Iowa Writers Workshop

Cover of Private Citizen side by side.
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Origin Story: Tony Tulathimutte’s Private Citizens

Tony Tulathimutte’s debut novel, Private Citizens, charts the spectacular floundering of four recent college graduates. His eye is so sharp, his characters so recognizable, and his truth so pitiless that I sometimes had to close the book, as if he might read my soul through its pages. This is one of the most provocatively intelligent…

Literary Enemies: Marilynne Robinson vs. Flannery O’Connor
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Literary Enemies: Marilynne Robinson vs. Flannery O’Connor

Literary Enemies: Flannery O’Connor vs. Marilynne Robinson Disclaimer: Marilynne Robinson has no enemies. I hope you’ve never compared Marilynne Robinson to Flannery O’Connor, but I can see how you might have been tempted. There’s Iowa, first of all, and if it weren’t a proper noun I would have capitalized it anyway. Flannery O’Connor studied at…

Ten writers to watch for. No, seriously, watch the hell out for these writers.

Ten writers to watch for. No, seriously, watch the hell out for these writers.

There are writers to watch for, and then there are writers to watch out for. A sampling of the latter, for your safety: 10) Jack Hogue is a great guy, but if you listen to him for more than five minutes, you’ll believe the publishing world, if not the world itself, has come to an…