was born in Liverpool and immigrated to New Zealand in 1971. Her books include Alex and Josie, The Problem Cat, The South Pacific, A Hairy Tale, and Muffin Magic which is part of the Kiwi Bites series, as well as six non-fiction titles. Her work has appeared in the New Zealand School Journal and Connected Journal, The School Magazine (Australia), and in Comet, Explore and Challenge. She has worked as a children's librarian and children's services coordinator, a writing workshop tutor, a book sales rep, and is a regular book reviewer. She participates courtesy of Creative New Zealand.
2009 Resident
children's author, fiction writer
has published a novel, four short story collections and three collections of children’s stories. The novels [‘The Unpublished Eventful Journeys of Teofilus Jones’] and [‘ Miguel Luna Against the Aliens’]are forthcoming. His short story collection Postales sub sole won the 2006 Pocaterra Latin American Literature Biennial’s Novel Prize, and the story collection Moon Rocks was recognizedin the 2007 José Antonio Ramos Sucre Literary Biennial. He has written for HBO and Cinemax, and contributes to magazines and newspapers in Venezuela. Santaella is the Creative Writing Workshop coordinator at UNIMET in Caracas. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State.
2010 Resident
children's author, fiction writer
(children’s novelist; New Zealand) has written 27 novels for children and young adults, published in twelve countries and in seven languages. Recent titles include Duet, The River Runs, and Fire on High. Winner of numerous awards, Hill has also published several plays for teenagers, short stories, plays, and poetry for children in magazines, anthologies, and on radio. His short stories have appeared in The Listener, Landfall, Takahe, Bravado, and are anthologized in The New Zealand Book of the Beach 2 and The Best New Zealand Fiction 5. He writes book reviews and a column for the Listener. He also writes book reviews, and a column for the Listener. His participation is provided courtesy of Creative New Zealand.
2010 Resident
children's author, fiction writer, poet
, from San Pablo City, is the author of two books of poetry, Pag-aabang sa Kundiman: Isang Tulambuhay [Waiting at Kundiman: A Biopoetics] (2006) and Isa Na Namang Pagtingala sa Buwan [One More View of the Moon] (2005). His 2009 novel, Walong Diwata ng Pagkahulog [Eight Muses of the Fall], was longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize and won the NCCA Writer’s Prize for the Novel. He has also written the children’s book, Uuwi na ang Nanay Kong si Darna [My Mother Darna is Coming Home] (2002). Widely awarded, Samar teaches Philippine Literature and Creative Writing at Ateneo de Manila University. His participation is made possible by the Freeman Foundation.
2010 Resident
children's author, fiction writer
has written scripts for animation, a rock opera, and children’s stories. His first book [End’s World ] won the 2004 Geffen Award for Best SF/Fantasy, and the Kugel Award for Hebrew Literature. Since then he has published [The Cataract in the Mind’s Eye] (2005), [Behind the Fog] (2007), and [The Day the Music Died] (2010). His stories have appeared in the anthologies A Full Stomach, When Madeleine Stowe is Crying, News From the Underworld, and Icon Book, in journals such as Nails, Time-Out and Thesis, and on-line at Ynet. He teaches creative writing at Sam Spiegel School of Cinema in Jerusalem. His participation is made possible by the Fulbright Foundation of Israel.
2012 Resident
children's author, critic, fiction writer
Alisa GANIEVA (fiction writer, children’s writer, critic; Russia) edits NezavisimayaGazeta‘s weekly supplement ExLibris. Her stories, articles, and reviews have been widely published and anthologized. In 2009 Ganieva won the Debut Prize for her novel Салам тебе, Далгат! [Salam, Dalgat!] written under the pseudonym Gulla Khirachev. She is also the winner of the Gorky Literary Prize (2008), October magazine’s award for literary criticism (2009) and Triumph Prize for fiction. Her second novel Праздничная гора [Holiday Mountain] is due out later this year. She participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2012 Resident
children's author, fiction writer, physician, translator
Mohib ZEGHAM (fiction writer, translator; Afghanistan) is a cardiologist practicing in Kabul, and the author of two short story collections, three children’s books, and the novels [The Suicide Bomber (Zanmargai ځانمرګی), 2009] and [The Order of the President (Da Olasmesher Farman د ولسمشر فرمان), 2012]. He regularly translates medical articles, children’s literature, and works of psychology into Pashto; he also directs the children’s-book publishing house Mosawer, and is the editor of the cultural magazine Sapida. He participates courtesy of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
2013 Resident
children's author, playwright
Karim ALRAWI (playwright, fiction writer; Canada/UK/Egypt) writes stage plays in both Arabic and English. He is also the author of several radio and TV plays, and children’s books. He was resident writer at the Royal Court Theatre and the Theatre Royal Stratford East (England), has held writing residencies in the US and Canada, and teaching positions at universities in all three countries. His national and international honors include the John Whiting Award and the Samuel Becket Award. Karim participates courtesy of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Arts Council of British Columbia.
2013 Resident
children's author, fiction writer, filmmaker, poet
Sridala SWAMI (poet, fiction writer, children’s writer; India) is the author of the poetry collection A Reluctant Survivor (2007), and four children’s books. Her creative and critical work has been published and anthologized in Wasafiri, The South Asian Review, Her Kind (the VIDA blog), and The HarperCollins Book of English Poetry, among others. Swami has been a film editor and teacher, curated a radio program “The Poetry Mohalla,” is at work on an international collaborative writing project titled Chirality, and on the text/image project ‘V’ is for Valley; she is also preparing a collection of interviews with contemporary Indian poets. Her second poetry volume, Escape Artist, is forthcoming. Her participation was made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2013 Resident
children's author, fiction writer
Oscar RANZO (fiction writer; Uganda) is the author of the novel Cross-Pollination (2012) and the children’s books The Little Maid (2012), The Wise Milkboy (2013) and The Jewels of Amuria (2013). He is the coordinator of the Child Sacrifice Prevention Program, which is based on his book Saving Little Viola, and the founder, in 2012, of the Oasis Book Project, which aims to increase the profile of Ugandan literature. He participates courtesy of the U.S. Embassy in Kampala.
2017 Resident
children's author, performance artist, poet, screenwriter
Matjaž PIKALO (poet, screenwriter, musician, multimedia artist; Slovenia) has five books of poetry and many works for children. Luža [Puddle] won the 2002 Večernica Award for Best Book for Young Readers, and was honored by the IBBY Congress in Cape Town; in 2004 the children’s book Think Good and Wise won him Italy’s Arte Senza Confine award. The Second Ivan’s Death, a documentary about Slovenia’s key writer Ivan Cankar, based on his screenplay, is in production. He plays with the band Autodafé, and on an artist soccer team. His participation is made possible by the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana and the University of Iowa.
2018 Resident
children's author, fiction writer, playwright, poet, translator
Kateryna BABKINA Катерина Бабкіна (fiction writer, poet, playwright; Ukraine) published her first book at age 17. Since then, she has authored three story collections, four volumes of poetry and two novels, with translations into 12 languages. Sonia was shortlisted for the 2013 BBC Book of the Year; three of her screenplays have been made into films, including Зло [Evil] and Жовта коробочка [The Yellow Box]. Her children’s book Шапочка і кит [Cappy and the Whale], a commercial success, raised funds for pediatric cancer. She participates courtesy of the Paul and Hualing Engle Fund.
2018 Resident
children's author, fiction writer, journalist, poet
Jacqueline GOLDBERG (poet, fiction writer, essayist, journalist; Venezuela) is the author of six books of prose, 10 children’s books, and 20 volumes of poetry. Her novel Las horas claras [The Clear Hours] received the 2012 prize of Fundación para la Cultura Urbana, was the Venezuelan Booksellers’ Book of the Year, a finalist for the Critic’s Award Novel for 2013, and was re-published in Mexico in 2018. Goldberg frequently speaks at literature and at food festivals. Her participation is made possible by the US Embassy in Caracas.
2021 Resident
activist, children's author
Imam BAKSH (storyteller, children’s book writer, teacher; Guyana) is the author of two award-winning Young Adult novels, The Dark of the Sea and Children of the Spider. His children’s stories, too, have been frequently recognized; he has been a featured presenter at literary festivals on both sides of the Atlantic. An advocate for Guyanese Creole, he runs a literacy project and library for his community and owns and operates a kindergarten. His participation is made possible by the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown (Guyana).
2022 Fall Resident
children's author, editor, fiction writer, journalist, translator
Pavla HORÁKOVÁ (novelist, non-fiction writer, journalist, translator; Czech Republic) is the author of five novels, including a children’s trilogy, and two nonfiction titles. Her widely translated Teorie podivnosti [A Theory of Strangeness] won the 2019 Magnesia Litera Award for best work of Czech fiction; Srdce Evropy [The Heart of Europe] was in a national critics’ poll voted among the best books of 2021. A recipient of two awards for her literary translations, she also has a long career in radio journalism. Her participation is possible thanks to a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2022 Fall Resident
children's author, fiction writer, poet
Yahya ASHOUR يحيى عاشور (fiction, poetry; Palestinian Territories) has authored a children’s book and, in 2018, a collection of poetry entitled [You Are a Window, They Are Clouds]. His poems and award-winning stories have been anthologized and appeared in newspapers and magazines in Palestinian Territories and internationally. He has taught creative writing and literacy skills to both children and adults at various community organizations in Gaza. He participates through a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affair at the U.S. Department of State.
2022 Spring Resident
children's author, editor, fiction writer, journalist
Shehan KARUNATILAKA (novelist, screenwriter; Sri Lanka) has authored the novels Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew (2010) and Chats with the Dead (2020) as well as the children’s book Please Don’t Put That in Your Mouth (2019). The recipient of the 2008 Gratiaen Prize, the 2012 Commonwealth Book Prize, and the 2012 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, he also writes on sport, music, and travel for major newspapers and magazines. His participation was made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2023 Resident
children's author, editor, poet
Orit GIDALI (poet, children’s book author, editor; Israel) is the author, most recently, of the poetry volume התאומים [The Towers ] (2021); Twenty Girls to Envy Me, a Hebrew-English edition of her collected poems, was longlisted for the 2017 PEN America Literary Award. Her poetry has been widely translated. She also writes children’s books, receiving in 2022 the Dvora Omer Award for [Kind of a Unicorn], and has for two decades co-directed the ‘Sadnaot Habait’ creative writing school. Fulbright Israel sponsors her participation in the residency.
2023 Resident
children's author, editor, fiction writer, poet
Wesley MACHESO (fiction; poetry; editor; Malawi) won the Peer Gynt Literary Award for his children’s book Akuzike and the Gods (2017). Twice shortlisted for the Miles Morland Writing Scholarship and longlisted for the 2015 Short Story Day Africa Prize, he is the author of the collection A Masquerade of Spirits (2020); his poems are included in the 2020 anthology Wreaths for a Wayfarer and widely in journals on-line. He is an associate professor at the University of Malawi. His participation was made possible by the U.S. Department of State, courtesy the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
2023 Resident
children's author, editor, fiction writer, translator
Noelle Q. DE JESUS (fiction, editor, translator; Singapore) is the author of the collections Cursed and Other Stories (2019) and Blood Collected Stories (2015), which won a 2016 Next Gen Indie Book Award and was translated into French, as well as of other fiction. She has edited anthologies of flash- and micro-fiction, translated from the Tagalog, and participated in literary festivals in the Philippines, Singapore, and the U.S. Her work has appeared in Witness, Puerto del Sol, Fiction Attic Press and The Art and Craft of Asian Stories, among other places. Her participation is funded by the National Arts Council Singapore.
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