On the Map 2016: Khaled ALKHAMISSI (Egypt)

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"On the Map" is a series of interviews with writers while they are in Iowa City participating in the International Writing Program's fall residency. The series is produced by the IWP at the University of Iowa and is made possible by a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

Khaled Alkhamissi خالد الخمیسي  is the founder and president of the Quena storytelling festival and the Mansoura literary festival.  His 2007 collection Taxi: Cabbie Talk has been translated into 21 languages, including English; his novel [Noah’s Ark] appeared in 2009, and was followed, in 2014, by the non-fiction 2011. He is extensively involved in organizing public events to promote Arab and Egyptian literatures, cinemas, and culture. His participation is made possible by the Paul and Hualing Engle Fund.

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Happening Now

  • In addition to becoming the Berlin LitFest’s first curator-in-residence, Helon Habila has also just received Kaduna Books and Art Festival’s KabaFest Lifetime Achievement Award, celebrating his "exceptional writing and significant contributions to the development of literature globally."

  • Congratulations to Enah Johnscott, whose film Half Heaven won three awards at the Cameroon International Film Festival—best film, best director, and best cinematographer.

  • We regret the passing, on April 11, 2024, of the distinguished Romanian author and critic Dan Cristea, who served as the editor in chief of the Luceafărul de Dimineață cultural monthly. In addition to being an alum of the 1985 Fall Residency, Cristea received his PhD in Comparative Literature at the University of Iowa.

  • Our congratulations to 1986 Fall Residency writer Kwame Dawes, who has been named the new poet laureate of Jamaica.

  • Congratulations to our colleagues Jennifer Croft and Aron Aji, who are among those serving as judges for the National Book Awards this year, in their case in the category of translated literature.

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