Months after the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program was forced to make drastic cuts following the loss of its federal funding, two other writing programs on the UI campus are coming to an end. The UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) announced Monday the Iowa Summer Writing Festival and the Iowa Youth Writing Project will not continue in 2026.
The two announcements were brief. In both cases, “ongoing funding challenges” were blamed for the “difficult decision” to end the programs.
The Iowa Summer Writing Festival has welcomed writers to Iowa City since 1987. Anyone can register for and participate in weeklong workshops led by UI instructors and published authors across a range of genres and formats: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, screenwriting, humor writing, travel writing, children’s lit, memoirs and much more. The 2025 festival included roughly 70 workshops over six weeks, wrapping up on July 25.
After 15 years — including 13 within the UI’s own Magid Center for Writing — the nonprofit Iowa Youth Writing Project (IYWP) will cease to exist on Dec. 31.
IYWP “empowers, inspires, and engages K-12 youth throughout the state using language arts and creative thinking,” according to its website. Published writers, including Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduates and instructors, work with kids in schools and community centers throughout the year to hone their abilities and confidence as writers, even offering publishing opportunities.
Most IYWP programs are free, supported by donors, volunteers and interns. Others charge a fee, including the relaunched Writers Unbound End-of-Summer Writing Camp for ages 11-14, which kicked off Monday — shortly before the announcement IYWP would be coming to an end.
The camp, taught by recent Workshop graduate Camila Urioste, cost $250. “For five days, campers will engage in generative creative writing activities, craft talks and lessons on fiction, poetry, plays and screenplays, as well as venture out of the classroom for generative writing activities in University of Iowa museums and parks,” reads the description for Writers Unbound.
In 2012, UI CLAS and the Magid Center for Writing received a Better Futures for Iowans grant to expand their youth outreach and offer undergraduate internship opportunities in writing-related fields. As a result, IYWP was incorporated into the Magid Center, “nestled among other high-quality interdisciplinary writing opportunities for UI undergraduates,” according to its website.
Little Village reached out to IYWP Director Mallory Hellman, but did not receive a response as of print time. Reactions to Monday’s news from the Iowa City and UI community online have included shock, disappointment and disgust. Dozens of former Iowa Summer Writing Festival participants have shared memories of past workshops in the comment section of the announcement on Facebook.
“Bad news. We got DOGE-ed today,” posted Amy Margolis, director of the Iowa Summer Writing Festival. She clarified that she did not write CLAS’s announcement. “My announcement will appear on a blimp. Look up.
“This program has been my home for 35 years,” she continued. “I love you all.”
The Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature organization posted their own reaction to the news.
“The Iowa Youth Writing Project and the Iowa Summer Writing Festival have been cornerstones of our City of Literature for years, each nurturing and supporting the writers who will continue to make this the best place in the world for the written word,” it reads. “We thank those who have worked tirelessly to make them such valuable institutions in our community.”
