Writers Protest Fed Crackdown On Iowa University Writing Program

Associated Press

11-03-2025

IOWA CITY, Iowa, March 10, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — In a letter delivered this week to Darren J. Beattie, a senior official at the US State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the acclaimed Todos Santos Writers Workshop (TSWW) decried the bureau's recent cancellation of federal grants to the International Writing Program (IWP) at the University of Iowa.
TSWW co-director Rex Weiner said 'Since 1967, over 1,600 writers from more than 160 countries have participated in the University of Iowa's renowned program. At home and abroad, IWP is a unique conduit for the world's literatures, and the administration's attack on this writing program is an attack on writers everywhere.'
IWP Director Christopher Merrill, who also serves as TSWW's poetry workshop instructor, said in a UI statement that while the 58-year partnership with the federal government has ended, the university remains dedicated to the program's mission to 'promote mutual understanding through creative writing and literature.'
The federal grant to IWP of nearly $1 million 'was roughly equal to what the writing program would have contributed to the U.S. economy next year,' according to the Iowa City Press-Citizen, noting the university's statement that 90% of funds associated with the IWP's federal grants are spent domestically, much of it in Iowa City, a UNESCO City of Literature.
TSWW co-director Jeanne McCulloch said, 'As an international creative writing program with workshops in Mexico, France, and online globally, TSWW will continue to work with Christopher Merrill to explore ways to help advance IWP's goals, and support writers around the world.'
About the Todos Santos Writers Workshop:
Now in its 13th year, the acclaimed Todos Santos Writers Workshop is a creative writing workshop with classes in fiction, memoir, and poetry based in the town of Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, MX, with its annual Todos Paris workshop upcoming May 18 – 24 in Paris, France.
Keywords: Education and Schools, Todos Santos Writers Workshop, University of Iowa,US State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, IOWA CITY, Iowa
Send2Press® Newswire. Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P124631 APNF0325A