Today is #1DayForIowa, the University of Iowa's annual online giving day and celebration, and the IWP needs your help! Our recent loss of State Department funding makes every donation especially important. You can donate at 1dayforiowa.org/IWP-25!

I wrote about the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, which was a crucial part of my literary education. It’s now fighting for its future after losing its funding last week. Free post; no paywall. garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/a-city-of-... @uiiwp.bsky.social

IWP’s work is in the national interest www.thegazette.com/staff-editor...

It is with profound sadness that we share the news of Shelly J. Criswell’s passing. Shelly was in her home, surrounded by her family, when she died on Saturday, March 8, after a prolonged battle with cancer.

The State Department terminated its longstanding support for the University of Iowa's International Writing Program, which has existed since 1967 (involving 3 Nobel Prize winners). U Iowa's canceling several programs and searching for new funding sources. now.uiowa.edu/news/2025/03...

This is heartbreaking and infuriating. One of the US’s longest-standing cultural partnerships, hugely effective in dozens of countries, ended. As a diplomat, I saw first-hand what a powerful tool the IWP has been in furthering American interests. A mortifying shame—like so much else right now.

Terrible e injusto "We are devastated by the abrupt end of this 58year partnership and are working closely with University of Iowa General Counsel and Grant Accounting to review the terminations, understand their full impact, and respond in the best interest of the organization" @uiiwp.bsky.social

Among this week's finds for the #WritingCommunity: @authorsguild.bsky.social's new tracker; @uiiwp.bsky.social announcement; RIP, Peter Elbow; paperback paucity. www.erikadreifus.com/2025/03/publ...

GAH. For me as a translation MFA student in the early 2000s, the community & camaraderie of @uiiwp.bsky.social was pure magic. To have the chance to collaborate with Malagasy poets & Argentinian short story writers, to debate with Polish philosophers & laugh with Irish journalists—what a gift.

The end of an era... now.uiowa.edu/news/2025/03...

We appreciate this story by Vanessa Miller at the Gazette.

The IWP does great work and will continue to, but this is still such a blow

In 2005, I remember one of the visiting writers saying (paraphrasing), "Even if I spend just a week visiting a country, I feel like I've lived there. I develop a deep personal attachment to people and places." How many future writers will be deprived of this enriching, irreplaceable experience?

This is devastating...

This is devastating. IWP's impact on international writing and translated literature can't be understated. I have no words.

This is devastating. For almost 60 years, the IWP has hosted translators and writers from around the world, especially young and emerging ones. I spent a glorious summer at their events and it’s why I ended up studying literature.

The US State Department has canceled the grants that provide much of the support for the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. 90% of those funds are spent in the US, & the program is top-notch, hosting 3 future Nobel laureates. @uiiwp.bsky.social now.uiowa.edu/news/2025/03...

This is devastating. The IWP is the crown jewel of the U of Iowa & has done so much for literature around the world, but it's also done so much for Iowa. This update feels especially sad coming one week after a beautiful tribute to the program's co-founder, the incomparable Hualing Nieh Engle.

🧵Dear Friends: We write today with a difficult update. On Wednesday, Feb. 26, the International Writing Program (IWP) learned that its grants with the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, were being terminated.

The January Watchlist is in, with Tobias Carroll’s top translated books to start your 2025 off right—read on for a glimpse at what’s inside! https://buff.ly/4h7hqpP (1/8)

📣 Calling all early-career translators! 📣 The Momentum Grant is now open for applications over at @wwborders.bsky.social. This is such a great opportunity: a $3,000 grant for working on your #translation sample. Plus, it's judged by none other than literary superstar Julia Sanches. Apply by 2/28!

Recording this week 🤞... RJL's next episode is about Keiichiro Hirano + his Akutagawa-winning debut novel Eclipse (trans Brent de Chene/Charles de Wolf). I'll be bringing in info from a conversation Hirano generously had with me in November There will Eclipse spoilers—pick up your copy now. ☺️

See what's happening with our latest Lines & Spaces exchange in Riyadh:

We really enjoyed this interview that Hungarian poet Péter Závada gave at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest regarding his participation in the 2024 Fall Residency. You can watch it at youtube.com/watch?v=6_M19PhpujE.

We can't wait to read your debut novels! ✨ Our submission period opens tonight Friday 1/10/25 at midnight PT (technically Sat 1/11/25 @ 12:01 am PT) and stays open until Sunday 1/12/25 @ 11:59 pm PT. See full guidelines, FAQ, and how to submit your work at the link! tinhouse.com/book-submiss...

Poem of the Day, from the books longlisted for the 2024 National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry: “Refrain” from Scattered Snows, to the North by Carl Phillips @fsgbooks.bsky.social @cphillipspoet.bsky.social Look for our finalist announcement on January 23rd (7/10)

Our starter pack continues to grow as we connect with more IWP alumni on Bluesky. Thanks to everyone who's helped us spread the word and find those writers; we hope you'll consider giving them a follow.

Read @ranjithoskote.bsky.social on translating Mir.

New year, new presses and publishers added to this starter pack! And as always, let us know if you're a translation-centric press and we can add you to the list. go.bsky.app/RPkPdAM

MacDowell’s next Fellowship application period opens January 15, and our Admissions team is hosting a virtual application Q&A on January 23 at 2 p.m. EST. Please join us! Register here to attend: bit.ly/MacDowellQnA...

Disquiet has extended the submission deadline for the 2025 Disquiet Prize to January 10. Read the guidelines here: disquietinternational.org/the-program/...

now @uiiwp.bsky.social has joined Bluesky! Without them, I can’t imagine how I’d find the opportunity to work on translations from Finnish. Here, Reetta Pekkanen in Circumference. circumferencemag.com/emptiness-sp...

Today I’m reading Toh Enjoe’s “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire” (translated by Jocelyn Allen), compliments of @wwborders.bsky.social. Enjoe is a major voice in contemporary Japanese sci-fi.

You have just two days left to nominate work to the third edition of @deepvellum.bsky.social's Best Literary Translations anthology. Guidelines are here: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

We're building a starter pack featuring International Writing Program alumni. Please give these fine folks a follow and let us know where to find the many that we are missing. The list will grow as the international literary community on Bluesky grows. go.bsky.app/UVKkw71

Cooking your own food = more money for books. Ordering delivery = more time to read books. There's no losing

Congratulations to 2019 Fall Residency writer Arai Takako (Japan), who has been awarded the 2024 Ooka Makoto Prize for her most recent poetry collection. Our colleague Prof. Kendall Heitzman notes that the collection "makes use of dialects from her native Gunma Prefecture as well as northern Japan."

Follow our friends at the IWP!

It is the literary judgment of the International Writing Program (IWP) at the University of Iowa that bluesky "has the juice." We will be sharing content here more routinely in coming weeks and months. Please let folks know we're here so we can connect on this new platform!