Explore our Past Programs

Every year, with support from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, IWP organizes a number of programs that aim to make a connection between literary communities overseas and distinguished American writers. These programs have ranged from symposia and conferences through reading and study tours, to writing workshops, taught both on the UI campus and abroad.

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2020 Outreach Courses

Outreach courses offer live video lectures and discussions; reading and writing assignments, and synchronous and asynchronous online workshopping.

Yvonne Owuor at the Women's Creative Mentorship Project

Women's Creative Mentorship Project

The Women's Creative Mentorship Project focuses on mentorship between young, emerging female writers, and female IWP Fall Residency alumni.

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Summer Institute

The Summer Institute (SI) was a two-week creative writing and cultural exchange program for participants age 18-22 from Pakistan, India, and the U.S.

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Lanterns of Hope

Lanterns of Hope: A Poetry Project for Iraqi Youth was a program designed to encourage Iraqi youth, ages 16 to 23, to creatively communicate their visions for the future of Iraq.

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Silk Routes

Silk Routes: Heritage, Trade, Practice was a three-year project (2014-2016) designed to foster long-term region-wide networks of younger writers in South and Central Asia working in their own traditions.

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Book Wings

Book Wings was a collaborative exchange and performance initiative designed to bring together writers, actors, directors, and new media professionals from the United States and partner countries in a virtual environment.

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US Study Tour

Writers in Motion was a study tour of the Mid-Atlantic and the American South, where eight international writers explored the theme of "Fall and Recovery."

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Life of Discovery

The Life of Discovery project aimed to bring together writers and artists from the United States and from the minority ethnic communities in the western regions of the People's Republic of China.