50 Years of Making History with the Essay
Friday, October 23, 2026
Literary Legends
An evening with NWP Alumna and recent Pulitzer Prize winner, Yiyun Li, in conversation with NWP Director Melissa Febos, at the Levitt Center for University Advancement, 1 West Park Road, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 24, 2026
NWP at the ICBF
Alumna Lori Erickson (MA '85), Travels with the Muse, at the Iowa City Book Festival, Iowa City Public Library Meeting Room, 10 a.m.
Professor Emerita Patricia Foster, A Marriage in Startled Air, at the Iowa City Book Festival, Prairie Lights Books, 11:30 a.m.
NWP Faculty Panel
NWP Faculty Tisa Bryant and Sarah Minor at the Iowa City Book Festival, Iowa City Public Library Meeting Room A, 2:30 p.m.
NWP Alumni Panel
Hear from three NWP Alumni about their most recent work and their time writing in Iowa City: Helen Betya Rubenstein (Feels Like Trouble), Stephanie Krzywonos (The Blue Hours), and Angela Pelster (The Evolution of Fire). Iowa City Public Library, 4:00 p.m.
50th Anniversary Celebration
Alumni and invited guests gather to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Nonfiction Writing Program at the University of Iowa.
Levitt Center for University Advancement, 1 West Park Road
5:30 p.m. Welcome reception
6:30 p.m. Dinner
8:30 p.m. Dessert reception
Alumni and invited guests only: RSVP by October 14, noting any food restrictions, here.
Please bring photos of your time at the NWP for a special display.
For questions, email Hannah Leonard.
We hope you can join us as we mark this impressive anniversary.
Please bring photos of your time at the NWP for a special display at our anniversary dinner.
This event is made possible with the generous support of Linda and Rick Maxson.
Sunday, October 25, 2026
Bagel Breakfast
Nonfiction Writing House, 530 N. Clinton St., Iowa City, 10 a.m.
In Memoriam Event
Nonfiction Writing House, 530 N. Clinton St., Iowa City, 11 a.m.
For questions about the in memoriam event, please email Lynne Nugent.