Mallory Hellman

Mallory studied English and American Literature at Harvard, where she focused on creative writing and quickly became active in both the literary and civic communities. She co-founded Tuesday Magazine, a campus arts and letters publication, and served as editor-in-chief for two years. She also edited Let’s Go: Paris 2007, a budget travel guide published by St. Martin’s Press. While at Harvard, she served as Outreach Director for a student-run shelter for the unhoused and worked as a peer educator on intimate partner violence. She also joined advocacy efforts around prison abolition as a member of the Harvard Progressive Advocacy Group.

After graduating, Mallory joined the subsidiary rights department at Farrar, Straus and Giroux in New York, where she gained valuable insight into the publishing industry. But it was a writing workshop led by author James Alan McPherson that ultimately redirected her back toward creative work. She went on to earn an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she also began volunteering with the Iowa Youth Writing Project (IYWP)—a new initiative bringing free writing programs to K–12 students across the state.

Mallory became Director of the IYWP in 2015. Under her leadership, the organization has grown from a 20-volunteer group working in four local schools to a team of over 150 University of Iowa-based volunteers delivering programs that reach more than 20 schools across the state each year. In 2025, the IYWP’s Middle School Writing Conference welcomed more than 300 students from across Iowa, providing free, high-quality creative writing opportunities for young writers. In recognition of her work in community education and leadership, Mallory received the Bravo Award from the Coralville Chamber of Commerce.

Outside of her work with the IYWP, Mallory remains deeply engaged in Iowa’s creative and civic communities. She has taught writing at the University of Iowa, the Duke University Talent Identification Program, and in classrooms, shelters, and community centers throughout the Midwest. She is a founding member of the University of Iowa’s Anne Frank Initiative, which advocates for refugee rights and provides inclusive arts and education programming. She is also serving her second term on the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Staff Council, where she was recently elected Secretary.

She’s also an active participant in Iowa City civic life, serving as a caucus captain, contributing to the Iowa Democratic Party Platform Committee, and showing up at school board and county meetings. When she’s not teaching or writing, Mallory can usually be found at home with her cat Artemis, welcoming friends with music and a cup of tea.