The Emmy Award–winning writer who penned sketches for ‘Saturday Night Live’ might have pursued another career had it not been for a class she took at the University of Iowa.

Once annually, the Office of the Vice President for Research reviews nominations for nine major awards that recognize faculty and staff excellence in research, scholarship, and creative activities. These awards, a part of the long-standing Discovery and Innovation Awards program, celebrate researchers and scholars who receive national recognition for forging new frontiers of discovery.

Three University of Iowa faculty members — Kaveh Akbar, Jamel Brinkley, and Charles D’Ambrosio — were recognized with 2025 Awards in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The awards honor the work of both emerging and established writers and will be presented to awardees at a ceremony in May.

The Nonfiction Writing Program MFA Student Stephanie Krzywonos was awarded the Herodotus Award this Spring 2025.

Kaveh Akbar, associate professor and director of the English and Creative Writing major at the University of Iowa, first drew acclaim for his poetry.

The Writing University conducts a series of interviews with writers while they are in Iowa City participating in the various University of Iowa writing programs. We sit down with authors to ask about their work, their process and their descriptions of home.

English department faculty and grad students attended the 2025 MLA Annual Convention in New Orleans.

A round-up of Nonfiction Writing Program alumni publications, awards, and other successes.