In order to open a dialogue between emerging writers in Ireland and the U.S., and to learn more about the writing life in these respective countries, the International Writing Program and the Writing University website presented a Live Discussion featuring two accomplished American writers and Iowa Writers' Workshop graduates whose “day jobs” have taken them outside the traditional university setting. These writers were be available for an hour-long, on-line chat during which they answered questions on the above topic from students, readers, and writers in Ireland.

This Live Discussion took place on Tuesday, May 25. Read an archive of the discussion here:
Edan Lepucki and Kristin Hatch.

The American participants included UI alumni Edan Lepucki and Kristin Hatch.

Kristin Hatch is a graduate of the Writers’ Workshop in poetry. Recent poems have been published in FENCE, Lo Ball, Black Warrior Review, and elsewhere. She currently lives in San Francisco, where she is a grants and membership coordinator at Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Edan Lepucki is a graduate of the Workshop in fiction and winner of a 2009 James D. Phelan Award from the Intersection for the Arts and the San Francisco Foundation. her recent work has been published in Cutbank, LA Times Magazine, and Meridian. She currently lives in L.A., where she founded and runs the L.A. Writing Workshops. She is also a regular contributor to The Millions blog.