Iowa Writers’ Workshop alumna named finalist for National Book Award

Poet Brenda Hillman, who earned an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1976, is a 2026 finalist for the prestigious National Book Award.

Hillman, professor emerita at St. Mary's College in Moraga, California, is being considered in the poetry category for Still House in the Desert: An Eco-Contemplation, a collection from Wesleyan University Press. The book includes meditations on time, space, and objects in houses.

"For decades, Brenda Hillman has sharpened her brilliance on the blinding edge of poetic invention," says Lan Samantha Chang, director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. "During her many semesters as a member of Iowa's distinguished visiting faculty, she has also been a beloved mentor and teacher to a generation of poets."

Hillman, who founded the MFA program in creative writing at St. Mary's College, is the author of numerous poetry collections, including Seasonal Works with Letters on Fire, which was longlisted for the National Book Award in 2013, and Extra Hidden Life, Among the Days, winner of the Northern California Book Award. She is director of the poetry program at the Community of Writers in Olympic Valley, California.

Winners of the National Book Award competition, which is administered by the National Book Foundation, will be announced Nov. 18.

Since its founding in 1936, the Iowa Writers' Workshop has been home to thousands of remarkable writers, including winners of virtually every major literary award.