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.
2004 Resident
fiction writer
(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.
2005 Resident
fiction writer, playwright
won the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2003 for “Weight of Whispers,” a story told from the perspective of a Rwandan fleeing after the 1994 massacres. She has written several screenplays, such as Kit Luanda, Shadows of Silence, and Bokor’s Drum; her short stories include “My Mother, My Muse” and “The State of Tides.” She serves as the Executive Director of the Zanzibar International Film Festival, a non-profit organization that showcases Indian Ocean arts and culture through the ZIFF Festival of the Dhow countries. She is participating courtesy of the US Department of State.
2005 Resident
fiction writer, poet, translator
, lecturer in English and psychology at the Lalit Multiple Campus, is also also a clinical therapist and counselor for trafficked women, and the author of Kehi Maya, Kehi Paridi ('Some Love, Some Limits'), Manju Kanchulika Katha ('Stories by Manju Kanchuli', alongside other volumes of short stories. The poems in her collections Two Sisters and 'My Life My World' and 'Inside & Outside Eyelids', bypass the traditional modes in their layered readings simultaneously of men's exploitative power and abuse and of women's thwarted desire. Ms. Kanchuli is participating courtesy of the US Department of State.
2005 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer, poet, translator
studied comparative literature at the University of Skopje, then earned a Ph.D. in Romanian literature from the University of Bucharest, where she taught Macedonian language and literature. Now she lives in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Her books of poetry include The Offspring of the East, The Fire of Letters, Bitten Nails, and Nobel vs. Nobel., and an edited anthology of recent Macedonian poetry. Her first novel, Candid Camera, won the “Stale Popov” award for best prose work. In 2006 Ugly Duckling Presse (New York) will publish a selection of her poetry. She is participating courtesy of CEC/ ArtsLink. Photo: G.Gross Dimkovska.
2005 Resident
fiction writer, playwright, screenwriter
is a civil engineer who lives in Aleppo. His novels include Cancer, The North Winds, A Case of Passion, and Noise and Silence. Of his many television dramas the most widely acclaimed, Silk Market, set in Aleppo during the political turmoil of the 1950s, was shown throughout the Middle East, in Germany and in Australia. His latest series, Al Khait Al Abiadh (‘The First Gleam of Dawn’), provides a frank depiction of the country’s government-controlled media. Many Arab-speaking stations aired the series in 2004, generating praise for its boldness and controversy. He is at work on a 30-episode series about the early life of the Lebanese-born artist and poet Kahlil Gibran. He participates courtesy of the US Department of State.
2005 Resident
fiction writer, poet
(pen name of Estabraq Alfaraj) After graduating from law school, Ms. Alfaraj became an investigator at the Ministry of the Interior. She also joined a writers’ league and attended seminars, both of which enabled her to begin publishing articles in newspapers and magazines. In 2004, her short story "Darkness of the Light" won first place in a competition sponsored by the prominent Kuwaiti writer Lila Al-Othman. Ms. Alfaraj continues to work at the ministry.
2005 Resident
fiction writer, translator
received her B.A. in history and comparative literature at Hebrew University this year. She works for an Israeli-Palestinian NGO, ‘Windows,’ whose educational and cultural programs aim to promote understanding, and reconciliation between the people from both nations. She is a translator for Windows’ bi-lingual youth magazine, and contributes articles to the book supplement of Ha’aretz newspaper and the literary journal Ma’ayan. She is writing a novel about life in Jaffa. She participates courtesy of the US Department of State.
2005 Resident
fiction writer, poet, translator
lived in Japan for sixteen years, which inspired her novel The Air of Tokyo (2002). She received a B.A. in Comparative Culture from Sophia University in Tokyo, and is a Ph.D. candidate in creative writing at the University of Adelaide. The Tokyo Journal published her first poem in 1985. Her prose, poetry and translations of Japanese literature have appeared, often in her own performances, on the Australian Broadcasting Commission’s “Poetica” Program, Writer’s Radio 5UV, and SBS Japanese Radio.
2005 Resident, 2017 Visitor
fiction writer
Yvonne Adhiambo OWUOR (fiction writer; Kenya) is an author, lecturer, and arts curator. Her first novel, Dust, was published by Knopf in 2014, and received the 2015 TBC Jomo Kenyatta Literature Award. In 2003, she won the Caine Prize for African Writing for her story “Weight of Whispers,” also the title of a 2003 volume. Owuor was an IWP Fall Resident in 2005, and returns in 2017 as the Residency’s first Grinnell Fellow. She participates courtesy of Grinnell College.
2005 Resident
fiction writer, filmmaker
is well-known for his distinctive short films Souvenir (1997), Baby (1998) and So Nyeon Gi (1999, ‘Brushing’), all shown at the Clermont-Ferrand, Chicago and Venice international film festivals. After completing the short Mobil (2004, part of the omnibus feature Show Me), presented at Puchon Fantastic Film Festival, he embarked on his first full-length feature Antarctic Journal, based on his eponymous novel and starring Song Gang-Ho. This mystery thriller, revolving around a Korean expedition to the continent, was released this summer in Korea and Japan. He participates courtesy of the Freeman Foundation.
2005 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer
studied electronic engineering at Ajou University, then devoted himself to Korea’s labor movement, serving as chief editor for two national unions' publications. He made his literary debut in 1992 with “Rolling Stones” in the Korean magazine Creation & Criticism, and several stories followed. After a ten-year hiatus, he returned to writing with a novel, Sihanoukville Stories, and two long essays, “The Sad Shadow of Mekong: Indochina” and “SweetTropics.” He contributes articles, columns and serializations to various magazines. He is participating courtesy of the Korean Culture and Arts Foundation.
2005 Resident
fiction writer, translator
earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The title story of her dissertation, "Kyoto Panorama Project," was published in The Massachusetts Review. Other publications in American journals include “Chick Sexing School,” “Movie Dog,” and “Between the Imperial Garden and Temple Street.” She lectures on topics in American literature, and is currently Assistant Professor of English at Keio University in Tokyo. She participates courtesy of Keio University.
2005 Resident
editor, fiction writer, non-fiction writer, publisher
, a consultant for several international human rights NGO’s, has published two short-story collections, Zillij and Fifteen. In 2003 she co-founded the Perera-Hussein Publishing House to present emerging and established Sri Lankan writers. She edits Nethra, a journal published by the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, which addresses issues of violence, governance, and development. Ms. Hussein, now at work on a novel, participates courtesy of the US Department of State.
2005 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer
made his Vietnamese publishing debut in 1995 with a collection of poems titled (in English) Man Who Tends the Waves. His work has appeared in several American publications, including Tinfish and The Literary Review, Vietnam Inside-Out: Dialogues (2001), and the anthology Three Vietnamese Poets (2001). He has also written several works of prose, such as Following on the Trail of Pinion to the Mild-Zone ( 2003) and Tibet-Bloom Drop in the Sunshine ( 2004). A member of the Vietnamese Association of Writers and of the Vietnamese Association of Journalists, Mr. Hai works for Viet Nam Television and has thrice received the Gold Prize for his work on documentary films. He is participating courtesy of the US Department of State.
2005 Resident
editor, fiction writer, journalist
debuted in 2000 with The Days of Shaytaan, a novel depicting the void between emigrant parents and their westernized children, and has since written many short stories, including "Little Hamid," which won the El Hizjra Literary Prize. His most recent work, "Nobody has a Program for the Concert of Life," appeared in a collection of short stories from leading Dutch writers. He is writing a commissioned script for a film about derailed youth. He is participating courtesy of the US Department of State.
2005 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer
earned a Ph.D. in English Literature from Ain Shams University, Cairo. She has served as a lecturer in English literature at Suez Canal University, and as a language instructor, at Cairo University. In 1995, Ms. Prince traveled to the TESOL Institute at St. Michael College in Vermont, courtesy of a Fulbright Scholarship. Her work includes two selections of short stories, Shortsightedness and The Last Piece of Clay, and the novel Three Suitcases for Traveling. She has published essays on writing in Egyptian and other Arab newspapers and literary magazines. At work on a new novel, she is partcipating courtesy of the US Department of State.
2005 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer
first participated in the IWP in 1994. In his home country he is respected for his willingness to confront Austria’s past in writing that contemplates the last world war’s effects on Europe’s current social and political forces. Opernball (1995), a best-seller in Germany, was translated into thirteen language and adapted for television. A subsequent novel, Das Vaterspiel, portrays Holocaust survivors and perpetrators living in the United States. Currently professor of Literary Aesthetics at Leipzig University, he participates courtesy of Austrian Cultural Forum, and generous donations to the IWP Writers Fund.
2005 Resident
editor, fiction writer
is the IWP’s first writer from Kazakhstan. She studied Russian philology at Almaty State University and English philology at the Kazakh State University of Foreign Languages. She is an editor at Cosmo Kazakhstan magazine, and contributes short stories to Apolinary magazine. She participates courtesy of the US Department of State.
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