/ 严力 (painter, poet, fiction writer; China b. 1954, Beijing) was a member of a group of artists known as "The Stars," famous for their daring exhibition of works tinged with abstraction and surrealism; as a writer, he is identified with the Misty Poets, a group that gained notice in the late 70s for their subversion of social realism via personal emotions and private imagery. In 1987, he founded Yi-Hang (First Line) in New York, a quarterly journal that features the works of contemporary Chinese poets as well as translations of American poems. His work has been translated into French, Italian, English, Swedish, Korean and German. He has held many exhibitions and published numerous books, most recently a novel titled Meet with 9.11 (Literature & Art Press, Shanghai, 2002). He is participating courtesy of the Freeman Foundation.
(poet, fiction writer, journalist, librettist, playwright; b. 1960, Greece) has left few literary stones unturned. A novelist, poet, playwright, translator, and journalist, Mr. Stamatis is the author of five novels and five collections of poems, numerous translations and magazine articles, two opera librettos, and two plays. His most recent works are the novel Theseus Street (2003) and the poetry collection The Closer I Get the More the Future Gets Away (2004). Mr. Stamatis worked as a writer for the 2004 Olympic Games, and is currently the chief editor for foreign literature for the Metaixmio Publishing House. He has also worked as an architect. Mr. Stamatis is participating courtesy of the Greek Fulbright Commission.
is a prize-winning fiction writer, playwright, and theater director who has lived and written for thirty years in Austria. Her recent works include "Goodbye, Galina" (a monologue for 5 voices) and the play "Odysseus Did Not Return." She is participating courtesy of the Max Kade Foundation.
(b. 1968). Her 1997 collection El Baño Turco (ãThe Turkish Bathä), like her other works, was received with a great deal of critical acclaim. She is the author of Monasterio (Monastery), another collection, and the novels El Tono de Azul Faltante (The Lacking Tone of Blue) and El Gran Vidrio (The Large Glass). She contributes to the Argentine dailies, such as La Nación, La Prensa, and Clarin, and magazines like V de Vian. She is currently an English professor at St. Paul's School of English in Buenos Aires. She participates courtesy of the Department of State.
(b. 1970, Israel) has published two award-winning books. Black Girl won the 1999 Debut Book prize from Israel's Ministry of Science, Culture, and Sport and his novel, And Say It To the Wind (2002), received the Yaacov Shabtai, the Peter Shyipert, and the Bernstein prizes. Orphans , comprised of two novellas and one short story, is forthcoming this year. He is participating courtesy of the US-Israel Education Foundation.
(fiction writer, screenwriter, playwright, filmmaker; b. 1955, China) is a prize-winning, widely anthologized writer, with many TV and film credits. She has produced and directed in both media, venturing next to independent filmmaking. She has published over a dozen novellas, four collections of stories, two novels, and is currently at work on Another China , a documentary film project about expatriate Chinese writers in New York, and a new novel. Tang's numerous publications include Tell Laola I Love Her , a novella selected for inclusion in the Best Chinese Novellas of 2001 , W ife from America (1994) , a novel that was adapted for the stage, serialized in Liberation Daily , and won first prize for Stories Serialized in Newspapers and Magazines, Asexual Partners (2001), a novella that was also serialized, No Love in Shanghai (2002), and most recently, Senseless Journey (2003), a novella published in the Chinese journal Harvest. Ms. Tang is participating courtesy of the Asian Cultural Council.
陈丹燕 (b. 1958), after studying Chinese literature at Eastern China Normal University, became editor of Children's Epoch and translator of children's literature. As an independent writer and journalist she subsequently produced documentaries for Shanghai TV, and wrote a large number of stories and novels for both young people and adults. Her debut, The Chinese Girl (1984), won the Shanghai Young Writers Prize. In 1992, A Girl (also known as Nine Lives ) won the Austrian national Youth Book Prize and the UNESCO Literature of Tolerance gold prize. The themes of her 1998 collection Shanghai Princess , which dwelt on women and the only-one-child generation, marked a new genre. Since 1997, she has been famous for her Shanghai stories, translated to Japanese, Vietnamese and English. Over 50 of her books appeared in China, Japan, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Taiwan. She lives in Shanghai, and participates courtesy of the Freeman Foundation.
(literary critic, poet, writer; b. 1939, USSR; lives in Georgia) is a noted literary critic, fiction writer, and poet. He is a professor of English at the International Black Sea University, and at the Sokhumi Branch of Tbilisi State University where he teaches American literature, the short story, drama, and stylistics. His major works include Creative Development of Symbol (1982), Time and Poetry (1984), Silhouettes (1986), Melancholia and Happiness (1995), Apocalypse Today (1998) and Apricots in Bloom (2002), among others. Mr. Zhordania is participating courtesy of the Department of State.
earned her undergraduate degree in Creative Writing from Seoul Institute of the Arts, debuting with The French Optician (1996) which won the Donga-Ilbo Prize. That same year, her novel Time for Baking Bread won the 1st Literary Community New Writer's Award. Her works also include Movement (1998), Origin of the Family (1999), My Purple Sofa (2000), We've Met Before (2001), Searching for the Elephant (2002), the essay " Jo Kyung Ran's Crocodile Story" (with illustrations by Junko Yamakusa, 2003), the 2003 novella A Narrow Gate, which won the 48th Contemporary Literary Prize, and a new book to appear this November. Her work has earned numerous literary awards, including Today's Young Artist Prize from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and has been translated into German and Japanese. She is participating courtesy of the Korea Literary Translation Institute.
is a poet, playwright and fiction writer who won the 1993 Bruce Mason Playwriting Award for Love Knots (performed 1993, pub. 1994 and translated into Italian) and the Hubert Church Award for a first book of fiction for The Wife Who Spoke Japanese in her Sleep (1993). She was a founding member of the Women's Play Press in 1992 and has been the recipient of numerous fellowships and writing grants. Her poem, "The Tank," won the 1998 NZ Poetry Society International Poetry Competition. Plumb's recent works include two collections of poetry, Salamanca (1998) and Avalanche (2000), a novella, The Diary as a Positive in Female Adult Behavior (2000), and a novel, Secret City (2003). A new poetry collection, Nefarious, is forthcoming this year. Ms. Plumb was most recently employed by the New Zealand Ministry of Education. She is participating courtesy of Creative New Zealand.
holds a degree in English from Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, and has been teaching literature and creative writing there for the past ten years. He is also a poet and short story author in his own right, whose work circles themes of ecology. His publications include creative writing textbooks, and essays on English literature and linguistics; currently he is readying a story collection for publication. He is participating courtesy of the Department of State.
(poet, fiction writer, essayist; b. 1951, Turkey), one of the original voices of modern Turkish literature, has been publishing poems, short stories, and novels for more than thirty years. He graduated in architecture from the Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul, a career that took him to Saudi Arabia, through Europe, Asia, and North Africa. He now devotes his full time to writing. His first book was Unutulmak Tozlari ( "Dust of Forgottenness," 1983), a collection of poems. A book of stories, Ay Gozetleme Komitesi ( "Committee for Moon Watching," 1987) followed, and won the 1988 Sait Faik Short Story Award. His 1989 collection Korku Oyunu ("Game of Fear " ) won the Yunus Nadi Short Story Award, and the novel Soguma ("Cooling Off," 1995) won the novel award from the same foundation. He is participating courtesy of the Grace Piercy Fellowship.
(fiction writer, journalist; b. 1972, Bolivia) teaches semiotics and scriptwriting at the Private University of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, her alma mater. She has published four short story collections: Naming the Echo (1994), The Beasts (1997), The Owner of our Dreams (2002) and To Feel the Dark (2002). The Beasts won the 1997 Santa Cruz Municipal Prize for Literature. Her short fiction has been anthologized in Antología del Cuento Feminino Boliviano (1997), Antología del Cuento Erótico Boliviano (2000), Voces de la Otra Orilla (2000), and The Fat Man from La Paz: Contemporary Fiction from Bolivia (2000). In 1993 she received her first two literary awards; her 1995 essay, Latinoamérica: Pequeña Hermana Tierra, was selected for the Youth World Forum in Jerusalem. Her most recent work is The Chameleons (2002), an erotic novel. Ms. Rivero is a regular contributor to local and national newspapers. She is participating courtesy of the University of Iowa.
(poet, writer, critic, translator; b. 1963, USSR; lives in Russia) earned a Ph.D. in engineering from Samara State Aerospace University, where he is currently an associate professor of aircraft engine design. Although he does not consider writing to be his principal occupation, he is extremely active in the Russian literary scene. Ulanov has over 250 publications to his credit, including works of poetry, short fiction, book reviews, articles on modern Russian literature, and translation works. He is participating courtesy of the US Congress Open World Program, and will be in Iowa City 9/16 to 9/30.
is one of China's foremost novelists, best known for his 1987 novel Hong Gaoliang Jiazu ( Red Sorghum ). The internationally acclaimed film adaptation, directed by Zhang Yimou, won the Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival, becoming one of China's most popular films and bringing Chinese cinema into the international mainstream. After a childhood of extreme poverty during the Cultural Revolution, Mo worked in a factory until he joined the army in 1976. He began writing in 1981 and graduated from the Army Academy of Art and Literature in 1986, subsequently receiving a M.A. in literature from Beijing Normal University. In the late 1990s, he left the army to become a professional writer. He has written dozens of short stories and ten or more novels, translated widely. In addition to Red Sorghum , released by Viking in 1993, titles available in English include: Explosions and Other Stories (1991), The Garlic Ballads (1995), and The Republic of Wine: A Novel (2000). Mo Yan is participating courtesy of the University of Iowa; he will be attending the IWP 9/3–9/18.
writes in a wide range of fictional genres. She earned a degree in English from Ewha University, taught middle school, and received a doctoral degree from the University of Paris in 2000. Since then, she has lectured at various Korean universities, including most recently, Donghae. Kwon made her Korean literary debut in 1997 with the story, "The Dreaming Marionette," in the magazine, LaPlume; her story also appears in an eponymously titled collection published in 2002. That same year, she won the Isang Literary Prize, Korea's highest award for literature for her short story, "Eel Stew," which was also translated into Chinese. Her second short story collection was Burst of Laughter (2003) and her latest work, a novel called A Beautiful Hell, was published in early 2004 by Literature and Ideas Publishing Company. The essay, "Kwon Ji-Ye's Paris, Paris, Paris," was published in July 2004. Kwon, who now lives and writes full-time in Seoul, is participating courtesy of the Korean Culture and Arts Foundation.
(fiction writer, journalist; b. 1974, Egypt) is a young writer gaining acclaim in Egypt and beyond. Though he had no formal training in literature or creative writing, Mr. Alaidy honed his skills through independent study and working at a small publishing house. He has written stories, scripts, and sitcoms, and in 2003, he published Being Abbas Al Abd. Now in its second printing, the novel was recently the subject of two seminars at the American University in Cairo, one focusing solely on the novel's linguistic techniques. Mr. Alaidy has published several articles for Donia El Ghad , an Arabic language newspaper published in Canada. Currently he is at work on a political novel set against the backdrop of 9/11. He is participating courtesy of the Department of State.
(fiction writer; b. 1961, Japan ) is one of the most visible authors and commentators in Japan today. During his studies in Russian and East European languages at Tokyo University of Foreign Languages, he published the novella A Tender Divertimento for Leftists (1983), which was named runner-up for the Akutagawa Prize. The following year he received the Noma New Writer's Award for Music for a Somnambulant Kingdom (1984). Other works include the novellas Cry of the Refugee Vacationers (1986) and Requiem for a Conscious Machine (1985); the short story collection Donna Anna; and a socio-pathological study on AIDS entitled Unidentified Shadow (1987). Several short stories and his 1989 novel Dream Messenger have been translated into English. Shimada founded and directed a successful theater group during the 1990s. He is currently teaching at Hosei University, and participating courtesy of the Freeman Foundation.
attended the Gorky Literary Institute and has been writing professionally for more than a decade, after early forays into literature and translation (from French) while still an adolescent. Sadur's fiction has been published in Russia as well as abroad; her plays are frequently performed in Moscow. In 1998 her collected stories, A Holiday for Old Women on the Sea Shore, were published by Vologda. Sadur describes her work as an interaction between the interior world of the self and the world around. She is participating courtesy of the US Congress Open World Program, and in Iowa City from 9/16 to 9/30.
(poet, literary and music critic, fiction writer; b. 1967, Poland) made his literary debut in 1996 with A Small Male, a collection of poems; several publications quickly followed. Animal Fables, a volume of rhyming poems, was published in 1997, and in 1998, Wiedemann brought forth a collection of short stories, The Omnipresence of Order , which was nominated for the Nike prize, Poland's most prestigious literary award. Completing his banner year was the release of Starter Motor, a book of poems, and Sek Pies Brew ("Cinque pieces breves,") a collection of five stories which brought Weidemann his second nomination for the Nike prize. In 1999, he won the Koscieleski Foundation Prize, which recognizes literary achievement in Polish writers under forty. Wiedemann's most recent publication is Lily of the Valley (2001). He is currently a doctoral candidate in Polish at the Jagiellonian University, and divides his time between Cracow and Grabow. He is participating courtesy of the University of Iowa.
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