skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, September 20, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Dozens of CA events this weekend honor Latino Conservation Week; Kamala Harris joins Oprah Winfrey in emotional campaign event; Report finds poor working conditions in Texas clean energy industry; AI puts on a lab coat, heads to technical schools.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rising threats of political violence, a Federal Reserve rate cut, crypto industry campaign contributions and reproductive rights are shaping today's political landscape.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Diverse Young Writers Converge in Iowa for Famous Summer Workshops

play audio
Play

Friday, June 10, 2016   

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Writers from all over the U.S. and the world converge at the University of Iowa this weekend for the annual Iowa Young Writers' Studio.

The program has developed an international reputation over more than a decade. Studio director Stephen Lovely says it draws dozens of talented young authors from diverse backgrounds and even helps pay their way in some cases.

"Really exceptional writers who are maybe from economically-disadvantaged neighborhoods or populations who would just otherwise not be able to afford the program," says Lovely. "And we try to make it possible for them to attend, too."

The first session of the two-week program begins this Sunday with seminars and workshops, with another starting up in the second week of July.

Lovely says it not only brings together young writers to work with top teachers and mentors to help hone their craft, but also draws creative high schoolers who might otherwise feel isolated back home.

"Maybe they're one of the only kids who writes or they have their little group of friends," he says. "But when they come here, they meet all these other students who are like them. They're kind of the cool person. It's almost as though they come here, they find their people; they make a lot of connections with other kids their age who love the same things they love - writing and reading and books."

With the annual summer program beginning in the early 2000s, Lovely says now they're seeing past participants becoming successful authors as adults.

"There's a poet who came through the Young Writers' Studio, who's publishing her first book," says Lovely. "There's a fiction writer who has come through the workshop and will be publishing her first novel in the next couple of years. And there's a woman named Moira Weigel who just published a book about online dating that's been getting a lot of press."

He adds most of the students have gone on to pursue writing careers in creative, corporate and academic settings.







get more stories like this via email

more stories
Some 899 of 936 public comments on the plan for the proposed West Fork Dam, or 96%, opposed the West Fork Battle Creek Dam project, according to a tally by Wyofile. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

A federal agency is requiring Wyoming to update cost estimates for a large proposed dam in Carbon County, which has been under feasibility studies …


Social Issues

play sound

This Saturday marks the International Day of Peace and the advocacy group Nonviolent Peaceforce is kicking off a series of family-friendly events in M…

Environment

play sound

Latino Conservation Week is in full swing, with 330 events across the U.S. and 90 in California alone. The 11th annual event runs through Sunday…


Nebraska is one of 10 states to confirmed abortion-related constitutional amendment measures on the ballot in November. (Alcorn Imagery/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Some ballot initiatives this year have taken more than voter signatures to get onto the ballot in Nebraska. They've already withstood major court …

Environment

play sound

Maine officials are stepping up land conservation projects as climate change continues to alter the state's terrain. New funding from the Land for …

Social Issues

play sound

A new study showed as Texas has emerged as a national leader in wind turbine and solar energy installations, clean energy workers often face …

play sound

Students enrolled at Wisconsin's technical colleges this fall might take a course where artificial intelligence is the star of the classroom…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021