Strange Bedfellows

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designates Iowa City, Iowa, the world’s third City of Literature.

More than 1,200 emerging and established writers from more than 120 countries have been in residence at the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program, which has enjoyed long-standing support from the U.S. Department of State. Writers have included such luminaries as Bessie Head, Bei Dao, Luisa Valenzuela, John Banville and Nobel Prize-winner Orhan Pamuk. Each fall these writers participate in dozens of public events, including readings and panel discussions.