000

280 - Fall 2000

281 - Spring 2001

282 - Spring 2001

283 - Spring 2001

284 - Spring 2001

285 - Spring 2001

286 - Summer 2001, Fall 2001

287 - Fall 2001

288 - Fall 2001

289 - Fall 2001

290 - Spring 2002

291 - Spring 2002

292 - Spring 2002, Summer 2002

293 - Summer 2002, Fall 2002

294 - Summer 2002, Fall 2002

295 - Fall 2002

296 - Fall 2002

297 - Fall 2002

298 - Spring 2003

299 - Spring 2003

300 - Spring 2003

301 - Summer 2003, Fall 2003

302 - Fall 2003

303 - Fall 2003

304 - Fall 2003

305 - Fall 2003

306 - Spring 2003: Conroy's theses manuscripts

307 - Spring 2004

308 - Spring 2004

309 - Spring 2004

310 - Spring 2004

311 - Spring 2004, Summer 2004, Fall 2004

312 - Summer 2004

313 - Summer 2004

314 - Summer 2004, Fall 2004

315 - Fall 2004

316 - Fall 2004

317 - Fall 2004

318 - Fall 2004

319 - Fall 2004, Spring 2005

320 - Spring 2005

321 - Spring 2005

322 - Spring 2005

323 - Spring 2005

324 - Spring 2005, Summer 2005

325 - Fall 2005

326 - Fall 2005

327 - Fall 2005

328 - Fall 2005

329 - Spring 2006

330 - Spring 2006

331 - Spring 2006

332 - Spring 2006, Summer 2006

333 - Summer 2006

334 - Fall 2006

335 - Fall 2006

336 - Fall 2006

337 - Spring 2007 338 - Spring 2007

339 - Spring 2007

340 - Summer 2007, Fall 2007

341 - Summer 2007

342 - Fall 2007

343 - Fall 2007

344 - Fall 2007

345 - Fall 2007

346 - Fall 2007

347 - Fall 2007

348 - Fall 2007

349 - Fall 2007

350 - Spring 2008

351 - Spring 2008

352 - Spring 2008

353 - Spring 2008

354 - Spring 2008

355 - Spring 2008

356 - Spring 2008

357 - Spring 2008

358 - Summer 2008, Fall 2008

359 - Fall 2008

360 - Fall 2008

361 - Spring 2009

362 - Spring 2009

363 - Spring 2009

364 - Summer 2009, Fall 2009

365 - Fall 2009

366 - Fall 2009

367 - Fall 2009

368 - Fall 2009, Spring 2010

369 - Spring 2010

370 - Spring 2010

371 - Spring 2010

372 - Spring 2010, Fall 2010

373 - Fall 2010

374 - Fall 2010

375 - Fall 2010

376 - Spring 2011

377 - Spring 2011

378 - Spring 2011

379 - Spring 2011

380 - Summer 2011

Series II: Award Competitions    [ return to top ]

1 - 1984-88, Al-Ay

2 - 1984-88, Ba-Be

3 - 1984-88, Bi-Br

4 - 1984-88, Bu-Ci

5 - 1984-88, De-En

6 - 1984-88, Es-Fi

7 - 1984-88, Fl-Hae

8 - 1984-88, Har

9 - 1984-88, He-Ho

10 - 1984-88, Ho-Hu

11 - 1984-88, Ja-Ke

12 - 1984-88, Ki-Le

13 - 1984-88, Lou

14 - 1984-88, M-N

15 - 1984-88, O'D-O'R

16 - 1984-88, Pa-Pe

17 - 1984-88, Pi-Re

18 - 1984-88, Ri-Ru

19 - 1984-88, Sa-So

20 - 1984-88, Sp-St

21 - 1984-88, Su-Wh

22 - 1984-88, Wh-Y

23 - 1989 applicants

24 - 1989 applicants

25 - 1990 applicants

26 - 1990 applicants

27 - 1991 applicants

28 - 1991 applicants

29 - 1991-92 applicants

30 - 1992-94 applicants

31 - 1994 applicants

32 - 1994 applicants and winners

33 - 1998 other award applicants, theses

34 - 1997 applicants

35 - 1997 applicants

36 - 1997 applicants

37 - 1999 applicants

38 - 1998 applicants

39 - 1998 applicants

40 - 1998 applicants

41 - 1998 applicants

42 - 1998 applicants

43 - 1999 winners

44 - 1999 applicants

45 - 1999 applicants

46 - 1999 applicants

47 - 2000 applicants

48 - 2000 applicants

49 - 2000 applicants

50 - 2001 applicants

51 - 2001 applicants

52 - 2001 applicants

53 - 2001 applicants

54 - 2001 applicants

55 - 2003 rejected

56 - 2003 rejected

57 - 2003 rejected

58 - 2002 rejected

59 - 2002 rejected

60 - 2002 rejected

61 - Past Michener and Schaefer award winners

62 - 2004 rejected

63 - 2004 rejected

64 - 2004 rejected

65 - 2004 rejected

66 - 2000-03 award winners

67 - 2005 rejected

68 - 2005 rejected

69 - 2005 rejected

70 - 2006 rejected

71 - 2006 rejected

72 - 2006 rejected

73 - 2007 rejected

74 - 2007 rejected

75 - 2008 third year fellowship rejects

76 - 2008 third year fellowship rejects

77 - 2008 third year fellowship rejects

Series III: Students and Alumni    [ return to top ]

1 - 1968-78, Aa-Bat

2 - 1968-78, Bau-Cah

3 - 1968-78, Cai-Cos

4 - 1968-78, Cot-Dow

5 - 1968-78, Dox-Fer

6 - 1968-78, Fes-Gow

7 - 1968-78, Gra-Har

8 - 1968-78, Har-Hol

9 - 1968-78, Hom-Joh

10 - 1968-78, Joh-Kro

11 - 1968-78, Kru-Lin

12 - 1968-78, Lip-Met

13 - 1968-78, May-O'Do

14 - 1968-78, O'Gr-Pro

15 - 1968-78, Pru-San

16 - 1968-78, Sar-Sim

17 - 1968-78, Sim-Sym

18 - 1968-78, Tag-Wan

19 - 1968-78, War-Zyk

20 - 1980-82 (with some earlier), A-Gar

21 - 1980-82 (with some earlier), Gay-Lon

22 - 1980-82 (with some earlier), Mag-Ses

23 - 1980-82 (with some earlier), Sha-Wol

24 - 1982-85, Alt-Che

25 - 1982-85, Chi-Fon

26 - 1982-85, Foo-Hav

27 - 1982-85, Hav-Mad

28 - 1982-85, Mag-Reg

29 - 1982-85, Ren-Str

30 - 1982-85, Stu-Yra

31 - 1986-91, Alb-Ber

32 - 1986-91, Ber-Cas

33 - 1986-91, Cha-Dra

34 - 1986-91, Dra-Gee

35 - 1986-91, Ger-Her

36 - 1986-91, Hil-Jon

37 - 1986-91, Jud-Lov

38 - 1986-91, Lun-Moo

39 - 1986-91, Mor-Pot

40 - 1986-91, Pre-Roe

41 - 1986-91, Roh-Ste

42 - 1986-91, Ste-Whi

43 - 1986-91, Whi-Zuc

44 - Summer 1993, A-Z

45 - Summer 1992 and 1999, A-Z

Series IV: Faculty    [ return to top ]

1 - Benedict, Dianne

      Bock, Sue

      Gilchrist, Ellen

      Helprin, Mark

      Henry, Dewitt

      Hollo, Anselm

      Howard, Jane

      Ignatow, David

      McPherson, Sandra

      Miller, Susan and Bauer, Doug

      Pesetsky, Bette

      Pickering, Nancy

      Sacks, Peter

      Sadoff, Ira

      Schwartz, Lynne Sharon

      Settle, Mary Lee

      Singer, Brett

      Southwick, Marcia

      Vivante, Arturo

      Vogelsang, Arthur

      Wilner, Eleanor

      Wilson, Angus

      Wilson, Robley

Series V: Director's Files    [ return to top ]

Series VI: Administrative Files    [ return to top ]

1 - 1968-86

2 - 1968-86

3 - To 1986

4 - Bloc allocations, 1972-89

5 - Foundation correspondence, 1991-

6 - 1981-91

7 - Administrative subject files, 1980s

8 - Administrative subject files, 1980s

9 - Administrative correspondence, 1984-89

10 - Payroll listings, account statements, 1978-85

11 - Payroll listings, account statements, 1980s

12 - 1989-95

13 - 1987-95

14 - 1990-95

15 - Expense records, 1990-96

16 - Subject files, 1989-98

17 - Subject files, 1984-97

18 - Subject files, 1987-97, including student directories, 1975-86

19 - Subject files, 1982-93

20 - Correspondence

Series VII: Accepted; not coming    [ return to top ]

1 - 1980-84, A-Har

2 - 1980-84, Har-Per

3 - 1980-84, Phi-Yat

4 - 1985-93, A-Cra

5 - 1985-93, Cre-Le

6 - 1985-93, Ma-Sch

7 - 1985-93, Sh-Y

Series VIII: Rejected Applicants' Evaluation Sheets    [ return to top ]

1 - 1980-82

2 - 1983-84

4 - 1986-88

5 - 1989-90

Series IX: Applicants' Letters of Recommendation    [ return to top ]

1 - 1983-89

2 - 1988-89

3 - 1988-89

4 - 1990-91, A-J

5 - 1990-91, K-T

6 - 1990-91, T-V

7 - 1992-96, A-E

8 - 1992-96, E-Ki

9 - 1992-96, Ki-Peri

10 - 1992-96, Perr-U

11 - 1992-96, Ue-Z

12 - Summer 1999, Summer 1992

Series X: Ephemera

Box Number:

1 - Posters and other printed matter; 1982 - ; also undated

Series XI: Stephen Wilbers project    [ return to top ]

1 - Survey administrative files

2 - Correspondence, A - D.

        ----. E - H.

        ----. I - O.

        ----. P - S.

        ----. T - Z.       

Series XII: Jean Wylder project    [ return to top ]

1 - Workshop history notes: administrative files, general Workshop history

        Reminiscences. Prior to 1950: John Hospers, Barbara Spargo, Norman Foerster, Wilbur Schramm, Jean Wylder on Flannery O'Connor (from North American Review, Spring 1970 issue), William De Witt Snodgrass and Donald T. Torchiana (from Northwestern University Tri-Quarterly, Spring 1960 issue), Clarke Fisher Ansley, Margaret Walker Alexander, George Abbe

        ----. Early 1950's: James Sunwall, Ray West on Dylan Thomas's 1951 visit, William Stafford, Morgan Gibson, Richard Stern, Oakley Hall, Ogden Plumb, James B. Hall, Joseph Langland, Gene Brzenk

        ----. Late 1950's: John Gilgun, Morgan Gibson, Ogden Plumb, Jerry Bumpus

        ----. Early 1960's: Harry Barba, Lewis Turco ("Portrait of Donald Justice"), Philip O'Connor ("Max Yocum's Horse"), Jack Welch ("A Parable"), Warren Slesinger, John Clellon Holmes, Edmund Keeley, B.C. Hall

        ----. Late 1960's: Bruce Dobler ("All About Algren"), William Richard Keough, Brian Salchert ("A Traveler from the Dunes"), Max Collins, Rochelle Holt

Series XIII: Newsletters   [ return to top ]

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• © The University of Iowa 2014

General Catalog

Creative writing (iowa writers' workshop).

This is the first version of the 2024–25 General Catalog. Please check back regularly for changes. The final edition and the historical PDF will be published during the fall semester.

Graduate degree: MFA in English

Faculty: https://writersworkshop.uiowa.edu/faculty

Website: https://writersworkshop.uiowa.edu/

The Creative Writing Program (Iowa Writers' Workshop) is a world-renowned graduate program for fiction writers and poets. Founded in 1936, it was the first creative writing program in the United States to offer a degree, and it became a model for many contemporary writing programs. In addition to its Master of Fine Arts program, it also offers writing courses for undergraduates.

The Iowa Writers' Workshop has been home to thousands of remarkable writers, including Flannery O'Connor, Raymond Carver, Rita Dove, John Irving, James Alan McPherson, Philip Levine, Jane Smiley, Michael Cunningham, Sandra Cisneros, Denis Johnson, Jorie Graham, Ann Patchett, Lan Samantha Chang, D.A. Powell, Nathan Englander, Yiyun Li, Eleanor Catton, Angela Flournoy, Garth Greenwell, Yaa Gyasi, and Jamel Brinkley. The program's faculty and alumni include winners of virtually every major literary award, including seventeen winners of the Pulitzer Prize, six recent U.S. Poets Laureate, and numerous winners of the National Book Award, MacArthur Foundation Fellowships, and other major honors. In 2003, the Iowa Writers' Workshop received a National Humanities Medal from the National Endowment for the Humanities—the first awarded to a university and only the second given to an institution rather than an individual.

The Creative Writing Program offers courses for students from other programs of study; summer courses are open to undergraduate and graduate students.

To learn more about the Creative Writing Program's history and faculty, visit the Iowa Writers' Workshop website.

Graduate Program of Study

• Master of Fine Arts in English

Creative Writing—Writers' Workshop Courses

The Creative Writing Program offers courses for undergraduates as well as graduate students. Enrollment in some graduate-level courses requires admission to the MFA program. See "Courses" in the Department of English section of the catalog for course descriptions and prerequisites to enrollment.

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ArchivesSpace at the University of Iowa

Iowa Writers' Workshop Records

• Print Generating
• Collection Overview
• Collection Organization
• Container Inventory

Scope and Contents

The Records of the Iowa Writers' Workshop consist of thirteen series. Series 1. Student Coursework, consists of photocopies of students' works arranged by semester and class section within each semester. It is the largest series in the collection, dating from Fall 1965 to the present. Note that a few of the semesters are filed out of chronological sequence. Restricted Access. Series 2. Award Competitions, consists of writing entries from individuals vying for scholarships and other awards. Restricted Access. Series 3. Students and Alumni, consists of files containing correspondence, applications, and other material, arranged alphabetically by name of individual within each accrual. Note that accrual dates cover academic years, for example 1986-91 covers the 1986-87 to 1991-92 academic years. Restricted access. Series 4. Faculty, is arranged alphabetically by name of individual. Restricted access Series 5. Director's Files, consists of correspondence and other material created and received by the Office of the Director. Restricted access. Series 6. Administrative Files. Restricted access. Series 7. Accepted, Not Coming. Restricted access Series 8. Rejected Applicants' Evaluation Sheets. Restricted access Series 9. Applicants' Letters of Recommendation. Restricted access. Series 10. Ephemera, includes posters and other printed matter, dating from 1982 to present.   Series 11. Stephen Wilbers Project, consists of correspondence and interview notes prepared by an alumnus of the Workshop who prepared a history of the program in 1980.   Series 12. Jean Wylder Project, consists of survey responses obtained from numerous alumni during the early 1970's as part of a history project. The responses are arranged by era of attendance/graduation. Series 13. Newsletters, consists of newsletters released once or twice yearly since 1970 chronicling the publishing activity of Workshop alumni and students, as well as Workshop programs and events.

• Creation: 1965 - 2019
• Iowa Writers' Workshop (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Requests to access records in Series 1-9 must be submitted to the University of Iowa Office of Transparency for consideration. Please note that some records in Series 1-9 are protected by federal and state laws and may not be subject to disclosure. Series 10-13 are open for research. These materials are stored at an offsite location, please allow two business days for retrieval and arrive to Special Collections reading room.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright restrictions may apply; please consult Special Collections staff for further information.

Biographical / Historical

The Iowa Writers' Workshop, long distinguished as America's premier program in creative writing, was founded in 1936. It was the nation's first creative writing degree program, a result of the University of Iowa's pioneering decision in 1922 to accept creative work as a means to fulfill graduate degree requirements. The following is excerpted from the Workshop's Web site (http://www.uiowa.edu/~iww/about.htm):

Verse-Making, the first creative writing class at Iowa, was offered in the spring semester of 1897. In 1922, Carl Seashore, dean of the Graduate College, introduced a new model for the academic study of the arts when he announced that the University of Iowa would accept creative work as theses for advanced degrees. The School of Letters began to offer regular courses in writing in which selected students were tutored by resident and visiting writers. The Workshop as an entity began in 1936, with the gathering together of poets and fiction writers under the direction of Wilbur Schramm. From the outset the program enjoyed a series of distinguished visitors, among them Robert Frost and Robert Penn Warren, who would lecture and stay for several weeks to discuss students' work. John Berryman, Robert Lowell, and others came to teach for a full year.

One of the first students to receive an M.A. in creative writing was Paul Engle. He offered as his dissertation a collection of poems, Worn Earth, which won him the Yale Younger Poets prize. Paul Engle assumed the directorship of the Workshop in 1941 and held it for 25 years, a period which saw it flourish and become a significant force in American letters. During World War II enrollment was no more than a dozen students, but after the war it grew, attaining in a few years a strength of over a hundred students, and dividing into the fiction and poetry sections which exist today.

736.00 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

Additional description, method of acquisition.

These materials have been transferred to the University Archives from the Iowa Writers' Workshop administrative office at various times. Additions to the collection continue to accrue. Preliminary inventory prepared by David McCartney 2004; guide posted to the Internet 2004, revised January 2007 and October 2009.

Related Materials

Papers of Paul Engle (MsC 514)

Papers of John Towner Frederick (MsC 513)

Papers of Jack Leggett (MsC 503)

Papers of Wilbur Schramm (RG 99.0118)

Conroy, Frank, editor. The Eleventh Draft: Craft and the Writing Life From the Iowa Writers' Workshop, 1999, 235 pp.

Dana, Robert, ed. A Community of Writers: Paul Engle and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. University of Iowa Press, 1999. 294 pp.

Wilbers, Stephen McCoy. "Emergence of the Iowa Writers' Workshop." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Iowa, 1978. 210 pp. Dissertation Abstracts International 39: 3587-A.

Wilbers, Steve. "Inside the Iowa Writers' Workshop: Interviews with Three of Its Teachers." North American Review 262, no. 2 (summer 1977): 7-15, illus. Marvin Bell, Vance Bourjaily, and Donald Justice.

Wilbers, Stephen. The Iowa Writers' Workshop: Origins, Emergence, & Growth. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1980. 153 pp., illus., notes, bibliog.

In addition, numerous biographies of noted graduates of the Workshop have been published, many of which include references to the Workshop and the Iowa City community. See the Archives' online bibliography, Writing Programs category.

Related Names

• Engle, Paul, 1908-1991 (Person)
• Starbuck, George, 1931- (Person)
• Conroy, Frank, 1936-2005 (Person)
• Leggett, John, 1917- (Person)

Genre / Form

• Application forms
• Archives (groupings)
• Letters of recommendation
• Manuscripts for publication
• Iowa City (Iowa)
• Creative writing (Higher education)
• University of Iowa, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• Writers' workshops

Record Groups

• RG06. College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Repository details.

Part of the University of Iowa Archives Repository

Collection organization

Iowa Writers' Workshop Records, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City, Iowa.

Cite Item Description

Iowa Writers' Workshop Records, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City, Iowa. https://aspace.lib.uiowa.edu/repositories/3/resources/1029 Accessed August 17, 2024.

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College Magazine

College Life, Colleges, Career & Campus Advice

Top 10 Writer’s to know if you’re going to the University of Iowa for writing

The University of Iowa, specifically the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, has a long legacy of producing and recruiting great American novelists. The Iowa Writers’ Workshop, the first graduate creative writing program in America, has created the workshop model now commonly used by graduate programs. For example, Kurt Vonnegut and Phillip Roth both taught at the University of Iowa for roughly two years. Before going to the University of Iowa for creative writing, there are some alumni you should know. The university frequently references these alumni in conversation as common knowledge. When I first attended, it seemed that I constantly bluffed my way through conversations about alumni until I could escape to the bathroom to Google them. But once I knew the names, I found it easy to speak the language of Iowa City creative writers.

Check out this list that the University of Iowa creative writing undergraduates love to talk about:

1. tennessee williams.

You’ll find quotes from Tennessee Williams decorating the city, from sidewalk engravings to public art. Prior to college, I was familiar with Williams’ work but had not connected the name to the title. It was embarrassing , therefore, when my college classmate pointed out that I was conflating Tennessee Williams with Arthur Miller. Tennessee Williams wrote the play A Streetcar Named Desire, not Death of a Salesman. You should know this sort of information before attending your first creative writing class.

“Tennessee Williams was one of the big three of contemporary American playwrights and a queer icon, easily top five Midwesterners of all time,” University of Iowa junior Lila Robbins said.

While the rest of the literary icons on this list can be debated, Williams cannot. That is why I felt so embarrassed that I did not know him as an English and creative writing major. Any English and creative writing majors who do not know him or have heard of him but did not know his work like me, don’t tell anyone. I suggest that if you have time, you may want to read A Streetcar Named Desire. Another fun fact about Williams? He lived from 1911-1983 and also wrote Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), Sweet Bird of Youth (1959), and The Night of the Iguana.

2. Lan Samantha Chang

Barack Obama named The Family Chao, Lan Samantha Chang’s most recent novel, on his 2022 Summer Reading List. Her book also won the 2023 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction. The main reason you should know Chang before coming to Iowa, though, is that she is the sixth person appointed to director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Many creative writing undergraduate students attend the University of Iowa for the chance to be taught by graduate students in the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and for the proximity to the literary icons teaching said graduates. Regardless of if that is why you chose the University of Iowa, Chang is the person in charge of one of the most competitive creative writing graduate programs nationwide, and a staff member of the university you now attend. Therefore, you’ll want to know her name in case you ever have an opportunity to be in the same room as her. You should also note that she is the first woman and the first Asian American to be director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

3. Melissa Febos

Melissa Febos is best known for her autobiography Girlhood. On top of being a national bestseller and named one of the best books of the year by NPR and the Washington Post, Girlhood was the National Book Critics Circle Award Winner for 2021. You’ll find her awe-inspiring, managing to shift fields from a sex worker to a best-selling novelist. What really makes her significant to the student body is that she teaches in the Nonfiction Writing Program . Furthermore, Febos teaches an honors creative nonfiction course for undergraduates. 

“Everyone that I know that’s read Melissa Febos’ work applied last semester to be in her nonfiction seminar for the fall. A genre that’s generally overlooked in class selection was suddenly overwhelmed with applicants because students wanted to simply be in the same room as Febos,” University of Iowa junior Madeline Fait said.

This creative nonfiction course is a big deal for undergraduate creative writers. Most undergraduate creative writing courses are taught by upcoming writers learning from the greats at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Not only is Febos an invaluable networking resource, you will also find her a troth of writing knowledge. If not for conversation with other creative writing students, memorize Febos’ name if you apply to honors courses . The chance to study under Febos is the chance to take an unofficial Iowa Writers’ Workshop course.

4. John Irving

Irving achieved international success with his novel The World According to Garp in 1978. He has also written fourteen other novels. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he stays involved in Iowa City. For example, Irving and Lan Samanatha Chang will be in conversation at Hancher Auditorium this October. Irving even studied under writer Kurt Vonnegut at Iowa. Also, from 1972 to 1975, he served as an Iowa Writers’ Workshop instructor. He is one of Iowa’s best-known living literary alumni. You should know his name not only to communicate with the student body but also to take advantage of his visits to Iowa City.

5. Carmen Maria Machado

You will inevitably read one of Machado’s short stories from Her Body and Other Parties for class. I have read stories from this collection for three different classes now. My Freshman year roommate, a communications major, had to read In the Dreamhouse, Machado’s autobiography, for her rhetoric class. My roommate notoriously didn’t like reading anything except the dystopian love novels her sister suggested, and so it was her love of the autobiography that inspired me to read it as well. It still remains one of the best autobiographies I’ve ever read.

“Carmen Maria Machado is impactful to me as a student at the University of Iowa because she is a queer Latina alumnus of a PWI in a state hostile to queerness and nonwhite peoples. And she writes freakin’ beautiful and devastating stories,” University of Iowa junior Calvin Brickener said.

Machado is a UIowa alumni, so you may actually have a chance of meeting her . For me, in my sophomore year I attended a woefully under-advertised reading of hers hosted by the University. I also scored an interview with Machado regarding the reading for the Daily Iowan, the school paper. Beyond knowing her name for class, you can also take advantage of her alumni status. You can do this by attempting to reach out to her or by waiting for her to visit Iowa City for a reading. If you want to become a creative writer, the chance to hear her talk can’t be missed.

6. Donika Kelly

Donika Kelly is Melissa Febos’ partner and an assistant professor for the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She won the Anisfield-Wolf Award for her poetry collection ‘The Renunciations.’ Half of Iowa City’s own literary power couple, Kelly does a lot of work with the community and undergraduates. She developed a program where undergraduate writers of color can volunteer with her to create creative writing workshops at the local high school . So, beyond her own work, you’ll want to know Kelly’s name given her ties to Febos, the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the Iowa City community.

7. Paul Engle

Engle even has a prize named after him. The UNESCO City of Literature Paul Engle Prize is given to someone showing innovation in the creative writing world. Born in Cedar Rapids, Engle is one of the few notable creative writing alumni that originate from Iowa. He attended graduate school at the University of Iowa from 1931-1932. For his first manuscript of poems, Engle won the ‘Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize.’

“Paul Engle is really important, considering he really helped put Iowa on the map for writing even though it’s in the middle of nowhere. Like without his work with the Writers’ Workshop, a lot of people wouldn’t have attended the workshop or gone to UIowa at all for writing, including myself,” University of Iowa junior Nina Helewa said. “I think he’s a bit of a weirdo for loving Iowa so much, but thanks to him, it’s a huge writing school! That feels pretty impactful.”

Engle’s legacy extends out even further. In 1976 over 300 writers nominated Engle for the Noble Peace Prize. From 1933 to 1936, he was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. He directed the Iowa Writers’ Workshop for a long period of time and is the co-founder of the International Writing Program. Engle has helped pioneer the literary community at the University of Iowa.

8. Mildred Wirt Benson

Even if you haven’t heard of her, you’ve probably heard of her work. The Nancy Drew series has inspired generations of young women to become lifelong readers. Even though Benson wrote the series from 1930-1979, the spin-off show provides evidence of its lasting legacy. What most people don’t know is that Benson attended the University of Iowa for both her undergraduate and graduate degrees. However, don’t worry. If you don’t know that she’s an alumnus, nobody will judge you. That said, somebody will definitely flex this fun fact on you at some point during your degree, so it may be satisfying to already know this information.

9. Kurt Vonnegut

Most famous for his work Slaughterhouse-Five, Vonnegut is a well-known literary icon. What is lesser known is that he taught at the University of Iowa as a guest professor only a few years before writing this masterpiece. While Slaughterhouse-Five came out in 1969, he taught at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop as a guest professor for almost two years from 1965-1967. This happened shortly after his publication of Cat’s Cradle in 1963. Iowa City is so proud of this tie you can find a plaque quoting Vonnegut on the Iowa Ave Literary Walk. So, while Vonnegut only taught at the school for a short window, it was during a very important period for the writer creatively. Furthermore, Iowa City and the creative writing department remain proud of this connection.

10. T. C. Boyle

Boyle is one of the University of Iowa’s most prolific alumni. Since the mid-1970s, he has written and published nineteen novels and over 150 short stories. An experimental writer by nature, his works vary greatly from one another. He received both his MFA and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. He also visits Iowa City semi-frequently to connect with the student body. Memorize Boyle for his literary prowess and his history of visiting Iowa City. You will likely have the chance to attend a reading of his before you graduate.

About Ariana Lessard

Ariana Lessard is a rising Junior at the University of Iowa (Class of 2025). She double majors in English/creative writing and screenwriting. Originally from New Jersey, she founded Iowa Writers Team as a Sophomore.

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7 writers with Iowa ties earn prestigious literary honors

The American Academy of Arts and Letters has honored five University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduates and a former visiting faculty member with its 2021 awards in literature, while another workshop alumna was elected to membership in the elite group.

The awards, to be presented virtually May 19, recognize both established and emerging writers of fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry. Workshop alumni honored include:

Rita Dove (MFA ’77) is the recipient of the Gold Medal for Poetry, the academy’s highest honor for excellence in the arts. The Gold Medal is given each year in two rotating categories of the arts and awarded to those who have achieved eminence in an entire body of work. Dove has been recognized throughout her career. In 1993, she was named U.S. Poet Laureate, the youngest person and first African American to hold the position, and in 1987 she received the Pulitzer Prize in poetry for her book Thomas and Beulah . President Clinton awarded her a 1996 National Humanities Medal. She teaches at the University of Virginia.

Joy Harjo  (MFA ’78) is one of 29 new members and four honorary members elected to the academy—considered the highest form of recognition of artistic merit in the United States. Harjo is the current U.S. Poet Laureate, the first Native American to hold the position, and the author of nine books of poetry, several plays and children’s books, and two memoirs. She has received the Ruth Lily Prize for Lifetime Achievement from the Poetry Foundation, the Academy of American Poets Wallace Stevens Award, two NEA fellowships, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Harjo lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she holds a Tulsa Artist Fellowship.

Salvatore Scibona (MFA ’99) is one of two recipients of the Mildred & Harold Strauss Living Award, which provides $200,000 given as income over two years in recognition of literary excellence and to provide freedom to devote time exclusively to writing. Scibona, a novelist, short-story writer, and essayist, has earned a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize, an O. Henry Award, and a Whiting Award. His first novel, The End , which he researched in Italy on a Fulbright Fellowship following his UI graduation, was a National Book Award finalist in 2008. He is director of the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library.

Yiyun Li (MS ’00, MFA ’05) is one of eight recipients of the Arts and Letters Award in Literature, a $10,000 prize honoring exceptional accomplishment in any genre. The short story writer and novelist also has been honored with MacArthur and Guggenheim fellowships, and her book A Thousand Years of Good Prayers won a PEN/Hemingway Award and a Guardian First Book Award. She teaches at Princeton University.  

Garth Greenwell (MFA ’15) received the Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award, a $20,000 prize given to a writer whose work merits recognition for the quality of its prose style. His novel What Belongs to You won the British Book Award for Debut of the Year and was nominated for the National Book Award. His latest book, Cleanness , was a New York Times Notable Book of 2020 and is a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Greenwell, a 2020 Guggenheim Fellow, lives in Iowa City.

C Pam Zhang (MFA ’19) received the Rosenthal Family Foundation Award for her debut novel,  How Much of These Hills Is Gold , which was nominated for the Booker Prize and selected as one of President Obama’s favorite books of 2020. The $10,000 award is given to a young writer of considerable literary talent for a work published in 2020. Zhang received a 2017 Truman Capote Fellowship at Iowa and is a 2020 National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree.

Additionally, the academy honored a former UI visiting faculty member:

Layli Long Soldier , who was a visiting faculty member in the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in 2018, is one of eight recipients of the Arts and Letters Award in Literature, a $10,000 prize honoring exceptional accomplishment in any genre. Long Soldier, author of the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning 2017 poetry collection  Whereas , is a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Lan Samantha Chang, director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, says she is pleased but not surprised to see Iowa so well represented on the academy’s list of winners.

Did you know?

In 1922, the University of Iowa became the first university in the U.S. to accept creative work as theses for advanced degrees, which led in 1936 to the creation of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop—the nation’s first creative writing graduate program. Learn more.

“We are proud that seven Iowa writers have received recognition from this venerable and celebrated national literary society,” Chang says. “The graduates being distinguished by the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2021 came to the Iowa Writers’ Workshop over a period of more than four decades, from Rita Dove in 1977 and Joy Harjo in 1978 to C Pam Zhang in 2019. This reflects the strength and longevity of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and creative writing at Iowa.”

For more than 80 years, emerging poets and fiction writers have come to Iowa City to study at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop . Among its graduates are winners of virtually every major literary honor, including seventeen winners of the Pulitzer Prize, six recent U.S. Poets Laureate, and numerous winners of the National Book Award, MacArthur Foundation Fellowships, and other major honors.

The American Academy of Arts and Letters was founded in 1898 as an honor society of the country’s leading architects, artists, composers, and writers. The academy’s 300 members, who are elected for life and pay no dues, propose candidates for awards, and a rotating committee of writers selects winners. This year’s award committee members were Amy Hempel (chair), Edwidge Danticat, Louise Glück, John Guare, Edward Hirsch, and Joy Williams.

See the academy’s complete lists of 2021 literature award winners , newly elected members , and special award winners .

Iowa Writers’ Workshop: “A Magnet” for America’s Most Brilliant Wordsmiths 

by Jay Gabler

The prestigious program, which shaped the course of creative writing in the United States, helped make Iowa City one of UNESCO’s first designated Cities of Literature.

What do John Irving, Rita Dove, Jane Smiley, Jenny Zhang, Raymond Carver, Sandra Cisneros, Flannery O’Connor, Leslie Jamison, W.P. Kinsella, and Yaa Gyasi have in common? 

They’re just a few among generations of acclaimed writers who have honed their craft at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. It’s not only the most prestigious program of its kind, it virtually defined the graduate study of creative writing as practiced today. 

The two-year workshop is a program of the University of Iowa, in Iowa City, and bestows a Master of Fine Arts degree on students who complete the training. Founded in 1936, the program marked a new model of education in the arts. 

“There is something delightful in watching a Pulitzer winner giggle at a play-on-words, or muse about Faulkner, or eat ice cream and just be human.” DINA NAYERI, NOVELIST AND IOWA WRITERS’ WORKSHOP ALUM

The idea that a university can and should accept creative writing — like a novel, or a collection of poetry — as the basis of an academic degree is now commonplace, but it wasn’t always so. The fact that America’s first M.F.A. program in creative writing took root in Iowa is testament to the Midwest’s longstanding commitment to the arts. 

The Iowa Writers’ Workshop , which has inspired hundreds of similar programs, is based in Dey House, just a few hundred feet from the Iowa River. There, students meet for weekly roundtable discussions of one another’s work, led by faculty members prominent in their field.

“There is something delightful in watching a Pulitzer winner giggle at a play-on-words, or muse about Faulkner, or eat ice cream and just be human,” wrote workshop alum Dina Nayeri in Writer’s Digest . “It makes everything seem possible, that is worth two years of being here in person.”

While participants disagree as to whether there’s such a thing as an “Iowa style” of writing, historically the workshop has helped to shape the American literary voice: specific, personal, realistic. The program has spawned well over a dozen Pulitzer winners and several U.S. Poets Laureate.

“The program acts as a magnet,” former workshop director Frank Conroy told the National Endowment for the Humanities . Students are eager to join one of the most esteemed, enthusiastic writing groups in the world.

“There’s no distraction; it’s a close community,” Conroy continued. “They call each other at two o’clock in the morning to say, ‘You’ve got to hear this stanza I just wrote.’” 

The literary life in Iowa City extends far beyond the walls of Dey House. The city is home to numerous literary presses, bookstores such as Prairie Lights, and multiple writing festivals each year. It was the first city in the Americas to be named a UNESCO City of Literature . 

Despite the supportive surroundings, the workshop’s official philosophy is that its graduates’ success has more to do with their own talents than with anything they can learn from two years in Iowa. 

“We continue to look for the most promising talent in the country,” the program’s administrators declare , “in our conviction that writing cannot be taught but that writers can be encouraged.” 

Graduate Admissions

Creative Writing (MFA in English)

The MFA in English with a focus in Creative Writing is awarded by the Graduate College. The Creative Writing Program, also known as the Iowa Writers' Workshop, also offers  Nondegree Course Work . For the MFA in English with a focus in nonfiction writing, apply to the  Nonfiction Writing Program .

Applicants must meet the  Admission Requirements of the Graduate College  and the department offering the degree program (review the department's web site or the General Catalog for departmental requirements).

Tuition and fees vary by degree program and the type of student you are.

• Fall semester—Dec. 15
• Spring semester—not offered

The graduate application process has two steps

• You must first submit the online application to the Graduate College and pay the $60 application fee by credit card ($100 for international applicants).
• Once you have submitted your application, you will receive an email instructing you on how to upload your supporting documents and submit letters of recommendation. A few programs require materials be sent directly to them. However, almost all supplemental material can and should be uploaded from your Admissions Profile in MyUI , our online service center for applicants and students. You can only access this AFTER you have submitted your application.

Degree Program Supplemental Materials

• Mail manuscript of your best work, with a  Manuscript Cover Sheet (PDF) - address listed below Receipt of your manuscript will be noted on your Admissions Profile.
• A Statement of Purpose
• Application for Graduate Awards
• Your General GRE test scores (optional but recommended)
• Supplemental Financial Aid

Recommendations

The application requirement section of your Profile includes an electronic letter of recommendation feature. If your program of study requires letters of recommendation, you will be asked to give the contact information of your recommenders including their email on your Admissions Profile. The recommender will then get an email giving them instructions on how to upload the recommendation letter and/or form.

• Three letters of recommendation

Materials to send to Admissions

• A set of your unofficial academic records/transcripts uploaded on your Admissions Profile. If you are admitted, official transcripts will be required before your enrollment. For international records, all records should bear the original stamp or seal of the institution and the signature of a school official.  Documents not in English must be accompanied by a complete, literal, English translation, certified by the issuing institution.
• Your official GRE scores are not required for admission to this program. However, applications that include GRE scores may be more competitive for a greater range of financial assistance (the University's institutional code is 6681).
• International students may also be required to submit TOEFL, IELTS, or DuoLingo scores to comply with the university's English Language Proficiency Requirements .
• Once recommended for admission, international students must send a  Financial Statement .

Apply Online , the $60 application fee ($100 for international students) is payable by Discover, MasterCard, or Visa.

Creative Writing Program The University of Iowa 102 Dey House Iowa City, IA 52242-1000 [email protected] 1-319-335-0416

Enrollment Management The University of Iowa 2900 University Capitol Centre 201 S. Clinton St. Iowa City, IA 52242 [email protected] 1-319-335-1523

Iowa Young Writers' Studio

Creative writing programming for high school students

2-week Summer Residential Program and 6-week Online Courses

2-Week Summer Residential Program

At the Summer Residential Program, you will choose a single core course—Poetry, Fiction, Creative Writing, Playwriting, or TV writing—as your focus for the two weeks of the program.

6-week Online Courses

We offer asynchronous 6-week online creative writing courses for high school students every winter and summer.   You can study creative writing with us your own schedule, from anywhere in the world!

Teachers and Counselors

Teachers and counselors at the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio are chosen, with rare exceptions, from among the students and graduates of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa.

Experience the Iowa Young Writers' Studio

Watch this short video for an inside look at the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio experience.

IYWS Alum Joe Fassler To Publish Debut Novel, THE SKY WAS OURS

IYWS counselor and teacher Melissa Mogollon to publish debut novel, "Oye."

Crafting Engaging Narratives with Suzette Sheft: A Free Summer Online Workshop For Jr. High Students!

IYWS ’19 Student Alora Young Publishes Memoir in Verse

IYWS ’22 Student Publishes YA Book About Her Grandmother’s Holocaust Experience

IYWS ’11 Student Alina Grabowski To Publish Debut Novel

NOTICE: The University of Iowa Center for Advancement is an operational name for the State University of Iowa Foundation, an independent, Iowa nonprofit corporation organized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, publicly supported charitable entity working to advance the University of Iowa. Please review its full disclosure statement.

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• Final Thursday Reading Series—Fall 2024

FTRS is back for a new season of regional authors & a creative writing open mic on the final Thursday of each month at the Hearst Center for the Arts. Click here to find out more and read interviews with featured readers.

Open mic at 7:00 p.m. Featured reading at 7:30 p.m. Can't attend in person? Featured readers can be live streamed on Zoom. Click to register . 

The Final Thursday Reading Series is a collaboration of Final Thursday Press; the Hearst Center for the Arts; the UNI College of Humanities, Arts and Science; and the UNI Department of Languages & Literatures.

Thursday, August 29 • Vince Gotera

Iowa’s Poet Laureate will return to FTRS to launch his new collection of speculative poetry,  Dragons & Rayguns (Final Thursday Press). Gotera’s other poetry collections include  The Coolest Month and  Fighting Kite .

Thursday, September 26 • Marc Dickinson

Dickinson, a UNI English alumni, is the author of the new short story collection,  Replacement Parts (Atmosphere Press) He received an MFA from Colorado State University. He teaches creative writing at Des Moines Area Community College and coordinates the long-running reading series,  Celebration of the Literary Arts .

Thursday, October 31 • A Night of Monsters

For this special Halloween event, UNI’s Brooke Wonders, alongside students in her horror literature course, will be reading new stories of terror and dread. Dr. Wonders’s scary stories have appeared in  Black Warrior Review ,  The Rupture , and  The Dark , among others. She is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Northern Iowa and editor of literary horror magazine  Grimoire .

Thursday, November 21 • The Cities of the Plains **one week early due to Thanksgiving

  The Cities of the Plains: An Anthology of Iowa Artists and Poets features 57 artists and poets and highlights the immense talent of the state. Editor Paul Brooke will be joined by regional contributors to the collection. .

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University of iowa creative writing alumni

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The Ohio State University

Alumni Hall of Fame

2020 recipients.

DISTINGUISHED CAREER AWARD Awarded to College of Social Work alumni for exceptional professional achievements, initiatives, or leadership in one or more of the following areas: practice/clinical excellence, community development, advocacy, education, or administration.

Edward R. Canda (MSW ’82, PhD ’86) Ed Canda is Professor Emeritus at the University of Kansas (KU) School of Social Welfare where he was on faculty from 1989–2019.

At Ohio State, Professor Daniel Lee mentored him in transcultural social work and Professor Virginia Richardson chaired his dissertation that developed a framework for spiritually sensitive social work. His practice experience was primarily in Southeast Asian refugee resettlement.

Canda first served as a professor at the University of Iowa’s School of Social Work (1986-1989). At KU, he established the Society for Spirituality and Social Work, which promotes respect for diverse religious and nonreligious perspectives. Much of Canda’s work on the Strengths Perspective addresses growth through experiences of crisis, illness and disability. He was director of KU’s PhD program from 2000-08.

Canda’s extensive international collaborations focused on East Asia and Central Europe. He was a Visiting Professor or Scholar in South Korea (1999, 2000) and Japan (2008, 2014, 2018) and co-taught nine study abroad courses in South Korea.

Among numerous publications, his most influential books are Spiritual Diversity in Social Work Practice and Contemporary Human Behavior Theory . In 2013, the Council on Social Work Education conferred Canda with the Significant Lifetime Achievement Award for innovations about spiritual diversity and spiritual development.

Gretchen Clark Hammond (MSW ’00, PhD ’11) Gretchen Clark Hammond, PhD, MSW, LSW, LCDCIII, TTS, has worked in human services and addiction treatment since 1999, specializing in quality addiction treatment services, counseling skills and resource procurement.

In 2012, Clark Hammond became the CEO at Mighty Crow. Her company provides grant-writing, development, training, project implementation, evaluation and other management services to organizations working in human service and public health. Mighty Crow has worked with non-profit organizations across the state to secure over $15 million dollars.

Some of Clark Hammond’s awards and recognition include:University Fellow, The Ohio State University Graduate School, 1999-2000; Administration Graduate of the Year, The Ohio State University College of Social Work, 2000; Outstanding Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University College of Social Work, 2006; Outstanding Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University College of Social Work, 2007; Edward H. Schmidt Outstanding Young Alumni, University of Toledo, 2007; Outstanding Doctoral Student Teacher, The Ohio State University, 2008; Ernest E. Hayden Award, Ohio Association of Residential Recovery Services, 2008; Randall M. Dana Award of Excellence, Franklin County ADAMH Board Awards, 2011; and Outstanding Community Lecturer, Undergraduate Level, The Ohio State University, 2012.

In addition to this work, Clark Hammond is regularly called upon to provide her clinical insights and teaching skills to organizations to assist them with addiction treatment, quality care and program implementation. Clark Hammond is often requested to facilitate training and education in the areas of trauma-informed care, addiction and recovery, motivational interviewing, and grant-writing and evaluation.

Mighty Crow has grown under the direction of Clark Hammond to a staff of six professionals, providing a wide array of services to organizations across the state of Ohio. She is a community lecturer in the College of Social Work and in the Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University. Her work in the classroom with the College of Social work began in 2004; her work with the Glenn College began in 2018. She has also collaborated on projects with Ohio State’s College of Public Health, College of Dentistry, and Center for Urban and Regional Analysis.

Luann Cooperrider (BSSW ’78) Judge Luann Cooperrider was born and raised in Perry County, Ohio. She is the only daughter in a family of eight children. She is a graduate of Sheridan High School in Thornville, Ohio, and attended The Ohio State University where she received her degree from the College of Social Work. She then attended law school at Capital University where she earned her Juris Doctorate and also did graduate work at Loyola University in Rome, Italy.

On February 12, 1991, Cooperrider took office as the Perry County Probate-Juvenile judge, the first female judge in Perry County.

Throughout her career, Cooperrider has received many honors and awards. She was chosen by her peers to be President of the Ohio Association of Juvenile Judges. She was the recipient of the Ohio State Bar Association Women in Law Award for the state of Ohio. In 2008, Cooperrider was instrumental in starting a free legal clinic in Perry County.

In 2012, Cooperrider was honored by The Ohio State Bar Foundation with an Outstanding Organization Award for helping start the Perry County Free Legal Clinic. In 2017, she received the Capital University Law School Alumni Outstanding Service Award. Cooperrider was also honored in 2017 with The Ohio State University Newark Distinguished Alumni Award.

Cooperrider has one son, Cooper Gillogly. She is a member of the Grace Lutheran Church in Thornville and in her spare time she enjoys riding her bicycle, cross country skiing, boating and spending time with her family.

Stephen Marson (MSW ’76) After social work positions in vocational and substance abuse rehabilitation, Steve Marson was hired by the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP) to establish a social work major and to gain accreditation by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). In those days (1977), MSWs were scarce and social workers with doctorates were nearly impossible to find.

Prior to gaining CSWE accreditation, all degree granting programs had to be approved by the UNC General Administration in Chapel Hill. After a year’s work of collecting data and writing a proposal, the General Administration was forced to reject the proposal because of the desegregation lawsuit by the Carter Administration. The social work faculty were on the brink of losing their positions. It was ironic because at UNCP, whites were a minority and of course social work advocates for racial equality. When President Ronald Reagan was elected, the social work major was immediately approved. The social work faculty were not discharged. With the assistance of Ohio State’s College of Social Work dean, CSWE accreditation followed. This incident constituted an eight-year ordeal for Marson.

During this time period (1982), the atmosphere of academic credentialing was rapidly changing. In order to retain his faculty position, Marson had to complete a doctorate. Simultaneously, he worked on his doctorate, taught four courses per semester, produced a CSWE self-study and gained accreditation.

In 2000, UNCP presented Marson with the Adolf Dial Creative Work & Scholarship Award. After a student’s nomination, Marson received the Outstanding Teaching Award. In 1980, 1985, 1995, 1997, 2009 and 2014, Marson received plaques from student organizations for teaching and his administrative work. In 2012 and 2013, the UNCP Student-Athletes Association recognized Marson as “Most Valuable Professor.” In 2011, Marson was given the Adolph Dial Award for Community Service. He has and continues to be very active in local, state and national boards.

In 2002, Marson established the Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics published by the Association of Social Work Boards. Currently, the journal has over 11,000 subscribers and is recognized as 6th on the top 20 list of best online social work journals.

In 2019, Marson was awarded Professor Emeritus status. He continues to publish articles, editorials and books.

Cleora “Cleo” Smith Roberts (MSW ’64) Posthumous Smith Roberts began her long and distinguished career after obtaining her MSW from The Ohio State University in 1964. Her career path was interrupted many times to accommodate the career of her husband.

After graduation and a brief position at Apple Creek State Hospital, she and her husband relocated to California in 1964. During her eight years in California, Smith Roberts expanded her experience as a clinician and supervisor in a variety of settings, including individual and family counseling, mental retardation, child welfare and adoptions.

Smith Roberts and her family relocated to Michigan in 1972, where she accepted concurrent positions as field work instructor with the University of Michigan, School of Social Work and adjunct instructor with Michigan State University, Department of Family Practice. This experience convinced her that she could better serve the field of social work from academia.

The family relocated to Atlanta, where Smith Roberts finished her education, earning her PhD from Georgia State University in 1986.

After her arrival in Tampa, Smith Roberts accepted a part-time position as social work researcher at Moffitt Cancer Center, the source of information and data for many of her publications. In addition, she accepted a full-time faculty position at The University of South Florida School (USF) of Social Work. Smith Roberts was promoted to professor in 1999 and retired Professor Emerita in 2008.

In 2013, USF honored Smith Roberts with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Social Work Education, stating “Dr. Roberts was instrumental in helping further develop the MSW program and was one of the key curriculum authors of the PhD program in social work. Dr. Roberts distinguished herself as an outstanding educator in the School. She brought the concept of Research Day to the School of Social Work; she was an excellent classroom instructor and she was an exceptional research scholar in social work and oncology.”

RECENT CAREER AWARD

Elon Simms (BSSW ’09, MSW ’10) Elon Simms currently serves as the vice president of Community Impact at Crane Group. In this role, Simms is responsible for the oversight of the philanthropy program, community engagement, employee volunteerism and nonprofit board engagement, and charged with building the company’s community impact investments.

Simms began his career at Franklin County Children Services as a child welfare caseworker. He then joined The Ohio State University, serving as the director of field education in the College of Social Work. Additionally, Simms served as the director of community affairs for the City of Columbus where he was responsible for overseeing initiatives of the Mayor’s Office focused on education, faith-based initiatives, public safety, diversity and inclusion, community development, and health and human services.

In addition to his work, Simms currently serves on the boards of Franklin County Children Services, The Ohio State University College of Social Work Campaign Committee, the Global Center for Healthcare Education Advisory Board at Franklin University, the United Way of Central Ohio Resource Development Committee, and the Reeb Avenue Center Advisory Council.

Because of this experience and deep commitment to the community, Simms was chosen to receive the Columbus Business First’s 40 Under 40 Award, Class of 2020.

International Programs

5 tips on navigating campus and community from international students.

We asked University of Iowa (UI) international students and scholars to give their advice for having better experiences on campus and in the community. Whether you are new on campus or resuming your studies, here are five tips to help you start off on the right foot in the new academic year. 

1. Be yourself

“The University of Iowa, in my experience, creates and provides a home away from home. So be yourself, - with all your knowledge, culture, and individualism.”  Nico Sheck, graduate student in higher education and student affairs 

2. Attend events on and off campus

“T ake advantage of every opportunity to connect with others and attend diverse activities, both on and off campus. This is an easy way to adjust to and learn about the culture and community. ” Gabby Kang , undergraduate in international studies

3. Be open minded 

“It can be difficult to see and interact with people from so many different backgrounds and cultures, but try to have an open mindset and embrace the diversity that exists within the university.”  Sailee Karkhanis, PhD candidate in counselor education and supervision

4. Talk to people

“My biggest advice is always to talk to people. Tell them your story and your concerns, and there is always someone willing to help.” Alicia Maiz Alonso , Doctor of Musical Arts candidate

5. Push through challenges

“As we continue pursuing success through education at the University of Iowa, sometimes it will be challenging. Before you give up, remember that trying and failing is better than doing nothing. Failing will give you experience and trying will lead you to greater success.”  Sylivia Tumusiime, undergraduate student in civil engineering

Want More advice from a peer?

Have advice to give?

International Programs  (IP) at the University of Iowa (UI) is committed to enriching the global experience of UI students, faculty, staff, and the general public by leading efforts to promote internationally oriented teaching, research, creative work, and community engagement.  IP provides support for international students and scholars, administers scholarships and assistance for students who study, intern, or do research abroad, and provides funding opportunities and grant-writing assistance for faculty engaged in international research. IP shares their stories through various media, and by hosting multiple public engagement activities each year.

• International Student and Scholar Services
• international students

International Programs at the University of Iowa supports the right of all individuals to live freely and to live in peace. We condemn all acts of violence based on race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, and perceived national or cultural origin. In affirming its commitment to human dignity, International Programs strongly upholds the values expressed in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights .  

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Alumni Positive Pursuits: Fall 2024

August 12, 2024

Gonzaga Magazine | Fall 2024

Silver Screen

(above) ’14 Jeff Rutherford , unlike his family of lawyers, was interested in writing and storytelling. Beyond English, he took theater classes to explore acting and directing, tools he would use in his future as a filmmaker. He returned to Gonzaga this spring as part of the Visiting Writers Series to talk about his feature film debut, “A Perfect Day for Caribou,” which landed in the 75th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland and the 2023 Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, and now is available on-demand.

The visit brought Rutherford back to where he first felt comfortable exploring the arts as a potential career path. He shares: "It was the time I got more invested and also stopped pretending that I was interested in anything other than this.”

(above, right) ’92 Jeffrey Hawkins  produced his first movie, a true- crime thriller titled “Kiss of the Con Queen,” which premiered at Tampa’s Sunscreen Film Festival. The movie was inspired by the true story of a fraudster who impersonated movie executives in an elaborate and high- profile scheme.

Protecting Our National Treasures

Lena Pace (’13 M.A.) is the new superintendent of both Arches and Canyonlands national parks in southeastern Utah, an area that includes some of the most striking geologic landscapes and significant Indigenous cultural sites of the northern Colorado Plateau, the National Park Service says.

Pace studied environmental science and politics at Whitman College and earned a master’s in organizational leadership from Gonzaga’s School of Leadership Studies.

Pace grew up in Alaska where both of her parents worked for the National Park Service. She was a commissioned NPS law enforcement ranger for more than 20 years in multiple parks and said she has been “inspired by the resources, history and culture of southeastern Utah” since she first visited Moab and Delicate Arch early in her career.

“I look forward to continuing to work with the dedicated staff who care for these special places, collaborate with our public and private partners, and engage with the local communities and Tribes,” she said in an NPS statement. 

(left) ’05 Brandy (Edgell) Galloway and her family are serving as missionaries in North Africa with Assemblies of God World Missions.

(right) ’06 Jennifer (Joyce) Mahon joined NYC’s largest charter school organization, Success Academy Charter Schools, as creative director.

(left) ’11 Monica Marmolejo started a new role as the vice president of finance with the Mariners.

(right) ’12 Halee Hempfling leads the Ecommerce division at TargetPath, and was named partner in January. 

’18 M.A. Kim Virtuoso was promoted to chief people officer at Fontainebleau Las Vegas.

’20 Emma Craven received funding for a structured Ph.D. with a focus in psychology at the School of Allied Health, University of Limerick (Ireland).

Not Pictured

’82 Teri (Shira) Hanby  was the engineering mentor for a team that won the Best Futuristic City award by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers at the International Future City competition.

’13 Sheila (Canavan) Fitt  joined Baird & Warner, a Chicago-based real estate firm, as a real estate agent.

’77 Buzz Rettig self-published two novels: “By Any Other Name,” a crime story, and “Golf Dogs,” the tale of a Jack Russell terrier and a golf tournament.

’91 M.A. Helen MacKinnon and ’91 M.A. Susan Spellman Cann published “Counsellor Talk: Creative: Connecting through Creative Counselling Techniques.” Together, they provide advice, exercises and tools aimed at empowering teachers, parents and mental health professionals to create impactful change in therapeutic practices.

(above) ’05 Robyn (Smith) Itule published her first children’s book, intended to introduce young readers to the founders and efforts of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs). The book is titled “Gritty. Independent. Resourceful. Leaders: Jacqueline Cochran, Nancy Harkness-Love and the Women Airforce Service Pilots.”

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Fiction & Nonfiction Alumni Reading: Sarah LaBrie, Bruna Dantas Lobato, Clare Sestanovich, and Zach Williams

Thursday, October 17, 2024, 7pm

Readings by NYU MFA alumni  Sarah LaBrie, Bruna Dantas Lobato, Clare Sestanovich, and Zach Williams , followed by a reception/signing. 

Open to the public. All attendees are required to RSVP in advance;  please click here

While NYU has ended COVID-19 related restrictions and policies, we continue to remind and recommend to members of the NYU community that they stay up-to-date on their boosters, they stay home if they feel sick, and masks are always welcome.  

The Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House is not currently wheelchair accessible.

Sarah LaBrie is a TV writer, memoirist and librettist. She was most recently a producer on the HBO and Starz television show, Minx . She has also written on Blindspotting (Starz), Made for Love (HBO MAX), and Love, Victor (Hulu/Disney). Her libretti have been performed at Walt Disney Concert Hall with music written by Pulitzer-prize winning composer Ellen Reid. Her fiction also appears in Guernica , The Literary Review , and the Los Angeles Review of Books . Her first book, a memoir entitled No One Gets to Fall Apart , will be published by HarperCollins this fall. Most recently, Sarah was nominated for Best Television Comedy Script at the 2024 Women's Image Network Awards for her episode of Blindspotting , "By Hook or By Crook".

Photo via the author’s website

Bruna Dantas Lobato’s translation of The Words That Remain by Stênio Gardel won the 2023 National Book Award for Translated Literature. Other translations have received the English PEN Translates Award and the PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant and have been longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award, the PEN Translation Prize, and the Republic of Consciousness Prize.

Her debut novel, Blue Light Hours , is forthcoming in October 2024 from Grove Atlantic in the U.S, Companhia das Letras/PRH in Brazil (in her own translation into Portuguese), and İş Kültür in Turkey. Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker , Guernica , A Public Space , and The Common , and has received support from MacDowell, Yaddo, Jentel, A Public Space , NYU, Disquiet International, and more.

She holds an MFA in Fiction from New York University, an MFA in Literary Translation from the University of Iowa, and a BA in Literature from Bennington College. She has taught at NYU, Bennington College, Bread Loaf, the Center for Fiction, and Catapult, and is currently an incoming Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing at Grinnell College. Born and raised in Natal, Brazil, she lives in Iowa with her partner and pet bunny.

Photo by Ashley Pieper

Clare Sestanovich is the author of Objects of Desire, published by Picador, which was a finalist for the PEN Robert W. Bingham Prize. She was named a '5 Under 35' honoree by the National Book Foundation in 2022. Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review , Harper's , The Drift, and Electric Literature . She lives in Brooklyn.

Zach Williams is a Jones Lecturer in Fiction at Stanford University, where he previously held a Wallace Stegner Fellowship. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern . His story “Trial Run” was one of three that won The Paris Review a 2023 ASME Award for Fiction. Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, he currently resides with his family in San Francisco.

Photo by Jemimah Wei

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Writers' Workshop

Summer workshops.

The Writers' Workshop experience in 3-week summer sessions

Study with Writers’ Workshop faculty in three-week graduate-level writing workshops

This summer, the Workshop will offer graduate-level courses for credit.  Earned credits will be recorded on an official transcript. Classes are taught by Writers' Workshop permanent and visiting faculty and follow the graduate workshop format. Admission is based on manuscript review and is open to all applicants, whether currently enrolled in a degree program or not. Deadline to apply for summer 2024 is March 3rd.

The Iowa Young Writers' Studio offers summer classes for high school students. For week-long or weekend classes, check out the Iowa Summer Writing Festival !

Join Our Mailing List and Stay Connected   Learn More and Apply to the Summer Workshops

Are you currently a high school student?

The Iowa Young Writers' Studio is a summer writing program dedicated to high school students.

Summer 2024 Fiction Workshops

Claire lombardo, may 14- may 30, 2024 in person.

3-week graduate fiction workshop

Sanjena Sathian

May 14-may 30, 2024 in person.

3-week graduate fiction workshop

Kate Christensen

July 8-july 25, 2024 in person.

  July 8-July 25, 2024 IN PERSON

Summer 2024 Poetry Workshops

Mark levine.

3-week graduate poetry workshop

Hai-Dang Phan

3-week graduate poetry workshop with

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