Come to a movie, hang with writers and readers
“Storm Lake” documentary is part of an event for Iowa Writers Collaborative subscribers
Subscriptions are what keep the Iowa Writers Collaborative growing and thriving, and I appreciate the financial support I get from paid subscribers to The Crossover and the supportive interest from free subscribers. In fact, this was the summer I was going to offer a few cool perks to paid Crossover subscribers but getting DOGEd, having to get a new job (which I love) and then crashing my bike and messing myself up a bit have conspired to complicate my summer.
Even so, paid subscribers to The Crossover or any of the Collaborative’s 70-plus writers have the opportunity to attend a free event in Winterset on July 26. The Collaborative’s winter party was sadly canceled because of an ice storm and presumably that will not happen this time.
The day includes a screening of the beautiful documentary “Storm Lake” at Winterset’s historic Iowa Theater. The film is about how Art Cullen and his family struggle to survive and thrive as a small-town, independent newspaper serving the northwest Iowa town. Cullen has received national attention for his journalism; he won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing and has written two books: “Storm Lake: A Chronicle of Change, Resilience, and Hope from a Smalltown Newspaper,” and the forthcoming “Dear Marty, We Crapped In Our Nest: Notes from the Edge of the World.”
I wrote about the film and spoke with its filmmakers when it made its PBS debut in 2021. And while I was always familiar with Art and his work, I got to know him and spent some time in Storm Lake when I wrote a profile of Art in 2018. Both stories were for the excellent independent nonprofit newspaper Isthmus in Madison, Wis., where I was living at the time. The Isthmus story about Art, which also looks at small-town, independent journalism in Wisconsin, was timed to promote a stop on his book tour and it earned a Milwaukee Press Club award for best profile. I appreciated that but let’s face it, Art is good copy and it’s hard not write a good story about the guy.
Art will be at the event. Here’s the schedule for the day:
Saturday, July 26
3 to 5 pm: Private screening of "Storm Lake" documentary film at the Iowa Theater, free to IWC writers and all paid subscribers, followed by Q&A with Art Cullen, moderated by Julie Gammack and me. Free popcorn, paid concessions. (Non-paid subscribers and members of the public can attend for $20.)
5:30 to 7 pm: There will also be an after-party. Appetizers with a cash bar will be served at The Winterset Livery (an event space in a former horse livery, just off the town’s square). Non-paid IWC subscribers who paid to attend the movie are also welcome to attend the after-party.
Again, you don’t have to be a paid subscriber solely to The Crossover. Maybe you get your dining news from Wini Moranville. Maybe you get political news from Laura Belin or Rekha Basu. Maybe you already support and subscribe to Art Cullen’s work. Maybe you subscribe to read Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger’s wanderings or subscribe to see what the heck John Naughton is wearing these days.
It should be a lively group of people who care deeply about our state and the state of journalism, the written word and information. Hope to see you there and if you are there, please say hello.
Chat with author of new Caitlin Clark book
At noon today (July 7), Iowa Writers Collaborative founder and organizer Julie Gammack will host a Zoom chat with author Christine Brennan, who has a new book, “On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports.” The book tracks the former Iowa superstar’s rookie season last year with the WNBA’s Indiana Fever and the fervor that came before, during and after. Brennan is a USA Today columnist and has been covering and providing commentary on sports for more than 40 years.
Brennan’s book tour will take her to three Iowa locations: Alluvial Brewing in Ames on July 14, Beaverdale Books in Des Moines on July 15 and July 16 at the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame, where she’ll be joined by former Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder and current Iowa women’s basketball coach Jan Jensen.
To join today’s Zoom chat, click here. The conversation will be posted afterward on Julie’s Substack, Julie Gammack and Guests.
Jane Burns is a former sports and features writer for the Des Moines Register, as well as other publications and websites. She’s a past winner of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s Mel Greenberg Award for her coverage of women’s basketball. Over the course of her career, she’s covered pretty much everything, which is why her as-yet-to-be-written memoir will be called “Cheese and Basketball: Stories From a Reporter Who Has Covered Everything.”
I’m happy to join fellow Iowa writers and journalists as part of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. The collaborative is more than 70 writers throughout the state - likely some familiar names to longtime Iowa readers - publishing on topics ranging from politics to food to sports and so much more. With a subscription to this newsletter, readers get two weekly compilations of stories: a news roundup on Sundays, and The Flipside, a feature-filled newsletter that arrives on Wednesdays.
Meet the writers here, and see for yourself the great variety the collaborative offers.