Bina SHAH (novelist, fiction writer; Pakistan) is a Karachi-based journalist and fiction writer, and has taught writing at the university level. She is the author of two short story collections, Animal Medicine (1999) and Blessings (2007), and four novels: Where They Dream in Blue (2001), The 786 Cybercafe (2004), Slum Child (2009), and A Season For Martyrs (2010). Her work has been translated into Urdu, Spanish, and Italian. She has written extensively for international and Pakistani newspapers, including The Independent, The International Herald Tribune, Dawn, Libas, The Friday Times, and (online) at Chowk and Granta magazine. Her participation is provided courtesy of the U.S. Consulate General in Karachi.
2011 Resident
fiction writer, playwright
Zoë STRACHAN (novelist, playwright; Scotland) teaches creative writing at the University of Glasgow, and is the author of the novels Negative Space (2002), Spin Cycle (2004) and Ever Fallen in Love (2011). Her work has appeared in the Sunday Herald, Bamberger Punkt 14 (Germany), Bordercrossing Berlin, The Big Issue, The Antigonish Review, The Scotsman Magazine, Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature's Explorer magazine, in the anthologies SHIFTS, The Research Club, Latitute, and New Writing 15, on BBC Radio and in other radio programs. The author of the plays Panic Patterns and Old Girls and the short opera Sublimation, she is at work on an adaptation of Ibsen's The Lady from the Sea for Scottish Opera's 2012 season. She has also collaborated on conceptual art, sound, and prose pieces. Her website is www.zoestrachan.com. She participates courtesy of the British Council.
2011 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer
SU Wei-chen 苏伟贞 (fiction writer, nonfiction writer, Taiwan) has served as editor-in-chief of the Weekly Reader News, and is now a professor of Chinese literature at National Cheng Kung University. Su is the author of more than a dozen volumes of fiction and nonfiction, including the novels紅顏已老 [The faded years of Youth] (1981), 舊愛 [Old Love] (1985), 離家出走 [Flying from Home] (1987), 離開同方 [To Leave the Village Tong-Fang] (1990), 沉默之島 [The Island of Silence] (1994), 魔術時刻 [The Magic Hours] (2002), and 時光隊伍 [The Procession in Time] (2006), as well as of the critical and essay volumes單人旅行 [The Journey of Solitude] (1999) and 租書店的女兒 [The Memories of Books] (2010). Her academic publications are 張愛玲香港時期小說研究 [Eileen Chang's Hong Kong Period Novels] (2002) and台灣張派作家世代論 [The Influence of Eileen Chang and Her Followers in Taiwan] (2006). She is the recipient of the United Daily News Prize for the Novelette, and the China Times Million Dollar Literary Prize for the Novel. Her participation is made possible by the Council for Cultural Affairs in Taiwan.
2011 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer
Francisco SUNIAGA (novelist, fiction writer, nonfiction writer; Venezuela) was a lawyer and university instructor of International Politics and Law, and served in the United Nations transitory administration of East Timor, before publishing his first work of fiction, and taking on the editorship of Exxito, a monthly economics and politics magazine. He is the author of novels La otraisla [The Other Island] (2005), also translated into German, and El pasajero de Truman [Truman's Passenger] (2008), a volume of nonfiction, Pequeños, talentosos y esforzados [Little, Talented and Hardworking] (2009) and the short story collection Margarita infant [Infant Margarita] (2010). He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2011 Resident
fiction writer, playwright, translator
Jeremy TIANG (fiction writer, playwright, translator; Singapore) has acted in nearly 30 stage, television and film productions. His plays Polyglottalstop (2008), A Dream of Red Pavilions (2008), and godshaped hole (2010) were staged in London, and Operation Opera (2003) in Singapore. His story "Trondheim" won the NAC Golden Point Award. He has led theatre and creative writing workshops, translated plays from the Chinese, and contributed film, theatre, and book reviews to The Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, Straits Times, The Arts Magazine, and The Flying Inkpot. Tiang's participation is made possible by a grant from the Singapore National Arts Council.
2011 Resident
fiction writer
Dorothy TSE 謝曉虹 (fiction writer; Hong Kong) teaches in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where she is also completing her PhD, and is a co-founder of the literary magazine Fleurs des Lettres. Her columns have been featured in the newspapers Ming Pao and Fleurs des Lettres, a Literary Magazine. Tse is the author of the short-story collection 好黑 [So Black] (2003), which won the 8th Hong Kong Biennial Awards for Chinese Literature. Her fiction has also been awarded prizes at the 15th Unitas New Fiction Writers' Awards, among others. She participates thanks to a grant from The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation in Hong Kong.
2011 Resident
fiction writer, filmmaker
Marvin VICTOR (fiction writer, filmmaker; Haiti) has worked on a number of documentaries, shorts and feature-length films, including the 2009 adaptation of Kathy Acker's novel Kathy Goes To Haiti, and taught creative writing courses for Fondation Culture Création. In 2011 he has published the novel Corps mêlés (Gallimard, Paris), and his short fiction has been included in the collection Hasdf Haiti Noir; earlier, his articles have appeared in the magazine Conjonction. He is the recipient of the 2008 Young Francophone Writers Award and the 2011 Grand Prix du Roman de la Société des Gens de Lettres. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2011 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer, poet
Joel TOLEDO (poet, fiction writer, nonfiction writer; Philippines) is the literary editor at The Philippine Free Press and a professor of literature at Miriam College. His reviews and columns have been featured in newspapers and magazines including The Philippine Star and The Manila Times; his creative work has appeared, among other places, in Rogue Poetry Review, Washington Square, Sunday Times Magazine, and P.E.N. 50th Anniversary Anthology of Poetry in English. He is the author of four books of poetry, including Chiaroscuro (2008) and The Long Lost Startle (2009), the children's book Pedro and the Lifeforce (1997), and of the screenplays for Todo Todo Teros and Philippine Bliss, screened at the 2007 Rotterdam Film Festival. Among his awards is the 2005 Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature for the collection What Little I Know of Luminosity, while Chiaroscuro was a finalist for the 2008 Philippines National Book Award for Poetry. A fifth poetry collection is due out this year. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2012 Resident
fiction writer
Khaled ALBERRY (novelist; Egypt) is the author of Life is More Beautiful Than Paradise (2001), an autobiographical account his life with a radical Islamist group. His 2010 novel [An Oriental Dance] was shortlisted for the Arabic Booker Prize; other novels include [Negative] (2004) and [The New Testament] (2011). Alberry has worked for the BBC as a journalist, correspondent and producer, and is currently a columnist for the Tahrir Newspaper. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2012 Resident
fiction writer
Taleb AL REFAI (fiction writer; Kuwait) has published seven collections of short stories, a play, a number of critical works, and four novels, including the controversial [The Shadow of the Sun] ( ظل الشمس ( in 1998. His 2002 [The Scent of the Sea] ) ( رائحة البحر won the Kuwait National Award for Arts & Literature. Trained as an engineer, Al-Refai has since joined the staff of the National Council for Culture, Art and Literature, where he manages the Culture and Arts Department. His articles appear regularly in the Al-Hayat and Al-Jarida Kuwaiti newspapers; in 2009 he chaired the Arabic Booker Prize for Fiction. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2012 Resident
fiction writer, poet, translator
Genevieve L. ASENJO (fiction writer, poet, translator; Philippines) is the author of four books including Lumbay ng Dila (The Melancholy of the Tongue), winner of the country’s 2011 National Book Award. Her short stories and poems have appeared in many magazines and anthologies. She translates into the Philippine languages Kinaray-a, Hiligaynon, and Filipino, and is the founder-director of Balay Sugidanun (Storytelling House). She is Associate Professor of literature and creative writing at De La Salle University-Manila. Her participation is made possible by a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2012 Resident
fiction writer, poet
Jana BEŇOVÁ (poet, fiction writer; Slovakia) has written three books of poetry: Svetloplachý (1993), Lonochod (1997) and Nehota (1997). Beňová has also published the short story collection Dvanásť poviedok a Ján Med (2003), an essay collection, and the novels Parker (2000) and Plán odprevádzania (Café Hyena) [Seeing People Off] (2008); her most recent novel, Preč! Preč! [Away! Away!] was published earlier this year. Beňová currently works as an editor at the Slovak Theatre Institute. Her participation is made possible by a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2012 Resident
fiction writer
Matías CORREA (fiction writer; Chile) has taught philosophy, curated for an art gallery, has worked as a columnist for the supplement Zona de Contacto and the national daily El Mercurio, and is currently an editor at Groupon LatAm. His first novel, Geografía de lo inútil, was published in 2010. He is currently working on his second novel, Esto no es un libro de autoayuda. His participation is supported through a grant from the Universidad Finis Terrae.
2012 Resident
fiction writer, poet
Alina DADAEVA (poet, fiction writer; Uzbekistan) has worked as a reporter and correspondent for Зеркало XXI [Mirror XXI], Бизнес-вестникВостока [Business Report of the East], Новый век [The New Century] and Леди [The Lady]. Her poetry has appeared in Вдохновение[The Inspiration], an almanac of young Uzbek poets, and in the literary journals День и ночь [Day and Night], Звезда [The Star], Новая Юность [The New Youth], and Звезда Востока [The Star of the East]. Dadaeva’s first collection of poetry, Предчувствие [The Presentiment], was published in 2010. She participates thanks to a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2012 Resident
fiction writer
Federico FALCO (fiction writer, poet; Argentina) is the author of three short story collections, two poetry collections, and the 2011 novel Cielos de Córdoba. His La hora de los monos was chosen as one of the best Argentine books of 2010 by the magazine Revista Ñ. His stories are widely published and anthologized, including Open Letter’s 2012 The Future is Not Ours: New Latin American Fiction. In 2010, Falco was among Granta magazine’s Best Young Spanish-Language Novelists. Currently he teaches in the Department of Cinema, Literature and Contemporary Art History at the Universidad Blas Pascal. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2012 Resident
fiction writer
Lucy FRICKE (fiction writer; Germany) worked extensively in film and television before studying literature at the Deutsches Literaturinstitut in Leipzig. Fricke has gone on to publish the novels Durst ist schlimmer als Heimweh [Thirst is Worse Than Homesickness] (2007) and Ich habe Freunde mitgebracht [I Brought Friends] (2010). She has organized literary events for the Berlin International Poetry Festival, the Leipzig Book Fair, and currently directs the HAM.LIT festival in Hamburg. She participates courtesy the Max Kade Foundation.
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
fiction writer
HAE Yisoo (fiction writer; South Korea) made his debut in 2000. After two story collections, 캥거루가 있는 사막 [The Kangaroo in the Desert] (2006) and 젤리피쉬 [The Jellyfish] (2009), his first novel, 고쿄 [Gokyo Peak], will be published serially online this year. He is the recipient of the 2004 Sim Hoon Literary Award and the 2010 Han Moosuk Literary Award. He has worked at the International Creative Writing Center at Dankook University, and coordinated the 2010 Seoul International Writers’ Festival. He participates courtesy of the Korea Literature Translation Institute (KLTI).
2012 Resident
fiction writer
LIN Chun Ying 林俊頴 (fiction writer; Taiwan) is the author of an essay collection and seven short story collections, including 大暑 [The Longest Summer] (1991), 焚燒創世紀 [A Burning Notebook] (1997), and 鏡花園 [The Garden of Mirrors] (2006). His novel 我不可告人的鄉愁[The Nostalgia That Dare Not Speak Its Name] (2011) received the 2012 Taipei International Book Exhibition Prize. Lin has worked as a copywriter, newspaper editor, and in television. His participation is made possible by the Council for Cultural Affairs in Taiwan.
2012 Resident
fiction writer, playwright
Christopher MLALAZI (fiction writer, playwright; Zimbabwe) is the author of the novels Many Rivers (2009) and Running With Mother (2012), and the short story collection Dancing With Life: Tales From the Township (2008), which won the Best First Book award at the National Arts Merit Awards. Mlalazi’s eight plays, including the 2008 Oxfam/Novib PEN Freedom of Expression Award winner “The Crocodile Of Zambezi,” have all been staged. His poems and stories are online and in print, including in the Caine Prize’s anthology The Obituary Tango (2006) and in The Literary Review. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
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