The state of Iowa and the University of Iowa have a long history of supporting the literary arts. Indeed, the first class on the literary essay was offered at the University back in 1930, and ever since then Iowa has been producing some of the most prominent essayists in America

As a show of thanks to the taxpayers of Iowa who have consistently made significant investments in creative writing by supporting our students, The Nonfiction Writing Program shares the talents of its extraordinary graduate students through the Lloyd-Jones Institute for Outreach, which offers a series of free master classes in creative writing throughout the year to anyone and everyone in Iowa.

Master Classes are offered on weekends and run for two hours a piece. They are designed and taught entirely by the students of The Nonfiction Writing Program, and they range widely in theme and subject matter. Some recent master classes have included Writing about Music, Portraiture, Memoir, Getting Started, Shaping an Idea, Crafting a Pitch, Writing about Travel, The Still Life, How to Revise, Writing about Food, Humor Writing, Writing about Gaming, Politics, and many others.

These master classes have become so popular in recent years that many students from around the U.S. have inquired about taking these master classes, which is why The Nonfiction Writing Program now travels each fall to upstate New York to teach students in the Finger Lakes region for a weekend. And each spring, The Nonfiction Writing Program also proudly hosts a group of students from Los Angeles, California, who come to Iowa to spend three days with us immersed in a series of classes with our students.  

Named Lloyd-Jones Fellows, Geneva Fellows, and Buckley Fellows, the students who teach these classes are among the most talented writers and teachers in The Nonfiction Writing Program and go on to win numerous awards for both their teaching and their writing.

The Lloyd-Jones Institute for Outreach is named for Jix Lloyd-Jones, the late and legendary professor from the University of Iowa who innovated how writing was taught in the United States, as well as for his wife, Jean Lloyd-Jones, who generously provided the seed money to launch this Institute.