JK Rowling

Date: December 9, 2015, 12:00 pm
Location: Welcome Center (first floor of the IMU)

A large letter-writing campaign started by the Iowa City community has caught the attention of J.K. Rowling. And though the beloved author won’t be speaking at the University of Iowa anytime soon, organizers say the outreach will continue.

According to a representative of Rowling, “She is regretfully turning down all invitations in order to prioritize her writing.” But in addition to the news, the University of Iowa Lecture Committee (ULC) received 500 letters from Rowling in response to those sent as part of the campaign started by the ULC last spring to bring her to campus to speak.

“We were informed that it was an extraordinary feat to collect 500 individual letters and that Ms. Rowling was touched,” says Carter Bell, chair of the ULC. “However, we in Iowa City are regretfully turning down all rejections and not giving up!”

The ULC is hosting a letter pick-up on Wednesday, Dec. 9, from noon-7:00 p.m. at the Welcome Center desk on the first floor of the Iowa Memorial Union. The envelopes are addressed in the manner letters were signed. The ULC will also have a camera available so anyone interested can record a video message inviting Rowling to campus, which will be shared with her in the coming months.

“We plan to continue to showcase all that is great about Iowa City and the UI to Ms. Rowling and invite her to campus in new and interesting ways,” says Bell. “We’re also excited to continue our campaign and partnerships with the local libraries, schools, and more.”

 

 To stay involved with the campaign in the coming months, please email lecture-committee@uiowa.edu.

For media-related questions, please email ULC chair Carter Bell at carter-bell@uiowa.edu