is a well-known figure in the Netherlands for his widely read commentary in major newspapers and his participation in literary and cultural debates on national television. He studied philosophy and political science at the University of Amsterdam. Since 1982 he has published articles in numerous Dutch weeklies and newspapers and has worked for several radio stations. Since his debut in 1991 he published four collections of essays and stories. He is a member of the Dutch Rushdie Defense Committee and of the European Writers' Parliament. Stephan Sanders is known for his sharp, independent and bright comments in Holland's leading newspaper de Volkskrant. He is attending the IWP on a full grant from the Foundation for the Production and Translation of Dutch Literature.
is the author of nine novels, one volume of short stories, and one collection of essays. Born in Chile, he lived in Cuba, East Germany, West Germany, and Sweden before coming to the United States in 2000. He was an IWP fellow in 1996, and earned his master’s and doctorate degrees at the University of Iowa, where he now teaches Latin American literature and creative writing and leads a Spanish-language fiction workshop. He also writes columns for La Tercera and the New York Times Syndicate. His work has been published throughout Latin America as well as in Croatia, China, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the US. His last novel, Pasiones griegas, was voted “Best Novel Published In Spanish In 2006” by the National People’s Publishing House of China and the Association of Chinese Hispanists. Currently he is working on a novel to be released in 2008.
is, because of her mass appeal, potentially "the next Orhan Pamuk." (Mr. Pamuk, Turkey's leading author, attended the IWP in 1985.) Her novels include Two Green Water Sables, Their Mothers, Fathers, Lovers, and the Others (written in 1991, issued in its 16th edition in 1996); and The Sound of Fishsteps (1993; 10th edition, 1996). Her short story collections have similarly undergone multiple reprintings. She earned the M.S. in biology from Haceteppe University in Ankara, and did graduate work in public health at the University of Michigan, and graduate studies in Norwegian and Ecology at the University of Bergen in Norway. She is currently editor for foreign literature at the Remzi Publishing House and a reviewer for the weekly edition of the daily, Cumhuriyet. She is jointly supported at the IWP by the USIA and the board of the Turkish Airlines.
(fiction writer, Malaysia; born in Malacca) is associate professor at the Malaysian National University, and teaches creative writing at the Malaysian National Academy. His publications include several collections of short fiction, among them Dunia Belum Berakhir (1989); Datangnya Macam Malaikat (Heinemann Books, 1982); Jeneral (PF 13, 1992). Dr. Othman, a graduate of the Sultan Idris Teacher's Training College in Perak, has written many books on literary theory, creative writing, children's literature and Malaysian literary history. His latest book, forthcoming from Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, is Landas Kreativiti: Penulisa Cerpen. He is actively involved in the regional scene, leading workshops, judging competitions, giving talks throughout Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam. The Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Malaysia is providing his grant support.
is the author of three novels, among them Fabula de la inmortalidad ("Immortality Fable"; UNAM, Mexico, 1995, Collec. Rayuela Nacional); and "Amor en aerosol" ("Love in aerosol"), which was a finalist in the "Agustin Yanez" competition held by the Mortiz-Planeta publishing house for the best novel of 1993. Her short fiction has been extensively anthologized throughout Latin America and Spain. She's also written adventure stories for teenagers, Dias de pinta ("Skipping School"). She studied pedagogy at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and did Ph.D. studies in education in Madrid. She has taught English and French, and at present teaches writing skills, literary theory and critical reading at the National Center for the Promotion of Literature. She is at the University of Iowa through a fellowship from the AT&T Foundation.
studied architecture in Sao Paulo and comparative literature in Paris and now teaches at the University of the Amazon in Manaus. His novel, The Tree of the Seventh Heaven (Atheneum, New York, 1994; translated from the Portuguese by Ellen Watson) was first published in 1989 and was awarded one of the most prestigious prizes in Brazil, the Jabuti prize for the best Brazilian novel. He is also the author of a collection of poetry and texts, Amazonas: um rio entre ruinas (Diadorim, Sao Paulo, 1978), numerous essays and reviews, and his short fiction has appeared in anthologies abroad. Most recently Mr. Hatoum was a visiting lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, an appointment he will resume upon completing his fellowship at the University of Iowa. His participation in the IWP is supported by the Vitae Foundation of Brazil.
has published numerous books and articles and is very active in Moroccan literary circles. He is professor of philosophy and translation at the Ben M'Sick Faculty of Letters in Casablanca. He earned his M.A. degree in the history of philosophy from the Faculty of Letters in Rabat. He is the author of a fiction collection, Tarik (Ibn Zaid) Did Not Conquer Andalusia. His short fiction has been translated into French, English, Spanish, Russian, and Norwegian. In 1974 he launched the Arabic magazine New Culture, and has written articles for specialized journals on philosophy and translation, as well as newspaper commentary. He has translated many books from English and Spanish into Arabic. Mr. Messnaoui is the first Moroccan writer to attend the IWP. The USIA is supporting his participation.
is a Reader in Commonwealth literature in the Department of English at the University of Poona. His publications include a collection of poems, Slide Show (Leeds: Peepal Tree Books, 1992); short stories, One Day I Locked My Flat in Soul-City (Delhi: Rupa & Co., 1995); plays, The Wisest Fool and Other Plays (Bombay: The Brown Critique, 1996). He has edited several anthologies and books of criticism. He earned his Ph.D. in comparative literature at the University of Bombay, with a thesis on the attitudes toward love and nature of Whitman and Tagore. He received the Nehru Centenary Post-doctoral Fellowship from the Government of India, and a travel fellowship from India's National Academy of Letters. Dr. Rao is currently at work on a biography of the Indian poet Nissim Ezekiel. He attends the IWP as a fellow of the AT&T Foundation.
is an art historian and journalist whose books on Spanish architecture and art are widely respected in the world scene. She is the author of two novels, En otros ojos ("In Other Eyes"; Alba Editorial, 1996), and The Everlasting Return (in progress), and a short story collection, Anima Animal. Her numerous texts for exhibition catalogs and her books on art history are published in London, New York, Madrid and Barcelona, with editions in German and Greek. She earned the MA in the history and criticism of modern art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; a diploma in international relations from the College of Journalism in London, and is a graduate in journalism from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She is a reviewer and critic for the leading Spanish newspapers El Pais and La Vanguardia. She is an IWP grantee of the US Information Agency.
(born in Lome, 1945) is one of his nation's well known human rights activists. He is head of the division of academics in the registrar's office at the University of Benin, where he previously headed the department of philosophy, and continues to lecture in philosophy. Dr. Kuakuvi teaches the history of philosophy, moral and political philosophy, the philosophy of nature and ontology. He was educated at the University Urbaniana de Propaganda Fide in Rome, and received the M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Paris-Sorbonne. He belongs to the Association of Writers of Togo, the Human Rights League of Togo, and the Union of African Human Rights Leagues. He is interested in the American government system and how individual and collective rights are guaranteed and protected; his other interests include African American literature. He is here through the US Information Agency.
(born in Buenos Aires, 1956) teaches Greek at the Jujuy National University and writes essays, articles, poems and short fiction for two newspapers in northern Argentina, El Pregon and El Tribuno. He studied literature at the Catholic University in Buenos Aires and attended a year-long seminar on folkloric literature at the University of Urbino in Italy. He is the author of two poetry collections, Punk y circo (1989) and Golja (1995); five short story collections, among them Dia de pesca ("A Day of Fishing", 1990); Cuarteto en el monte ("Wild Country Quartet", 1993); and El mejor tema de los '70 ("The Top Hit of the Seventies", 1996); and an award-winning theatre work, Chingoil Compani, Surinam ataca (1996). He has appeared in more than ten anthologies. Among his honors are the first prize for Dia de pesca from the Banco de Accion Social, the 1996 "Iris Marga" prize for drama, and numerous awards for his books for children. He also translates from classical Greek and Latin; in addition to his native Spanish, he speaks German, Italian, and Quicha. His participation is supported jointly by the Fundaci-n Antorchas, the US Information Agency, and the IWP.
(scriptwriter, fiction writer, Yugoslavia; born in Belgrade, 1954) founded, with two other women, the first women's publishing house in Serbia in 1994. She writes, translates, and edits both non-fiction and fiction dealing with women's issues. She assisted in the production and writing of several films in Italy and Belgrade, worked on movies for Belgrade TV, and has given video art performances. Ms. Tesanovic edited The Suitcase, stories of women refugees (University of California Press, 1996), and is at work on a novel on women's history, language, and psychology that uses a combination of fables and anthropology. She received her training in modern letters at the Universitˆ Statale di Milano. She now teaches creative writing at Women's Studies of Belgrade. Her participation, which begins in November, is provided by ArtsLink/CEC Partners.
(born in Stockport, 1959) has been described by England's Daily Telegraph as "one of the most brilliant novelists of his generation." His parents, both professional basketball players, emigrated from Hungary to England in 1956; Tibor Fischer grew up in Bromley, South London, and studied Latin and French at Cambridge. He subsequently worked for television companies and newspapers in England, and in Budapest from 1988 to 1990. His first novel, Under the Frog, was rejected by 50 British and 12 American publishers before it came out in 1992; it won the Betty Trask Award the same year and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1993. Granta magazine listed him as one of the twenty best young British novelists of 1993; his second novel, The Thought Gang, published to wide acclaim in 1994, is being made into a movie. His work moves rapidly to ever expanding recognition: his most recent novel, The Collector Collector, is a "literary lions" selection in the July 1997 Book-of-the-Month Club listings. This novel narrated by a 6000-year-old self-proclaimed "bowl with soul" is enjoying wide distribution in this country through Henry Holt. The US Information Agency is providing Mr. Fischer's support at the IWP.
(born in Athens, 1966) is considered the new star of Greek letters. His novel, The Wise Kid (Athens, 1993; sixteenth edition in September 1996), is being made into a film in English, a step toward worldwide recognition. He is a member of the Education Council of the Center for Diplomatic Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is also an attorney-at-law; he graduated from the law school of the University of Athens in 1990. He is a regular contributor to the magazine Elle, where his interviews with famous authors, political figures, and scientists appear. Mr. Homenides is the IWP's first author from Greece in over a dozen years, and his participation reestablishes a strong Greek presence exemplified by such writers as Costas Tachtsis, Thanassis Valtinos, Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke, and Odysseus Elytis. The US Information Agency is providing the support for his participation.
(fiction writer; born in Ilha de Mozambique, 1935) is one of her country's best known writers; her works have been translated into English and appeared in African and Mozambican anthologies. She is also known for her participation in Mozambique's liberation movement: armed with a bachelor's degree in social work from Portugal, she was poised to lend a hand to a struggling post-colonial government at a time when there were few professionals in the country. She represented her country in numerous international meetings on cultural issues, including the UNESCO General Assembly in Paris. As the current president of the Mozambican Writers' Association (AEMO) General Assembly, she works actively toward promoting female authors and civic education. Her writing career spans the colonial, socialist and democratic cultural contexts of her country. Her literary publications include two novels, Neighbours (1995) and the forthcoming The Eyes of the Green Cobra, and a short story collection, Nobody Killed Shuhura (1989; subsequently translated into Italian and English). Her short story "Slum Dwelling" won the first prize in the literary contest of the centennial of Maputo in 1987. She is at the IWP through the US Information Agency.
(born in Hoima, 1965) coordinates the Uganda Women Writers' Association, which works with the production of literature on gender issues. Her first novel, The First Daughter (1996, is enjoying current popular success in Uganda, and she is at work on a manuscript about a young girl fleeing the Rwandan genocide, a project she hopes to complete at the University of Iowa. She holds a higher diploma in marketing from the National College of Business Studies, as well as a certificate in communication from Makerere University. The US Information Agency is sponsoring her at the IWP.
(born in Binh Duong Province, 1957) is an English teacher, television editor, and researcher, and was previously an executive member of the Ho Chi Minh City Writers' Association. Among the publications in a prolific career are several collections of short stories: Singing Grass (1983); A Bit of Romance in the Rain (1987); Seeing Mountains in a Dream (19 ã91); Immigrants (1995). She has also written a novel, A Peaceful Place for Birds to Sing (1987); a non-fiction account of the Chinese living in South Vietnam (1994); and several books for children: Lantern Festival (1991); The Grown-Ups (1992); Whirled in the Rain (1993), and The Secret of the Black Lizard and Me (1996); Home in the Grass (1984) was the recipient of the first prize from the Vietnam Writers' Association. Ly Lan's participation in the IWP continues a connection begun in 1996 with fiction writer Phan Thi Vang Ahn. Her participation is supported by the US Information Agency.
(born in Kuantan, 1952) is research officer and language planning officer at the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka literary organization of Malaysia. He also teaches scriptwriting and drama part time at the National Art Academy in Kuala Lumpur and is a freelance writer/director for theatre and television. He is the author of ten plays, among them The Opera House (1988), which received multiple national awards; books for children and young adults; twenty scripts for documentary video, and eighty essays, works of criticism and reviews, including co-authorship of A History of Modern Malay Literature, vol. 2 (1992), Introduction to Malay Traditional Arts (1992); he edited Modern ASEAN Plays: Malaysia (1994). He holds the BA (hons.) from the Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang. The Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Malaysia is his sponsor.
(born in Concepción, 1962) is literary editor of the supplement Zona de Contacto for Santiago's leading newspaper, El Mercurio. One of the literary leaders of his generation, Mr. Gomez is the author of two short story collections, Adi-s, Carlos Marx, nos vemos en el Cielo ('Goodbye, Karl Marx, We'll See You in Heaven'; 1992), Partes del cuerpo que no se tocan ('Don't Touch These Body Parts'; 1997); a novel, Vidas Ejemplares ('Exemplary Lives'; 1994); and he edited, with 1994 Chilean IWP participant Alberto Fuguet, two anthologies, Cuentos con Walkman (1993) and McOndo (1996). His play Extra-as Costumbres Orales was staged by Teatro La Feria in 1996, and won the Premio Concurso Nacional de Dramaturga; he adapted and directed Palomita Blanca for Teatro Arena in 1997. Vidas Ejemplares was a finalist for the prestigious Romulo Gallegos Prize, and Adios Carlos Marx... received recognition from the Municipality of Santiago. At the University of Iowa, he plans to complete a second novel, as well as work on television adaptations of stories by young Chilean authors. He is here through a grant from the Fundaci-n Andes.
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