An event to mark Saturday, Oct. 20 as the National Day on Writing will combine Iowa City’s two passions: literature and football.

The first-ever “Writing Tailgate” will take place at the Iowa City Public Library on Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m. in Meeting Room A. The event is free and open to the public.

Young children through adults can join in literary scavenger hunts, Scrabble scrambles, magnetic poetry, a haiku contest, Twitter stories, digital storytelling, a Hemingway Challenge (six-word essays), Post-it fiction, erasure/found poetry, “words to live by,” iPad writing, Spanish writing, art-inspired writing, and more. The event will also feature tailgate-style food and writing-inspired door prizes.

Authors will read from their works between 3 and 4 p.m. Professor Bonnie Sunstein’s "Approaches to Teaching Writing" class will lead short writing exercises. From 4 to 5 p.m., any writer or group of writers can share their work during an open mic session.

Primary sponsors are the National Council of Teachers of English Student Affiliate of the University of Iowa, the City of Literature, Iowa Youth Writing Project, the Derek Project, and the Iowa City Public Library.

This is the fourth year October 20 has been designated by the U.S. Congress as the National Day on Writing.