Are you ready to share your research with the world?
Building on the University of Iowa’s (UI) national reputation as the Writing University, the Writing for the Public Good initiative seeks to support and expand the strengths of faculty writers across all disciplines and departments to share UI research and scholarship with Iowa, the nation, and the world.
Writing for the Public Good offers a variety of skills-based workshops to position faculty researchers and scholars to write essays, op-eds, and research-informed journalistic essays for broad, public audiences.
Recommend a faculty member for Writing for the Public Good
If you know a faculty member who would be a good fit for a Writing for the Public Good program, please let us know. Self-nominations are welcome!
Workshops and Programs
Pitching Workshops for The Conversation
Kristy Nabhan-Warren, associate vice president for research, is available to lead one-hour workshops for small groups of researchers and scholars about how to publish with The Conversation and craft a successful pitch for their editors.
To invite Kristy to an upcoming departmental or center meeting, reach out to kristy-nabhan-warren@uiowa.edu.
Communicating Ideas Workshop
The Communicating Ideas workshop is held once annually for a small, interdisciplinary group of 9-10 faculty researchers and scholars. Throughout the half-day program, which includes short presentations, a panel of journalists, and one-on-one coaching, participants gather insights about communicating their research to individuals outside of their discipline. Contact casey-westlake@uiowa.edu to learn more.
End-of-Year Writing Retreat
This in-person writing retreat will be held in Spring 2026. The retreat will enable scholars to make progress on book manuscripts, articles, and grant applications. Daily catered lunches will provide an opportunity for exchange and discussion with other writers across campus. Fifteen participants will be accepted by competitive application.
Editor-in-Residence
This program connects UI faculty and graduate student researchers with university press editors. In Fall 2025, join Editor-in-Residence Sara Jo Cohen, editorial director at University of Michigan Press, for a faculty book proposal workshop, an interactive graduate student session, and a public lecture.
Wide Lens
The Wide Lens series aims to inspire and connect the University of Iowa community across the disciplines.
For each Wide Lens event, researchers, scholars, and artists from across the university briefly present their work on a shared topic of interest PechaKucha–style. Then, we open the floor to questions and conviviality over hors d'oeuvres and drinks.
Series events are free and open to all.
The Conversation
The Conversation is an independent news organization dedicated to unlocking the knowledge of academic experts for the public good. With a monthly readership of 20 million, The Conversation expertly shares a scholar’s expertise far beyond the borders of our state. Articles are geared toward the general public and republished by major news outlets, which can generate thousands of views across multiple platforms.
Through our institutional membership, faculty receive personalized assistance from an editor to translate their work for a general audience.
“In terms of eyeballs per hour of work, it was the highest ratio of anything I've done.”
“Working with the Conversation was a great opportunity to share my research with a nationwide audience and resulted in additional interest from news outlets across the country. The Conversation staff was incredibly helpful in preparing and publishing my piece and I would recommend working with them to anyone interested in promoting their work.”
View Conversation articles published by University of Iowa researchers
Iowa Researchers Featured in The Conversation
The UN is reinventing peacekeeping – Haiti is the testing ground
Back pain during pregnancy is often dismissed as a passing discomfort − a nurse explains why it should be taken seriously and treated
Water bears survive cosmic radiation with one DNA-protecting protein – learning how could boost human resilience, too
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