Written by: Deborah Kirk
The University of Iowa is nationally recognized as The Writing University for its significant contributions to American literature. The College of Law proudly shares in this legacy, upholding a long-standing commitment to excellence in writing and communication. While Iowa Law alumni have worked hard to become expert legal writers, some have also made their mark publishing works of creative writing. Meet two faculty and four alumni who are gaining attention for their literary artistry.
Faculty
Samantha Barbas, the Aliber Family Chair in Law, is a prominent scholar specializing in legal and media history and the author of seven full-length books. Her most recent work, Actual Malice: Civil Rights and Freedom of the Press in New York Times v. Sullivan (University of California Press, 2023), brings fresh insights to New York Times v. Sullivan, the historic 1964 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that provided key protections for news organizations against libel lawsuits. The New Yorker, which named Actual Malice one of the best books of 2023, wrote that the “heroic narrative in which the litigation helped vanquish segregationists serves to underscore what Barbas calls the ‘centrality of freedom of speech to democracy.’”
“Of course, Sullivan is an important free speech case, but I wanted to demonstrate that we would not have those protections had the civil rights movement not been involved,” Barbas said. “There are still heated debates over issues of free speech today, and I feel fortunate that my book came out at a time when there’s a public conversation about this subject. To play a role in that debate is really exciting for a scholar.”
Actual Malice follows Barbas’s 2021 book, The Rise and Fall of Morris Ernst: Free Speech Renegade (University of Chicago Press), in tracing the origins of free speech protections. Ernst, the longtime general counsel for the ACLU, fought tirelessly against censorship, successfully defending James Joyce’s Ulysses against obscenity charges, among other victories.
“Ernst was involved in so many of the free speech battles that created Supreme Court precedents,” Barbas said. “I hope readers will take away how hard we had to fight and see how a lot of the challenges we face today really are not that new.”
Jill Wieber Lens, the Dorothy M. Willie Professor in Excellence, joined the faculty in 2024. A renowned expert on reproductive justice, she is the author of Stillbirth and the Law (University of California Press, 2025), a look at the often-neglected public health crisis of stillbirth. Drawing upon her personal experience—she gave birth to her stillborn son, Caleb, in 2017—and her legal expertise, Lens examines inconsistencies in how the law treats unborn life and inhibits prevention of stillbirth. “We need a more holistic idea of reproductive health,” Lens said, “and I hope my book will help introduce pregnancy loss into the common narrative as well as the legal narrative.”
Alumni
In A Natural History of Empty Lots (Timber Press, 2024), Christopher Brown (91JD) takes readers on an eye-opening journey through what he calls “urban wilderness areas and pockets of interstitial nature.” A practicing attorney, published novelist, and chronicler of urban nature, Brown examines how wild flora and fauna continue to exist in places “marred by human industry” and gives insights into the importance of rewilding human communities in the future. “An astute observer and deep thinker, Brown celebrates edgelands and ‘nature’s resiliency’ even as he states that the wild is ‘mostly losing’ the battle against voracious human consumption,” wrote a reviewer for Booklist, adding that the book is “a vivid, many-faceted, and provocative ecological inquiry.”
Neil D. Hamilton (79JD), emeritus professor of law and former director of the Agricultural Law Center at Drake University in Des Moines, explores our complex relationship with water in his latest book, The River Knows: How Water and Land Will Shape Our Future (Ice Cube Press, 2023). Hamilton looks at how rivers—in particular, Iowa’s Raccoon River—are at the heart of both our ecological challenges and humanity’s hope for a greener future. In The River Knows, Hamilton invites readers to learn the many mysteries that rivers have to teach us. “I hope this book encourages people to ask questions about the environmental issues we face while still seeing how we can be optimistic,” Hamilton said. The author’s next book, Through Nature’s Lens, is due to be published later this fall.
In his latest book, law professor and former rocket scientist Ozan Varol (07JD) encourages readers to “escape conformity, ignite creativity, and become extraordinary.” The book, Awaken Your Genius (PublicAffairs, 2023), distills the lessons Varol learned along his own multifaceted career path, which included studying astrophysics, working on the Mars Exploration Rovers, attending Iowa Law, teaching at Lewis and Clark Law School, and publishing 2020’s Think Like a Rocket Scientist. Awaken Your Genius is a “lighthearted guide to boosting creativity by looking within,” wrote Publishers Weekly, adding that “readers who feel stuck in a rut will find this a boon.”
The Hon. C.J. Williams (88JD), chief judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, recently published A Monster in Mount Pleasant (Genius Books, 2025), a true crime novel about a young woman and her mother who were murdered in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, in 1978. Williams was a high school classmate of the young murder victim and a friend of her family; he was also acquainted with the man ultimately convicted of the murders. “These murders, which were a shock to our community, were a big factor in my decision to pursue a career in criminal law,” said Williams. “This case really prompted my interest in seeing justice served, and I finally decided to write this book as a way of putting the case to rest.” After graduating from Iowa Law, Williams became a federal prosecutor and subsequently a judge. He has been an adjunct professor at Iowa Law since 2001.