Editing Iowa Writers' Workshop (section)

== Reputation and influence ==
In 1986, during the 50th anniversary of the Workshop, ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote: "At 50, the Iowa workshop is something of a dowager, standing unshakably in the mainstream of our literary life."<ref name=nyt86 />

In 2019, five graduates won [[Guggenheim Fellowships]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Riehl |first1=John |title=IWP's Merrill awarded Guggenheim Fellowship |url=https://now.uiowa.edu/2019/04/iwps-merrill-awarded-guggenheim-fellowship |website=Iowa Now|publisher=The University of Iowa|date=April 16, 2019 |access-date=July 17, 2023}}</ref> In April 2021, the [[American Academy of Arts and Letters]] recognized seven graduates and former faculty: five graduates and a former visiting faculty member received awards, and an alumna was elected to membership. In response to the news, Chang said: <blockquote>The graduates being distinguished by the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2021 came to the Iowa Writers' Workshop over a period of more than four decades. This reflects the strength and longevity of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and creative writing at Iowa.<ref>{{cite web |title=Seven writers with Iowa ties earn prestigious literary honors |url=https://writersworkshop.uiowa.edu/news/2021/04/seven-writers-iowa-ties-earn-prestigious-literary-honors |publisher=Writers' Workshop: University of Iowa|date=April 21, 2021 |access-date=June 14, 2023}}</ref></blockquote>

Graduates have gone on to become directors of other notable creative writing MFA programs, including [[Wallace Stegner]] at [[Stanford University]], [[Eileen Pollack]] at the [[University of Michigan]], [[Vance Bourjaily]] at [[Louisiana State University]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Weber |first1=Bruce |title=Vance Bourjaily, Novelist Exploring Postwar America, Dies at 87 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/03/arts/03bourjaily.html |website=The New York Times|date=September 3, 2010 |access-date=July 17, 2023}}</ref> [[Bret Anthony Johnston]] at the [[University of Texas, Austin]]'s [[Michener Center for Writers|Michener Center]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fedorko |first1=Rebecca |title=The University of Texas taps Bret Johnston to serve as director of the Michener Center for Writers |url=https://communityimpact.com/austin/education/2017/07/19/university-texas-elects-bret-johnston-director-michener-center-for-writers/ |website=Community Impact |date=July 19, 2017 |access-date=July 17, 2023}}</ref> and [[Adam Haslett]] at [[The City University of New York]]'s [[Hunter College]]. They have also become top editors at major publishers. These include [[Haki R. Madhubuti]], founder of [[Third World Press]]; [[Jill Bialosky]], executive editor and vice president at [[W. W. Norton & Company]]; and Thomas Gebremedhin, vice president and executive editor of [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]].<ref>{{cite web |title=My Path to Penguin Random House: Doubleday's Thomas Gebremedhin |url=https://global.penguinrandomhouse.com/announcements/my-path-to-penguin-random-house-doubledays-thomas-gebremedhin/ |publisher=Penguin Random House |access-date=July 17, 2023}}</ref> Among them have also been editors of major publications, including [[D. Herbert Lipson]] of ''[[Ebony (magazine)|Ebony]]'', and curators, such as Christine Kuan, former CEO and director of [[Sotheby]]'s Institute of Art New York.

On the [[HBO]] show ''[[Girls (TV Series)|Girls]]'', the character Hannah Horvath enrolls in the Iowa Writers' Workshop.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kachka |first1=Boris |title=What ''Girls'' Got Wrong (and Right!) About the Iowa Writers' Workshop |url=https://www.vulture.com/2015/01/what-girls-got-wrong-about-iowas-mfa-program.html |website=Vulture |date=January 19, 2015|access-date=June 14, 2023}}</ref>