Bernice CHAULY (poet, nonfiction and fiction writer, playwright, filmmaker; Malaysia) is the author of the poetry collections going there and coming back (1997), The Book of Sins (2008), and Onkalo (2013), the short-fiction book Lost in KL (2008) and the memoir Growing Up With Ghosts (2011), winner of the 2012 Reader's Choice Awards for non-fiction. Her award-winning films have screened at international film festivals. Chauly is a co-founder of Rhino Press and of Malaysia’s longest-running literary platform Readings, and the curator of the George Town Literary Festival; she teaches creative writing at Taylor’s University. Her participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2014 Resident
fiction writer, poet, translator
Ahmed SHAFIE (poet, fiction writer, translator; Egypt) is the author of the poetry collection [and Other Poems] (2009) and the novel [The Creator] (2013). He has translated Charles Simic, Billy Collins, Lucille Clifton, and an anthology of Afro-American poems into Arabic. Shafie writes for the poetry translation blog ‘Aswast men Honak’ [Distant Voices], and blogs at ‘Qera’at Ahmed Shafie,’ [Readings of Ahmed Shafie]. His participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2014 Resident
fiction writer, playwright
Boaz GAON (playwright, fiction writer; Israel) has had six plays produced for the stage, Danziger, Boged, Argentina, The Return to Haifa, Prime Time, and Dress Rehearsal. He is also the author of the novel [Gymax’s Yellow Bus] (1995), and of the TV series [The Prosecutor] and [Prisoner Milo]. Gaon teaches dramatic writing at Minshar College of Arts, oversees drama developments for HSCC TV, and chairs the Gaon Center for the Study of Ladino Culture at Ben Gurion University. He has long been involved in Israeli-Palestinian peace organizations and initiatives. He participates courtesy of the United States-Israel Education Foundation.
2014 Resident
fiction writer, poet
YEOW Kai Chai (poet, fiction writer; Singapore) is the author of poetry collections Secret Manta (2001) and Pretend I’m Not Here (2006). His poems and stories have been widely published and anthologized. He is an editor at the Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, and has been an editor and music critic for The Straits Times. His third poetry collection, One to the Dark Tower Comes, is forthcoming. He participates courtesy of the Singapore National Arts Council.
2014 Resident
fiction writer
Franca TREUR (fiction writer; Netherlands) won the 2010 Selexyz Debut Prize for her novel Dorsvloer vol confetti [Confetti on the Threshing Floor], which will be released as a feature-length film this fall. Her second novel, De woongroep [The Roommates], came out in early 2014. She contributes stories, columns and essays to NRC Handelsblad, Volkskrant, Groene Amsterdammer, radio 1 VPRO Nooit meer slapen and Vogue. Her participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2014 Resident
fiction writer
Abdullah AL WESALI (fiction writer; Saudi Arabia) is the author of short story collections [The Glow of Dusty Times] (2003) and [Gametes] (2010), and the novel [One Foot of Thickness] (2009), presently banned in his home country. Al Wesali is the coordinator of the Dammam Cultural Forum of the Saudi Arabian Society for Culture & Arts, and writes a weekly column on social issues for the daily Alyaum. His most recent novel [Predestinations of the Township] was published earlier this year. He participates courtesy of the U.S. Consulate in Dhahran.
2014 Resident
fiction writer
CHI Li / 池莉 (fiction writer; China) is regarded as the leader of the “New Realism” trend in contemporary Chinese literature. Her many novels include Zi mò hóngchén [Purple Street, Red Dust] (1995), Yī dōng wú xue [A Winter without Snow] (1995), Zhēnshí de rìzi [Days of Realness] (1995), Wuyè qi wu [Midnight Dance] (1998), Xìyāo [Skinny Waist] (1999), and Lì [Grown Up] (2013). Several titles became popular TV serials and films, among them the award-winning Life Show (2002). Her participation was made possible by The Paul and Hualing Engle Fund.
2014 Resident
fiction writer
Sabah SANHOURI (fiction writer; Sudan) is a freelance journalist. Her story "The Isolation" won the El-Tayeb Saleh competition for Youth Short Story Writers and has been made into a short film; it was published by Words Without Borders, and appeared in French and Arabic translations. A story collection, [Mirrors], came out in Egypt and Sudan earlier this year. Her participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S Department of State.
2014 Resident
fiction writer
EUN Heekyung (fiction writer; South Korea) is the author of thirteen books of fiction, including the short story collections [To Try Talking with a Stranger] (1996), [Inheritance] (2002), [Beauty Looks Down on Me] (2007), [Like No Other] (2014); the novels [Save the Last Dance for Me] (1998), [Secrets and Lies] (2005), [Let Boys Cry] (2010), and [Gesture Life] (2012); and more. Her work has been translated into seven languages and won numerous awards, including the inaugural Munhakdongne Novel Award for her 1995 novel [Gift From a Bird]. She participates courtesy of the Arts Council Korea.
2014 Resident
fiction writer, playwright, poet
Binayak BANERJEE (fiction writer, poet, playwright; India) is the author of the novels [A Year with Sohagini] (2008), [The Winner] (2009), and [Star Harbor] (2011), the poem collections [You My Life, You Alien] (2008), and [One Hundred Love Poems] (2013), and, in 2013, the play [Rabindranath Public Limited] (2013). He writes for Bengali literary magazines, is engaged with the Shakespeare Society of Eastern India, and teaches English at the Sri Ram Roy School and the Syamaprasad College in Kolkata. His participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2014 Resident
fiction writer
Mamle KABU (fiction writer; Ghana) is the author of the young adult novel The Kaya-Girl (2012), and is currently working on her first novel. Her stories, which include “The End of Skill” (shortlisted for the 2009 Caine Prize), "Human Mathematics” and "Story of Faith" have been anthologized across Africa, the U.S. and the UK. She is the associate director of the Writers Project of Ghana. Her participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2014 Resident
fiction writer, poet, translator
Laurynas KATKUS (poet, fiction writer, translator, essayist; Lithuania) is the author of the novel Judantys šešėliai [Moving Shadows] (2012), the essay collection Sklepas [The Basement] (2011), and the poetry collections Balsai, Rašteliai [Voices, Notes] (1998), Nardymo pamokos [Diving Lessons] (2003) and Už septynių gatvių [Behind 7 Streets] (2009). His writing has been widely translated, appearing New European Poets: an Anthology, Absinthe, The Drunken Boat and elsewhere; he translates from the English, German and Spanish. His participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2014 Resident
fiction writer, poet, publisher, translator
MYAY HMONE LWIN (poet, fiction writer, translator; Burma/Myanmar) is the author of the poetry collection Se ma lar [Wanna Ride?] (2010), the short story collection Yangon tayeiksanyone mha pyan yaggaun lootnay [An Otter Sneaked Out From the Yangon Zoo] (2014), and the novels Nhit phie da pine [One By Two 1/2] (2011), Khu (2011), A yate ta kyi kyi [Watch Out Your Shadow] (2012) and Kyat sar ko khae pyat nhit pyat ywae ma ya [What Has Been Written on the Stone Can’t Be Erased by an Eraser] (2013). He owns a publishing house and printing press, and is on the Board of Directors of PEN Myanmar. His participation is privately funded.
2014 Resident
fiction writer, playwright
Kinana ISSA (fiction writer, playwright; Syria) is the author of Windows, a collection of six short stories that have been adapted for a multimedia theatrical play, of a script for the interactive sound installation Gardens Speak and of scripts for five films. She has worked as a translator, organized filmmaking workshops and screening events; and as a freelance journalist for AP and Al Jazeera Children; currently she is an editor at The Syria Campaign. Her participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2014 Resident
fiction writer
Enrique SERRANO (fiction writer; Colombia) is the author of the books La marca de España (1997), De parte de Dios (1999), Tamerlán (2003), Donde no te conozcan (2007), El hombre de diamante (2008), A passage to India....from Colombia (2009), and La diosa mortal (2014). He has worked for Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is an emeritus professor of International Relations and Political Sciences at Del Rosario University in Bogotá. His participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2015 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer
Birgül OĞUZ (fiction writer, non-fiction writer; Turkey) was among the winners of the 2014 European Union Prize for Literature for her latest short fiction collection Hah (2012), now being translated into thirteen European languages. A PhD candidate in English Literature at Bosphorus University, she lectures on literature at independent academic institutions and theater houses in Istanbul. Her participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2015 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer
Samuel KOLAWOLE (fiction and nonfiction writer; Nigeria) is the author of the story collection The Book of M (2011), and other stories, widely anthologized. He has had grants and fellowships from the Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development, the Norman Mailer Centre and the Edward F. Albee Foundation, among others. Currently working on his second book, he directs a writing school in Ibadan. His participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2015 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer
Yu-Mei BALASINGAMCHOW (fiction and nonfiction writer; Singapore) has had stories appear in the anthologies From the Belly of the Cat (2009) and Let’s Tell This Story Properly: Commonwealth Short Story Prize Anthology (2015), as well as in the journal Mänoa. Her nonfiction work includes Singapore:A Biography (2009; co-authored with Mark Ravinder Frost), commissioned by the National Museum of Singapore. In 2014 she was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. She participates courtesy of the Singapore National Arts Council.
2015 Resident
fiction writer, poet, visual artist
Teresa PRÄAUER (fiction writer, poet, visual artist; Austria) is the author of the novels Johnny und Jean (2014) and Für den Herrscher aus Übersee [For the Emperor from Overseas], which received the Aspekte prize for best German-language prose debut of 2012, as well as of a book of poetry postcards entitled [Pigeons’ Letters] (2009). In 2015 she received a Droste and a Hölderlin promotion award, and was shortlisted for the Leipzig Book Fair Prize. She regularly publishes on the subjects of poetry, theatre, pop culture and fine arts. Her participation is made possible by the Max Kade Foundation.
2015 Resident
fiction writer
ARMEN OF ARMENIA (fiction writer; Armenia) is the author of the story collection [The Return of Kikos] (2013), and the novel [Mommyland; Flag] (2015); a short story of his appeared in the 2015 edition of Best European Fiction. His writing is significantly influenced by his political activism. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
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