When Tara Bynum, University of Iowa assistant professor of English and African American Studies, published her first book, Reading Pleasures: Everyday Black Living in Early America, she was able to share her words with an even larger audience than she could have imagined: She was interviewed by PBS in February and was featured on an April episode of The Takeaway podcast, hosted by Melissa Harris-Perry.

Dr. Lori Branch teaches a Gothic Literature class on Tuesday, Jan. 25 in the University of Iowa. The class invites writing fellows into the classroom to advise and inspire students, and is currently reading “The Castle of Otranto” by Horace Walpole.

NPR's Scott Simon speaks to writer Kaveh Akbar about his debut novel, "Martyr!", his debut novel.

In “Martyr!,” the poet Kaveh Akbar turns a grieving young man’s search for meaning into a piercing family saga.

Akbar had a raging addiction and little reason to believe his life would turn out well. Now he has a debut novel, “Martyr!,” which makes you want to “get up and yell.”