Iowa grad Ty Schmit turned his interests in sports, media, and storytelling into a career producing The Pat McAfee Show, hosted by the ESPN College GameDay analyst. Schmit credits the UI with providing opportunities to work across disciplines and giving him room to explore storytelling, including a creative writing course that helped him realize he had a talent worth pursuing.

Tara Bynum, associate professor in the Department of English, has received a $50,000 fellowship from the John Carter Brown Library to support work on her book, A Revolutionary History of Black Joy.

Iowa’s unmatched writing-related resources prepare its graduates for success in many fields. This level of excellence, strengthened in the past year by the creation of the Office of Writing and Communication and piloting a new undergraduate curriculum, positions Iowa as the best public university for writing and communication.

Nearly 60 years after its founding, the International Writing Program begins another chapter supported by donors, longtime partners, and the Iowa City community. This fall’s cohort of 22 residents will help guide the program’s future and continue its tradition of bringing writers together across borders.

The University of Iowa remains the nation’s top public university for writing in the latest U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings. Ranked No. 10 overall in writing in the disciplines, Iowa has been recognized as the best public university for six consecutive years.

Tony Tulathimutte went from an unhappy career in Silicon Valley to the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Now the acclaimed writer is helping University of Iowa students envision their own paths forward.

Dana Thomann, University of Iowa associate professor of instruction in Rhetoric, has been named the 2026 Hudson Prize winner for her story collection, Erratics.

Ashley Howard, University of Iowa assistant professor of history, has been named a 2026 Mellon Emerging Faculty Leader. The recognition comes from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the nation’s leading funder of the arts, culture, and humanities.

Wondering what you might have missed while you were away from campus this summer? Here are 12 stories to get you caught up.

Award-winning author and Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate Tony Tulathimutte is the inaugural recipient of the Jack Galef Literary Arts Award. The new literary prize administered by the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop is one of the largest literary prizes awarded in the United States.