Participants by Genre

Participants: Fiction writer

Hugo CHAPARRO
2002
fiction writer, poet

Hugo CHAPARRO has won awards for his fiction and critical work and is a two-time recipient of the Colombian National Poetry Prize. He has translated Shakespeare, writes regular columns on film for several magazines, and is soon to publish both a novel, La Sombra del Incantropo (The Werewolf’s Shadow), and a volume of poetry, Escrito en el Tiempo (Written in Time). He is participating courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.

Charleson Lim ONG
2002
fiction writer

Charleson Lim ONG is professor of literature at the Department of English and Comparative Literature at the University of the Philippines. He has edited both The China Post (Taipei) and The Daily Globe (Philippines), and is the author of Men of the East and Other Stories, Woman of Am-Kaw and Other Stories, Conversion and Other Fictions, and An Embarrassment of Riches. He received the Philippines 1990 National Book Award for Fiction. He is participating courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.

Amma DARKO
2002
fiction writer

Amma DARKO; fiction writer; Ghana b. 1956, Koforidua) is the author of the critically acclaimed Beyond the Horizon. The Housemaid , the second of her titles to appear in English, was published in the African Writers Series in 1998, the same year that she won the Ghana Book Award. A former Fellow at the Cambridge Seminars, Ms. Darko has recently contributed “The Color of Poverty” (2001) to a collection by Amnesty International-Germany. She is participating courtesy of the National Resource Center for International Studies and the University of Iowa.

BOUNTHANONG Xomxayphol
2002
fiction writer, poet

BOUNTHANONG Xomxayphol has written thirteen books about, in his words, “the daily life of village people and what they are fighting for.” A former magazine and newspaper editor, and a founding member of four magazines as well as the Lao Writers Association, Mr. Bounthanong is at work on a new novel about a young woman who leaves the rice fields to face life in the city. He is participating courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.

Dorit RABINYAN
2002
fiction writer, poet

Dorit RABINYAN published her debut novel Persian Brides in 1995. Translated into 15 languages, including English, (George Braziller, NY, 1997, translation Yael Lotan), Persian Brides won the Yizhak Vinner Prize in Israel, The Golden and Platinium Awards, and The Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Award in London. In 1997, her television script “Shuly's Fiancé” was directed by Doron Zabari, and won The Israeli Academy Award as the year’s best drama. Strand Of a Thousand Pearls, her second novel, was published in Israel at 1999, translated into 13 languages (Random House Publishing, NY, 2002, translation Yael Lotan), and also received great acclaim, winning the Golden and Platinium Awards, as well as the Eshkol Award. Ms. Rabinyan is now working on a third novel. She is participating courtesy of the US-Israel Educational Foundation.

GRIGOROVA Ina
2002
fiction writer, playwright, poet

GRIGOROVA Ina is the editor of Egoist Magazine, and the author of several screenplays, including Truth or Dare (2001) which won the national contest for Best Screenplay on Channel One. More than fifty of her poems, short stories, and essays have appeared in literary magazines and other periodicals. She is participating courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.

S. DIWAKAR
2002
fiction writer

S. DIWAKAR is highly regarded both as a short-story writer and as a translator, having published many translations of works by Nobel Prize-winning writers, as well as collections of his own short stories and poems. Mr. Diwakar is a book reviewer for the prestigious Indian Review of Books, and an editor in the Office of Public Affairs at the American Consulate in Chennai. He is participating courtesy of the South Asia Studies Program at the University of Iowa and the University of Iowa.

2002, 2003 Alumna/Alumnus
fiction writer, playwright

Edward CAREY is a writer quickly gaining international recognition. He has had five plays produced, most recently an adaptation of Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers . His novel Observatory Mansions, a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Prize, is appearing in ten different countries. This novel, and his new novel Alva and Irva (2003), contain original artwork by the author.

Michael ZELLER
2002
fiction writer, non-fiction writer

Michael ZELLER is the author of Follen’s Heritage: A German (Hi)Story (1986), The Man Who Comes Again (1990), Café Europa (1994), and Kropp: A Revenge (1996), as well as many short stories, essays, and poems. He has been writer-in-residence at New York University and artist-in-residence at the University of Erfurt/Thuringia. He is participating courtesy of the Max Kade Foundation.

2002, 2003 Alumna/Alumnus
fiction writer, playwright

Edward CAREY is a writer quickly gaining international recognition. He has had five plays produced, most recently an adaptation of Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers . His novel Observatory Mansions, a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Prize, is appearing in ten different countries. This novel, and his new novel Alva and Irva (2003), contain original artwork by the author.

Yevgeniya MYAGKA
2003 Resident
fiction writer, poet

Yevgeniya MYAGKA (b. 1959, Kiev) is a well-known Ukrainian poet and fiction writer who has published, under the pen name Yevgeniya Kononenko, a book of poetry, two novels, and a number of short stories. She has received several prestigious literary awards, including first prize at the Granoslov Awards for her book of poetry, First Snow Waltz (1997) and the Suchasnist award for her novel Imitation (2001). She is now working on a new novel and a collection of short stories. She is participating courtesy of the U.S. State Department.

Alejandra COSTAMAGNA
2003 Resident
fiction writer, journalist

Alejandra COSTAMAGNA (b. 1970, Santiago) is an active figure in the Chilean literary scene, having facilitated much-acclaimed creative writing workshops at the University of Chile and Catholic University of Chile as well as many other private cultural centers. She has published three novels and one book of short stories, Malas noches (Bad Nights, 2000). Her first novel, En voz baja (A Low Voice, 1996), won the Gabriela Mistral Literary Games Award. Her second novel was Ciudadano en Retiro ( Citizen in Retirement ,1998), and her third novel, Cansado ya del sol (Already Tired of the Sun, 2002), was a finalist in the Planeta Argentina Award in 2000. Many of her short stories have been adapted for theater production and published in anthologies, including Se Habla Español. Ms. Costamagna currently writes book reviews for Santiago Culture Magazine , contributes to the literature section of the Chilean Rolling Stone, and maintains a column in the Journalist. She is participating courtesy of the U.S. State Department.

KIM Young-Ha
2003 Resident
fiction writer

KIM Young-Ha (b. 1968, Seoul) published his debut novel Nanen nareul pagiohal gweolliga itda [I Have a Right to Destroy Myself] in 1996. The novel was translated into the French as La Mort a Demi-mots (Editions Philippe Picquier, 1998). A prolific writer, he has written more than seven books as well as a significant number of essays and film reviews. In 1999, he won the 44th Contemporary Literature Prize for the novel Dangsine Namu [Your Tree, 1999]. He is also the host of a daily radio show on books and authors. He is participating courtesy of The Korea Literary Translation Institute.

2003 Resident
fiction writer, poet, scholar

MAUNG Swan Yi (b.1939, Kansint) (U Win Pe) won the National Literary Prize in 1964 for his collection of poetry, Poems of Red and Blue (1964). A well-known scholar and writer, his poems, short stories, book reviews, and articles on Mayanma (Burmese) literature and art have appeared in various journals, magazines, and newspapers since 1958, often under the pen name Maung Swan Yi. He has lectured on literature, at schools, town halls, churches, and monasteries, since 1962 and has also devoted himself to the preserving of Burmese culture, conducting extensive field research on Burmese folklore and folk music. He is participating through private sponsorship.

Brit BILDØEN
2003 Resident
fiction writer, poet

Brit BILDØEN (b. 1962, Aalesund) was trained as a librarian but since her debut in 1991 with the book of poems, Bilde Av Menn (Pictures of Men), she has published eleven books in a wide range of genres, including novels, translations and children's books. She has translated, from English to Norwegian, a selection of Rita Dove's poetry entitled Det Rosa Er I Oss (The Pink Is in Us, 1996), Edith Wharton's famous novella Ethan Frome (2002) as well as selections of Adrienne Rich and H.D. In 1998, her novel Tvillingfeber (Twin Fever) won the Natt og Dag Award for Best Oslo Novel. Her latest novel, Landfastlykke (Mainland Happiness) won The Melsom Prize and the Sigmund Skard Scholarship. She has worked as a newspaper editor, a translator, and consultant for her publisher Samlaget and was a member of the Literary Council of the Norwegian Author's Union from 1996-2000. Most recently, she has been working with the interplay between poetry and dance. She is participating courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.

Leopoldo BRIZUELA
2003 Resident
fiction writer, poet, translator

Leopoldo BRIZUELA (b. 1963, La Plata) is among Argentina's most prominent writers. His first novel, Tejiendo Agua (Knitting in Water, 1985) won the Fortbat Prize. Inglaterra. Una fábula (England. A fable, 1999), a novel about an English company of Shakespearean actors who travel to Patagonia to play in front of the same Fuegian tribes who inspired the character of Caliban, won the most important Argentinean prize, the Premio Clarin de Novela. He has also published a collection of short stories (Los que llegamos más legos, 2002), a collection of poems (Fado, 1995), a collection of interviews (Historia de un deseo, 2000), the first Argentinean anthology of fiction on homosexuality, and three books about creative writing. Writers he has translated include Flannery O'Connor, Henry James, and Guy de Maupassant. Currently, he teaches creative writing, contributes to the two most important Argentinean newspapers (Clarin and La Nación), and is writing a novel which takes place in Lisbon during WW II. His works have been published in Portugal, Spain, Germany, Brazil, and France. He is participating courtesy of the U.S. State Department.

Minae MIZUMURA
2003 Resident
fiction writer, scholar

Minae MIZUMURA (b. 1951, Tokyo) moved to the US when she was twelve, studied French literature at Yale but later returned to Japan to dedicate herself to fiction writing. She is now a prominent member of Japan's literary establishment. All her novels pay homage to Japanese literary tradition while breaking new ground. Zoku Meian (Light and Darkness Continued, 1990) finished the unfinished final novel of Natsume Soseki, a figure revered as the greatest modern novelist in Japan . Shishosetsu from Left to Right (An I-Novel from Left to Right, 1995) made use of a bilingual text and horizontal print to question the notion of a Japanese national literature. Her most recent novel, Honkaku Shosetsu (An Orthodox Novel, 2002), is a retelling of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights in postwar Japan , featuring Heathcliff born to a Japanese woman raped by a Chinese bandit. Her novels have received critical acclaim and awards including the distinguished Yomiuri Literature Award. She has taught at Princeton, the University of Michigan and Stanford. She is participating courtesy of the Freeman Foundation.

YAN Li
2003 Resident
fiction writer, poet, visual artist

YAN Li / 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.

2003 Resident
fiction writer

YU Hua / 余华 (novelist; China b. 1960, Hangzhou) published his first book in 1984, Shibasui Chumen Yuanxing (Leaving Home at Eighteen) which was followed by several more novels and collections of short stories and essays, most notably, Huo Zhe (To Live), made into a film by renowned director Zhang Yimou, winning  the Grand Jury Prize and Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival in 1994. Trained as a dentist, Yu Hua left the profession after five years to become a writer. His works have been translated into numerous languages; To Live (Random House, trans. Michael Berry) appeared in English in 2003, followed by Chronicle of a Blood Merchant (Pantheon, trans. Andrew F. Jones) also in 2003. Considered avant-garde and controversial, his fictions place him in the forefront of China's literary scene. He will be participating courtesy of The University of Iowa Chinese Community.

Gábor T. SZÁNTÓ
2003 Resident
fiction writer, poet

Gábor T. SZÁNTÓ ( poet and fiction writer; Hungary b. 1966, Budapest) belongs to the third generation of postwar Jewish Hungarian writers, who came of age after the period of silence about Jewishness that characterized the experience of their parents' generation. Szántó has a degree in political science and jurisprudence from Eötvös Loránd University and is editor in chief of the Jewish cultural monthly Szombat, founded in 1989. He published his first volume of stories, A tizedik ember (The tenth man), in 1995. A volume of two novellas, Mószer (The Informer ) appeared in 1997 and appeared in German as In Schuld verstrickt (1999). Szántó has also published poetry and essays and a novel: Keleti pályadvar, végállomas (Eastern station, last stop). His short stories and essays have been translated in Italian, English, and German. He is participating courtesy of the U.S. State Department.

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