Author Marilynne Robinson Looks Back on Her Iowa Influence

PHOTO: ALEC SOTH/MAGNUM PHOTOS UI Distinguished Alumni Award faculty honoree Marilynne Robinson

Some of America’s greatest novelists have received the University of Iowa’s Distinguished Alumni Award, including Gail Godwin (68MA, 71PhD), John Irving (67MFA), and Jane Smiley (75MA, 76MFA, 79PhD).

This fall, another acclaimed author joins their ranks. Iowa Writers’ Workshop professor emerita Marilynne Robinson (17LHD) headlines a class of six honorees set to receive the UI’s top honor for alumni, faculty, and friends of the university.

Iowa Magazine recently caught up with Robinson—best known for her celebrated novels set in the fictional town of Gilead, Iowa—for a Q&A ahead of her return to Iowa City for the Oct. 29 award ceremony.

You’ve received many honors; what makes the UI’s Distinguished Alumni Award meaningful?

I taught at Iowa for many years. I did a lot of my writing here. The place and the people were wonderful. Iowa City is a great town. And I liked being part of a great big public university, where things can be done at the highest level without pretension. I hope the award gives me a chance to tell Iowans again what a fine institution they have made, over many generations.

Where do you call home these days, and what do you miss about Iowa City?

I divide the year between upstate New York and rural California. Home is where my grandchildren are. But I do miss that atmosphere of Iowa City well-being. People there know they are part of a very good thing.

What has life looked like since retiring from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop?

I’m not good at retirement. I just keep working—writing, lecturing, and so on.

What first brought you to Iowa, and what led you to stay for 25 years?

I was offered a two-year appointment. And I found that Iowa was a good place for me. It has a beautiful, generous history that was important to my fiction.

Looking back, what are you most proud of from your time at the workshop?

I still feel proud when a workshop graduate does something amazing, as they do fairly often. I feel proud even though it’s a long time since I worked with any of them.

How did working with students shape your own writing?

It kept me aware of issues like voice and characterization—always good things to be reminded of. I benefited from their criticisms of one another’s work.

Are you working on any projects readers can look forward to?

I hope so.

Meet the 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award Winners

For more than six decades, the University of Iowa has honored its most accomplished graduates, faculty, staff, and friends with the Distinguished Alumni Awards—the university’s highest alumni honor. This fall, six exceptional Hawkeyes will join the distinguished ranks of recipients whose achievements and service have made an impact far beyond Iowa City.