Photography by Justin Torner, courtesy of Think Iowa City
Fall Lifestyle Shoot
St. Louis bibliophiles don’t have to travel far to visit one of the Cities of Literature, a distinction awarded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to 31 cities across the world, including Beirut, Lebanon; Milan, Italy; Dublin, Ireland; and Lahore, Pakistan. Iowa City became a City of Literature in 2008, following Edinburgh, Scotland, and Melbourne, Australia. In the United States, Seattle is the only other city to have this distinction.
Read More: A guide to visiting Iowa City, four hours north of St. Louis
The Iowa Writers’ Workshop has remained one of the most prestigious places to study creative writing for more than 80 years and is the alma mater of such Pulitzer Prize winners as Jane Smiley, Philip Roth, Michael Cunningham, Wallace Stegner, and many more.
Today, the city embraces its literary title with book festivals, writing groups, reading groups, frequent author readings, and even a literary walk. In 2010, to commemorate 100 years after Leo Tolstoy’s death, there was a public reading of Anna Karenina; the reading of this 816-page book took three days and dozens of participants. The city keeps finding new ways to celebrate literature. Here are some of the highlights you won’t want to miss when visiting.
Photography courtesy of Think Iowa City
Book Fair
For more than a decade, the festival has been attracting well-known authors. During the most recent festival, the programming was so extensive that event organizers extended the traditionally one-week event to two weeks. (Among the participants: St. Louis’ own Sarah Kendzior.) And if you're unable to travel to Iowa City, the festival offers a number of online events as well.
Every February, One Book Two Book celebrates children’s literature. Students in grades 1–8 across the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids region are invited to submit their work for the two-day festival, which encourages budding authors.
Photography courtesy of Think Iowa City
Iowa City’s Literary Walk celebrates the myriad writers with ties to the city. The walk includes art, authors’ photos, biographical information, and passages for their texts. Authors featured include Susan Glaspell, Tennessee Williams, Kurt Vonnegut, Flannery O’Conner, and Raymond Carver. You can pick up a booklet on the literary walk at Prairie Lights Bookstore or Iowa Book & Supply. See website for details and map.
Prairie Lights Bookstore and Café
The author reading schedule at Prairie Lights Bookstore is so extensive, the store has a reading nearly every day. And, of course, if you happen to visit on a day without a reading on the schedule, you can still buy a book to enjoy over a latte at the café. 15 S. Dubuque, Iowa City.
Anna Barker’s Classics Reading Series
This popular reading series takes place over Facebook, which makes it possible to participate from St. Louis. There are several reading groups to choose from, including 100 Days of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables and 50 Days of Paradise Lost.
