Hello there!

There is so much to do (and not do) these days, and our collective bandwidths are being strained in enormous ways. At the University of Iowa, we love our writers, our programs, we love our graduates and our students -- and we love the wealth of literature that they gift us, simply by being here.

We have created "5 Reads for Friday" as an easy, laid-back series, compiling a short list of inspirational, helpful and fun treasures from our family to yours. Enjoy what you find, take what you need, and be well.

5 READS FOR FRIDAY

Friday, April 10, 2020

• Hey Iowa, What Should I Read?: We've got you! 10 Suggestions from the International Writing Program
  
  Fantastic work by IWP Residents and contributors, including Fujino Kaori, Gina Cole, Alice Pung, Tade Ipadeola, Birgul Oguz and more!
  
   
• From our Free Online Courses: How Writers Write Fiction - Storied Women MOOC-Pack
  
  English Version: How Writers Write Fiction - Storied Women MOOC-Pack
  Spanish Version: Cómo los escritores escriben ficción: Mujeres en la narración MOOC-Pack
  Arabic Version: كيف تكتب الكاتبات القصص: نساء حاكيات
  حزمة الدورة المفتوحة على الانترنت MOOC
  
  This MOOC-Pack will lead you through a progressive study of how authors from around the world approach each aspect of writing fiction, from voice and dialogue to plot and narrative structure. Free and ready to use right out of the box!
  
   
• From the Iowa Review: D. A. Powell: See You Later
  
  "The virus, your gentleman caller, pays his vulgar respects. We’ll work from / a composite sketch."
  
   

• From the University of Iowa Press: Just Checking in, with author Paula Becker
  
  Author Paula Becker chats with the UI Press about her new daily routine, and her quarantine book suggestions: "Betty MacDonald, especially The Plague and I and Anybody Can Do Anything ... Timothy Eagan, A Pilgrimage to Eternity, The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters, ed. by Charlotte Mosley. My #1 desert island book."
   

• Iowa News: Ana Merino wins the Premio Nadal for 'El mapa de los afectos'
  
  A look back at how Ana Merino, University of Iowa professor in the Spanish Creative Writing MFA, won the Premio Nadal this year, one of the oldest and most prestigious awards in Spanish literature, for her first novel, El mapa de los afectos! 

And that's it!
We hope you enjoy. And check back each week for a new list!

^{Photos by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash, and Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash}