ALAI (阿来)

A Lai
2013 Resident
  • Asia
  • Eastern Asia
  • China
Chinese

ALAI / 阿来 (fiction writer, poet; China) won the prestigious 2000 Mao Dun literary prize for his first novel, Chen ‘ai luoding, which  appeared in the U.S. as Red Poppies (2003, trans. Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Lin). His other novels include [The Silversmith Beneath the Moonlight] (2001), [Empty Mountain] (2005), [Ladder of the Earth] (2008) and, most recently, [King Gesar]. A Lai, who is of Tibetan ethnicity, has also published volumes of essays and interviews, and produced a number of scripts for television. He participates courtesy of The Paul and Hualing Engle Fund.  

File Writing sample

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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