Authors Audition for Prestigious Directorship

Posted on February 7, 2005

Four authors are in the final stages of auditions at the University of Iowa's acclaimed Writer's Workshop. The four finalists competing for the prestigious directorship are Richard Bausch, Jim Shepard, Lan Samantha Chang and Ben Marcus. The winner will replace Frank Conroy who decided to step down as director after heading the workshop since 1987.

The Workshop is well-known for its distinguished literary visitors and instructors, which have included Robert Frost, Ian McEwan, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and Louise Gluck. Bausch, author of Hello to the Cannibals, told the Associated Press, "In the world of writing and writing programs, to be asked to apply for this directorship is like being asked to do The Tonight Show in the entertainment business."