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.
Mark ANGELES (poet, fiction writer, essayist; Philippines) is the author of three poetry volumes and a fiction collection, all independently published. He has anthologized progressive writers in the Philippines in zines including KaMAO (Comrade Mao/fist), translations of poems by Mao Zedong. His forthcoming books include one novel and three children’s books. His poetry, short stories and essays have appeared in magazines, journals, newspapers, and anthologies. He has conducted creative writing workshops for organizations and universities across the Philippines. He participates courtesy of the U.S. Embassy in Manila.
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.
Ali AL SAEED (poet, fiction writer, performer; Bahrain) is the author of the poetry collection Sad Man Dancing (2009), the short story collection Moments (2006), the essay collection The Randomist (2013), and the winner of the 2005 Bahrain Outstanding Book of the Year Award for the novel QuixotiQ. His work has been published in Rolling Stone (Middle East edition) and the Arabesques Review, among other publications. In 2006, Al Saeed, who also works in music and photography, founded the arts collective and festival Elham to develop and showcase multimedia in Bahrain. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Yui TANIZAKI (fiction writer, translator; Japan) is the author of the novel Maiochiru Mura (2009), which garnered her the 2007 Bungagukai Prize for New Writers.Her stories and essays are featured in numerous literary magazines; her translations include Kiran Desai’s Inheritance of Loss and Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad. She participates courtesy of the Japan Foundation.
Craig CLIFF(fiction writer, poet; New Zealand) is the author of the short story collection A Man Melting, which won Best First Book in the 2011 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. His stories, poems, and non-fiction have appeared in print and online in New Zealand, Australia, and the UK. He writes a column for The Dominion Post about his double life as a writer and public servant in Wellington, where he works as a policy analyst for the Ministry of Education. The Mannequin Makers (2013) is his first novel. He participates courtesy of Creative New Zealand.
KIM Kyung Uk (fiction writer; South Korea) is the award-winning author of six short story collections including [Is Leslie Chung Dead?] (2005), [Risky Reading] (2008) and [God Has No Grandchild] (2011), and six novels, among them [The Golden Apple] (2002), [Kingdom of Thousand Years] (2007), [Like a Fairy Tale] (2010) and [What is Baseball?] (2012). He teaches creative writing at Korea National University of Arts. He participates courtesy of the Arts Council Korea.
Nada FARIS (fiction writer, poet; Kuwait) is the author of the collections Before Young Adult Fiction and Artemis and Other Poems. Her short stories, poems and articles are featured in Kuwaiti magazines and newspapers, and have been anthologized in the Norton Anthology of Hint Fiction. She is completing her MA in Comparative Literature at Kuwait University. She participates courtesy of Kuwait Ministry of Youth.
Whiti HEREAKA (playwright, novelist, screenwriter; New Zealand) has written and produced eight plays for stage and radio, as well as the short film Unclaimed Luggage. Her debut novel The Graphologist’s Apprentice was shortlisted for the 2011 First Book in the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Asia/Pacific region); her second novel, Bugs, will be published later this year. She is a two-time winner of the Best New Play by a Maori Playwright. Her participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
TONG Wei Ger (童偉格, fiction writer, playwright; Taiwan) is the author of the short story collection 王考 [Wang Kao] (2002), and the novels, 無傷時代 [The Age of No Hurt] (2005) and 西北雨 [Northwest Rain] (2010), for which he won the Taiwan Literature Prize. He lectures in the Department of Theatre Arts of the Taipei National University of the Arts. His participation was made possible by Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture.
Simon URBAN (fiction writer; Germany) has turned to full-time writing after a career in advertising. He is the author of the novel Plan D (2011), translated into 11 languages. His award-winning short stories have been published in several literary journals. He participates courtesy of the Max Kade Foundation.
Corinne N’GUESSAN (fiction writer; Cote D’Ivoire) is a bank manager in Abidjan. Her first novel Les vierges folles [The Mad Virgins] appeared earlier this year. She participates courtesy of the U.S. Embassy in Abidjan.
Erez VOLK (translator; Israel), a software engineer, linguist and chef, is an editor and a translator from the English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish into Hebrew and English. His translations range from classics (Chekhov, Hugo, Walser) to contemporary writers like Carlos Ruíz Zafón. He participates courtesy of the United States-Israel Education Foundation.
Amanda Lee KOE (fiction writer; Singapore) edits fiction at Esquire (Singapore) and the literary journal Ceriph, creative nonfiction for the magazine POSKOD, and is a co-editor of Eastern Heathens, an anthology revisiting Asian folktales. Her first book, Ministry of Moral Panic, will appear later this year. A communications director at studioKALEIDO, she also teaches creative writing workshops and curates arts exhibitions. Her co-directed documentary, Post-Love, about older people’s sexuality, was screened at festivals in Singapore, Canada, and China; Koe’s work has appeared in Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong, the U.K., and the U.S. She participates courtesy of the Singapore National Arts Council.
KIM Seoryung (fiction writer; South Korea) has since her debut in 2003 published seven books, including the novels [The Chop Waltz] (2010) and [Humming on the Bicycle] (2012), and the award-winning story collection [Where Do I Go] (2012). Her most recent work is the collection of prose [We Need Sundays; 2013]; the novel [Nana] is being serialized in the daily Hankyoreh. She is an editor of the [Quarterly Literature Magazine] and an administrator in the literature division of the Asia Culture Network. She participates courtesy of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea.
DAI Fan / 戴凡 (nonfiction and fiction writer, scholar; China) is a 2012-13 Fulbright Visiting Research Scholar in the Nonfiction Writing Program at University of Iowa. She writes in both Chinese and English, with four collections of essays in Chinese, and the novel Butterfly Lovers in English. Her work in English has appeared in Drunken Boat and Asia Literary Review. She is a professor of linguistics, and the director of the Center for Creative Writing of the School Foreign Languages at Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou. She teaches one of the very few creative writing courses in English as a second language in China.
Cynthia EDUL (playwright, fiction writer; Argentina). Edul’s plays Miami, Bonsai Family, The Tour, and A dónde van los corazones rotos have all been produced for the stage; her novel La sucesión [The Succession] appeared in 2012. Edul is the founder and artistic director of the International Platform of Performing Arts Panorama Sur, and the president of Asociación para el Teatro Latinoamericano; she teaches literature at the Universidad de San Andrés. Her participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Sabata-mpho MOKAE (poet, nonfiction and fiction writer; South Africa) is the author of the poetry collection Escaping Trauma (2012) and the biography The Story of Sol T. Plaatje (2010). His debut novel in Setswana, Ga Ke Modisa [I’m Not My Brother’s Keeper] (2012) won the M-Net Literary Award for Best Novel in Setswana as well as the M-Net Film Award; the youth novella Dikeledi [Tears] was launched in 2014. In 2011 he also won the South African Literary Award in the literary journalism category. He is a columnist and a journalist, and a co-founder of the annual Sol Plaatje Literary Festival. He participates courtesy of the U.S. Consulate General in Cape Town.
Auguste CORTEAU (fiction writer, playwright, translator; Greece) is the author of fourteen novels, among them [Shameless Suicides] (2005), [The Obliteration of Nikos] (2008), [Sixteen] (2010), and [The Book of Katherine] (2013), and the short story collection [The Man Who Ate Too Much] (2012). He also won the 2004 Greek National Book Award for Children’s Literature and the IBBY Prize for Best Children’s Novel. Corteau has translated over 30 titles, including the work of Apollinaire, Faulkner, Salinger, Proulx, Updike and Banville. He writes primarily in English, teaches creative writing, and is a self-taught pianist. He participates courtesy of the U.S. Embassy in Athens.
Gerður KRISTNÝ (fiction writer, poet; Iceland) is the author of five poetry collections, two novels, nine books for children, a travelogue and one biography. Widely awarded, her work has been translated into 21 languages. In 2011 the musical [The Ball at Bessastadir], based on her fiction, was staged at Iceland’s National Theatre. Kristný has worked in broadcasting, and is the former editor-in-chief of a literary monthly. Her participation is made possible by The Paul and Hualing Engle Fund.
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