Is Iowa City a City of Literature for all ages? The Iowa Youth Writing Project (IYWP), a community-based program, hopes to address just that.

“As someone who does not inherently enjoy writing, I was very much hesitant to enroll in Writing and Community Outreach,” honors student Josh Hutton admits. He goes on to say, “My hesitations were quickly dismissed, however, because the class was much more than that.”

Amid COVID-19 self isolation and social-distancing measures, the Iowa Youth Writing Project has halted a majority of its routine programs and services. As the organization transitions to a virtual format, its focus is on inspiring a sense of creativity among K-12 students in Iowa.

Writing could save your life. That's Emily Spencer's hope, at least, and the thinking behind a writing and wellness program aimed at teen and young adult suicide prevention.

The Big Ten Network recently published an article and began airing a commercial about the Iowa Youth Writing Project, part of the MAGID Center for Undergraduate Writing. The IYWP does great work in our community, helping K-12 students find their voices through creative writing.

Adam is twelve years old, but he already understands the benefits of bilingualism. For dozens of Spanish-speaking children in Iowa City, however, Spanish continues to be a private language, used only with family. Many of them understand it, but they almost can’t speak it. The good thing is that in IC there are opportunities for children to practice their Spanish away from home. The Iowa Youth Writing Project, a nonprofit organization founded in 2010 by graduate students from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, provides some of these opportunities.

Before Lena Dunham took the stage at the Englert for her sold-out book tour event on Tuesday, the writer and creator of HBO’s Girls was meeting with a select group of Iowa City writers: twelve aspiring student writers from Tate High School.

Read the "Wavy World" story by Madilyn, a student at Horace Mann Elementary, courtesy of the Iowa Youth Writing Program (IYWP).