Brenda Navarro at the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa

Mexican-Spanish author Brenda Navarro joins The International Writing Program at the University of Iowa for the 2023 edition of it annual residency.

The International Writing Program (IWP) is a conduit for the world’s literatures, connecting well-established writers from around the globe, bringing international literature into classrooms, introducing American writers to other cultures through reading tours, and serving as a clearinghouse for literary news and a wealth of archival and pedagogical materials. Since 1967, over 1500 writers from more than 150 countries have been in residence at the University of Iowa.

The Residency, which usually runs from late August to mid-November, is designed for established and emerging creative writers —poets, fiction writers, dramatists, and nonfiction writers. The Residency provides writers with time, in a setting congenial to their efforts, for the production of literary work. It also introduces them to the social and cultural fabrics of the United States, enables them to take part in American university life, and creates opportunities for them to contribute to literature courses both at the University of Iowa and across the country.

As part of the residency, Brenda Navarro will participate in a mix of recurring weekly events and special one-time engagements, such as weekly Shambaugh House readings on Fridays, weekly readings at Prairie Lights Books on Sundays, weekly “Cinematheque” screenings on Sundays, weekly community kitchen days for the writers, opportunities to speak to students in the International Literature Today class, and a variety of cultural excursions and one-off events such as:

• September 1: Reading in the historic Shambaugh House by Brenda Navarro (Spain) and Maricela Guerrero (Mexico)
• October 18: IWP Infinite Dream Panel (part of the Infinite Dream festival)
• October 20: Panel conversation with Brenda Navarro (Spain), Guru Ladakhi (India), and Artur Domosławski (Poland) – “Must a Migrant Be Grateful?”
• November 3: Images of America panel discussion – Residency writers discuss their time in and impressions of the U.S.

About the artist

Fiction writer and editor Brenda Navarro is the author of the novels Casas Vacías, published in English as Empty Houses (2021), which won Spain’s Tigre Juan Award in 2020, and Ceniza en la boca (Mouth Full of Ash), the recipient of the 2022 Best Book of Fiction awarded by Spanish booksellers and placing on the 2023 Premio Vargas Llosa shortlist.

She’s currently working on fiction “about language and borders within the US-Mexico space of war.” Her participation is courtesy of the Embassy of Spain in Washington D.C. and a gift from the estate of W.B. Quarton.