Iowa City’s Literary Walk to get $70,000 expansion

Iowa City leaders have selected 40 more authors to immortalize on the city's downtown Literary Walk.

The writers include novelist Richard Yates, journalist Stephen Bloom and playwright Rebecca Gilman. Quotes from 20 of the authors will be cast into bronze and placed on public walkways in the north side of town. They join dozens of other authors who are highlighted on the Iowa Avenue portion of the literary walk, which was completed in 2001. (A complete list of the 40 new additions can be found here.)

More than 200 writers were nominated for consideration and a selection committee trimmed the list down to 40. All of the selected authors have some connection to Iowa - many of them went to the University of Iowa's Writer's Workshop. At least a handful of the new writers are still located in Eastern Iowa.

Local artists - one from Iowa City and two from nearby Kalona - will produce the metal pieces for Linn Street, between Jefferson and Bloomington Streets. The $70,000 project is supported by a grant from Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and is expected to be completed this summer.