Reading Abroad: American Writers on Tour

Every spring, with funding from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, the International Writing Program organizes a reading tour to a country or a region with a relatively sparse history of literary liaisons to contemporary United States.

The aim of a Reading Tour is twofold:

  • to introduce important American writers to a new and distinct literary-cultural landscape,
  • to create opportunities for colleagues and students there to meet with a group of distinguished representatives of the current American literary scene.

The tour involves public readings, visits to universities and literary institutions, encounters with cultural personalities and media, and visits to places and events that would increase our understanding of the historical and current affairs of the region.

Happening Now... (more)

  • The IWP & The Moscow Art Theatre will present Book Wings, a collaborative literary and theatrical performance on Fri. March 9th, 2012 in Theatre B of the University of Iowa's Theatre Arts building.

  • Nigerian playwright, novelist, and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka gave a public lecture on November 6 as part of the closing festivities of the 2011 IWP residency.

  • The newest release from 91st Meridian Books: How to Write an Earthquake, a trilingual French-Creole-English e-anthology of poetry and prose responding to the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

  • The IWP's 2010 Annual Report is available for viewing (PDF / SWF).

  • The Norwegian Writers' Association has awarded its 2011 free expression award to Ma Thida (IWP 2005). She is its first-ever recipient from Burma.