Schedule

Between 12 and 3 pm, the PS1 space will be full of activities: face paint, henna, a bake sale, a collage table, lawn games (weather permitting), an info table for Escucha mi Voz, a place to write postcards to senators, and a DJ.

From 3 to 6 pm, we’ll move into the readings and live music portion of the event, which combines works shared by writers from across the fiction, poetry, nonfiction, translation, Spanish creative writing, and playwriting MFAs with music by Joel Worford, plus talks with our friends from Escucha mi Voz and FilmScene.

12-1 pm

  • Led by Margaret Yapp

    In this one-hour class, members will participate in a fast-paced and exciting marathon of generative and editing exercises that build on each other. We will do writing exercises that feel more familiar, of course, but we will also experiment with drawing and movement techniques to spark new ideas. This class is less focused on workshopping poems, and more focused on creating new work. Participants will walk away with a lot of new writing, new ideas, and new editing techniques to push their work even farther after the class is over.

    For more information and to register, click here.

    Media Arts Room

  • Videos by artists in MFA programs including Nikka Singh and Richard Frailing.

    Cloud House

1-2 pm

  • Led by Tyrone Aragón

    This one-hour workshop explores how you can transform research into believable fiction without loosing narrative momentum. Whether you are writing speculative fiction, psychological narratives, historical novels or just a story that cross a specific field, research is not just about accuracy —it is about creating depth, texture, and more important: credibility. We will get focus on key technique, bibliography, concrete examples (authors and their work), exercises (turning facts into Story) and reading recommendations.

    For more information and to register, click here.

    Reading Room

  • led by Ergisa Xhuveli

    In this one-hour generative workshop, our goal will be to generate two pieces of raw memoir material. We will practice turning memory into scene, and using sensory descriptions to add texture to our writing. Students will come away from this class with a framework for how to choose which memories to write about and how to animate those memories for an audience.

    For more information and to register, click here.

    Media Arts Room

  • A panel moderated by Nikka Singh, featuring the day’s video artists.

    Cloud House

2-3 pm

  • Led by Raquel Martinez

    Flash and micro fiction rely on precision: curated language, lingering imagery, and the implication of a world beyond the page. What makes a story? How can a writer evoke a full experience in just a few sentences? In this generative workshop, we’ll explore these questions while experimenting with the art of brevity.

    Together, we’ll read and discuss works of flash, consider what defines the form, and highlight craft elements. The session will end in a writing exercise, with time to share and reflect.

    For more information and to register, click here.

    Reading Room

  • Videos by artists in MFA programs including Nikka Singh and Richard Frailing.

    Cloud House

  • Led by Nora Connolly and Cary Stough

    Join Nora and Cary to explore “home-away-home” narratives: picture books in which characters leave home, experience adventure, and return to their homes slightly changed. We’ll explore the theory behind these plots, look at examples, and try our own hands at a home-away-home tale. The children’s literature studio welcomes the young and the young-at-heart.

Readings will begin at 3 pm, which will intersperse works by Iowa’s MFA students with live music by Joel Worford, a presentation from our friends at FilmScene and Escucha mi Voz, and refreshments.

3-4 pm

Kicking off our afternoon with some words from our friends at Escucha mi Voz, followed by readings by Poonam Dhir (playwriting), Thomas Humphrey (nonfiction), Sant Giralt and Emma Murray (Spanish creative writing and translation), Gyasi Asim (fiction), and Ehsan Ahmed Mehedi (poetry).

4-5 pm

Readings by Blanca Bercial (Spanish creative writing), Maya Arthur (poetry), Raquel Martinez (fiction), and Harris Wheless (nonfiction), plus some words from our friends at FilmScene.

5-6 pm

Readings by Bethany Kaylor (nonfiction) and others.