2026 Spring Semester Calendar
The listings below are the NWP’s official program calendar and events for the upcoming semester. However, much more than this will be happening both across campus and around Iowa City. And additional program events may occasionally be added throughout the semester.
2026 Spring Semester
Week 1: January 19 - 25
Monday, January 19th: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – University offices closed
Tuesday, January 20th: First day of classes
Tuesday January 20th: Financial Aid Forms for 2026-27 due to Katherine Weiner
Wednesday, January 21st, 4:00pm at the Nonfiction Writing House: Cupcake Welcome Gathering for NWP Distinguished Visiting Professor Jenny Boully
Friday, January 23rd, 12:00pm: 304 EPB (Gerber): “Survived the First Week” Gathering
Friday, January 23rd, 4:00pm: Deadline for Digital Scholarship & Publishing Studio, & MFA Summer Fellowship materials (for Second-Year MFA students). Send to Graduate Program Coordinator Tara Atkinson.
Week 2: January 26 - February 1
Friday, January 30th, 4pm: Student-led discussion on summer employment, all NWP students welcome!
Week 3: February 2 – 8
Monday, February 2nd, 2026: Last day to drop a course and reduce tuition/fee assessment (you will be billed for any courses you drop after this date!)
Wednesday, February 4th, 12:00pm: Deadline for Stanley Awards for International Research materials submitted online (for details, see website)
Friday, February 6th, 3:00pm: Deadline for Herodotus Award proposals
Friday, February 6th, 3:00pm: N + 1 editors Mark Krotov & Lisa Borst Publishing Talk, Gerber Lounge (304 EPB)
Week 4: February 9 - 15
Monday, February 9th: Submissions for CLAS Postgraduate Visiting Writer Fellowships due to each MFA department contact (Third-Years Only)
Monday, February 9th: Schedule builder open/MyUI Course Offerings available for fall 2026
Friday, February 13th, 7:30pm: Krause Essay Prize Ceremony and Reception at the UI Old Capitol Senate Chambers honoring the 2025 winner, Sarah Aziza
Week 5: February 16 - 22
Friday, February 20th, 7:00pm, Prairie Lights: Alumni Jonathan Gleason reads from Field Guide to Falling Ill — in conversation with NWP faculty Sarah Minor
Week 6: February 23 – March 1
Tuesday, February 24th, NWP House: 4:30pm: Recruit the Newbies! Help advise the NWP’s newly admitted Class of 2029 about their future plans. Come for an informational meeting with Melissa to find out how you can help.
Wednesday, Feb 25th: 4:30pm, Brainstorming session for the NWP’s upcoming One Day Fundraiser on March 26. Join the faculty in the NWP lounge to help drum up ideas about how to excite NWP alum and friends to donate
Friday, February 27th: Degree application deadline (apply in MyUI).
Friday, February 27th: MFA spring graduates (Third-Years only) must send English Department Graduate Coordinator Tara Atkinson a list of their thesis title, thesis committee members, date, and time of defense.
Friday, February 27th, 7:00pm: Jenny Boully, NWP Distinguished Visiting Professor and author of Betwixt and Between, reads at NWP House
Week 7: March 2 - 8
Wednesday, March 4th - Saturday, March 7th, Baltimore, Maryland: AWP Conference
Week 8: March 9 – 15
Wednesday, March 11th, 3:00pm: Q+A with editor Jessie Kindig of Yale University Press at the NWP House
Friday, March 13th: Fall 2026 course preferences due to Graduate Program Coordinator Tara Atkinson.
Week 9: March 16 - 22
Spring Break
Week 10: March 23 – 29
Thursday, March 26 – 27: Welcome Days for Incoming NWP students
Thursday, March 26, 1pm: a lunch with Incoming NWP Students, NWP House
Thursday March 26, 7pm: Erik Larson in conversation with Inara Verzemnieks - The Demon of Unrest. Ticketed event at the Englert.
Friday, March 27th, 2pm: A craft talk by Krause Visiting Writer, Elissa Washuta, at NWP House
Friday, March 27th, 7:00pm: A reading by Elissa Washuta, author of White Magic, at NWP House
Week 11: March 30 – April 5
Wednesday, April 1, 7pm: Graphic memoirist Lauren Haldeman in conversation with Carmen Maria Machado - Wild that We’re Alive, at Prairie Lights.
Week 12: April 6 – 12
Monday, April 6th, 3:00pm: Deadline for submissions for Roxanne Mueller Award
Friday, April 10th, 3:00-5:00pm: Second-Years to submit thesis proposals (prospectus) to faculty and CC Graduate Program Coordinator Tara Atkinson. More details will be announced at a later date.
Friday, April 10th, 3:00pm: Deadline for submissions for Prairie Lights Prize
Week 13: April 13 - 19
Monday, April 13th: Early Registration for Fall 2026 begins
April 13-14: Visit from editor Vanessa Haughton of Knopf and Pantheon at NWP House
Week 14: April 20 - 26
Tuesday, April 21st: Final exam reports due/last day to hold thesis defense (Third-Years only)
Week 15: April 27 – May 3
Tuesday, April 28th: Deadline for Single Thesis Deposit (Third-Years only)
Friday, May 1st: Last day of early registration. Students with teaching assignments should complete their fall 2026 registration by this date
Week 16: May 4 – 10
Friday, May 8th: Close of classes
Saturday, May 9th: NWP Graduation Party at NWP House, 11:00am
Week 17: May 11 - 17
Final exam week for the university, and commencement ceremonies
Tuesday, May 19th: Last working day for spring TA/RA contracts
Nonfiction Writing Program events
One Day for Iowa | The University of Iowa's Annual Giving Day
One Day for Iowa returns on Wednesday, March 25, marking 10 years of Hawkeyes coming together to support what matters most at the University of Iowa.
Our 24-hour online giving day is a chance for alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends to make an impact—supporting scholarships, research, health care, the arts, student experiences, and more. With special matching and unlocking opportunities throughout the day, every gift has the power to go further.
Celebrate a decade of generosity. Be part...
Erik Larson in conversation with Inara Verzemnieks - The Demon of Unrest
Prairie Lights and the Englert Theatre present Erik Larson, who will talk about his nonfiction thriller, The Demon of Unrest, in conversation with Nonfiction Writing Program Associate Professor Inara Verzemnieks.
This is a ticketed event. Please visit the Englert Theatre for box office information.
Craft Talk by Krause Visiting Writer, Elissa Washuta
The Nonfiction Writing Program presents a craft talk by Krause Visiting Writer, Elissa Washuta.
Elissa Washuta is a member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and a nonfiction writer. Her essay collection, White Magic, was selected as a finalist for the PEN/Open Book Award, longlisted for the PEN/Jean Stein Award, and named among the best books of 2021 by TIME, the New York Public Library and NPR. She is the author of Starvation Mode and My Body is a Book of Rules, and with Theresa Warburton, she is the...
Reading by Elissa Washuta, author of White Magic
The Nonfiction Writing Program presents a reading by Krause Visiting Writer Elissa Washuta.
Elissa Washuta is a member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and a nonfiction writer. Her essay collection, White Magic, was selected as a finalist for the PEN/Open Book Award, longlisted for the PEN/Jean Stein Award, and named among the best books of 2021 by TIME, the New York Public Library and NPR. She is the author of Starvation Mode and My Body is a Book of Rules, and with Theresa Warburton, she is the co...