On the Map 2021: Interview with Salha OBAID, UAE

Programs: 
IWP Residency: On the Map
Country: 
UAE
Genres: 
Interview
Tags: 
Writer; Writing; IWP; International

Salha OBAID (fiction; UAE) published her first story collection, [Alzheimer],in 2010; it was followed by [Postman of Happiness] (2012) and [iPad of Life in the Manner of Zorba] (2014); the collection [An Implicitly White Lock of Hair] (2015) won the 2016 Al Owais Award for Creative Writing. Her first novel [Maybe It’s a Joke] appeared in 2018. A member of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority Council and of the Association of Emirati Women Writers, in 2017 she was awarded the Young Emiratis Prize. Her participation was made possible by a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

"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. For additional private support, see final credits.

Year: 
2021

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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