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.
2013 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer
Asma NADIA (fiction/nonfiction writer; Indonesia) is the author of 49 books, of which three [Emak Longs To Take the Hajj] (2009), [House with No Windows] (2011), and Ummi (2012) have been adapted for the screen. Nadia contributes regularly to the daily Republika , which named her one of the seven most influential people in Indonesia for 2010. A co-founder of Forum Lingkar Pena, and Komunitas Bisa Menulis, which helps youth become writers, she is also a frequent campaigner in the “Indonesian Women Write” movement, and an organizer of 63 Rumah Baca, which provides free reading rooms for underserved youth. She participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2013 Resident
fiction writer, performance artist, playwright
Patrícia PORTELA (playwright, fiction writer; Portugal) has written and coordinated nearly twenty stage performances and live art works across Europe, the Middle East, China and Brazil. Widely anthologized, she is the author of the novels Para Cima e Não Para Norte (2008) and Banquete (2012). A founder of the cultural association Prado, she teaches regularly at Forum Dança in Lisbon and, recently, in the Program for Visual Criticism and Film at the University of Antwerp. She participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2013 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer, poet, screenwriter
ALAI / 阿来 (fiction writer, poet; China) won the prestigious 2000 Mao Dun literary prize for his first novel, Chen ‘ai luoding, which appeared in the U.S. as Red Poppies (2003, trans. Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Lin). His other novels include [The Silversmith Beneath the Moonlight] (2001), [Empty Mountain] (2005), [Ladder of the Earth] (2008) and, most recently, [King Gesar]. A Lai, who is of Tibetan ethnicity, has also published volumes of essays and interviews, and produced a number of scripts for television. He participates courtesy of The Paul and Hualing Engle Fund.
2013 Resident
fiction writer
Rodrigo BLANCO CALDERÓN (fiction writer; Venezuela) is the author of three collections of short stories: Una larga fila de hombres [Men in a Long Line] (2005), Los invencibles (2007) and most recently Las rayas [Scratches] (2011), anthologized in many Latin American publications. Blanco Calderón participated in the 2007 Hay Festival Bogota as one of ‘Latin America’s 39 Most Exciting Authors Under 39.’ He is the founder the publishing house and bookstore Lugar Común, and teaches literature at the Universidad Central de Venezuela. His participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2013 Resident
fiction writer
Mahsa MOHEBALI (fiction writer; Iran) is the author of the short story collections [The Voices] (1998) and [Love-making in Footnotes] (2004), the latter a winner of the Golshiri Foundation's award for best short story collection, and of two novels, [The Grey Spell] (2002) and [Don’t Worry] (2008), which won both the Golshiri Foundation’s and the Press Critics’ Best Novel award. Her work has been translated into Swedish, published widely in print and on-line, and performed on stages across Iran.
2013 Resident
fiction writer, translator
Muhamed ABDELNABI (fiction writer, translator; Egypt) is the author of the short story collections [A Rose For Who Betrays] (2003) and [The Ghost of Anton Chekhov] (2012), and of the novel [The Return of the Sheikh] (2012), long-listed for the 2013 Arabic Booker Prize. His stories and essays have appeared in many Arabic-language publications in print and on-line. Said’s translations into Arabic include among others work by Hisham Matar, Joe Sacco, the Dalai Lama, and Tariq Ali. He participates courtesy of the William B. Quarton Foundation.
2013 Resident
fiction writer, playwright, screenwriter
Shandana MINHAS (fiction writer; Pakistan) has been a columnist, a teacher, an actor, a screenwriter, a playwright, and more. Her novel Tunnel Vision (2007) was nominated for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book; a second title Survival Tips For Lunatics, for young readers, will be published in 2014. Minhas is currently working on a collection of short stories and another novel. She participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2013 Resident
fiction writer, poet, translator
Lili MENDOZA (fiction writer, poet, translator; Panama) is the author of the short story collection Corazón de charol a-go-gó (2009). Her stories and poetry have been anthologized in Panama, Costa Rica, Spain, Peru, and the U.S., and showcased at literary events in Europe. An active member of the Theater Guild of Ancon, Mendoza also collaborates in musical and dance performances. She participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2013 Resident
fiction writer
Tom CROSSHILL (fiction writer; Latvia) is the author of the short story collection Dubultnieki un citi stāsti (2011). His fiction has won the Writers of the Future contest, and was twice shortlisted for the Nebula Award, given out by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. His work has been featured in Finnish, Cuban, Chinese, Polish, English, and Latvian publications. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2013 Resident
children's author, fiction writer, filmmaker, poet
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.
2013 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer, poet
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.
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