Short stories by Writers' Workshop alumnus Thomas Derr echo the landmark memoir by Frank Conroy.

Inara Verzemnieks, a graduate student in the University of Iowa Nonfiction Writing Program (NWP), is one of six 2012 winners of the prestigious Rona Jaffe Writers’ Awards. She follows in the footsteps of former recipients such as Eula Biss, Amy Leach, Lan Samantha Chang, and ZZ Packer.

Elaine Showalter will receive the Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism in Memory of Newton Arvin at a Sept. 14 event in the Senate Chamber of the University of Iowa's Old Capitol.

Percussionist James Dreier, a faculty member in the jazz studies program of the UI School of Music, will feature special guests Joel Vanderheyden, saxophone, and Brian Smith, trumpet, in a free concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 9, in the University Capitol Centre Recital Hall.

Legendary modern-dance choreographer/director Jennifer Muller will be in residence at the University of Iowa Department of Dance this week, preparing UI dancers to perform her classic work "SPEEDS" in the upcoming Dance Gala.

Equipment displays, hands-on activities, talks by company leaders, and networking opportunities will mark John Deere Day at the UI, an event designed to showcase career options across a range of professions, from engineering to public health.

Free events on Sept. 7 and 9 presented by the University of Iowa International Writing Program (IWP) will span the globe of literature.

University of Iowa space physicist Don Gurnett is one of a team of scientists who will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the launch of Voyager 1, the most distant manmade object from Earth.

UI physics professor Craig Kletzing says he's "very pumped" about the recent launch of twin satellites that will study the Van Allen radiation belts, named after the late UI space scientist James Van Allen.

Geoscientist Art Bettis explains why Mahaska County mammoth site is “the perfect storm of organic preservation.”

Becky Lane earned a doctorate in the sociology of sport, but a switch to filmmaker, with her Nice Girl Productions, was not such a dramatic change: Her UI dissertation was the first multi-media doctoral project in her department, including video interviews with Senior Olympics participants.

Poet, critic, and novelist Ben Lerner, a guest of the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, will present a free reading at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7, in the Frank Conroy Reading Room of the Dey House.