Participants by Genre

Participants: Journalist

1990
filmmaker, journalist
Enrique BUTTI
1990
journalist
Jérôme CARLOS
1992
fiction writer, journalist
Inaki ZABALETA
1993
journalist, playwright
Gustavo OTT
1996
fiction writer, journalist

Anatxu ZABALBEASCOA is an art historian and journalist whose books on Spanish architecture and art are widely respected in the world scene. She is the author of two novels, En otros ojos ("In Other Eyes"; Alba Editorial, 1996), and The Everlasting Return (in progress), and a short story collection, Anima Animal. Her numerous texts for exhibition catalogs and her books on art history are published in London, New York, Madrid and Barcelona, with editions in German and Greek. She earned the MA in the history and criticism of modern art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; a diploma in international relations from the College of Journalism in London, and is a graduate in journalism from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She is a reviewer and critic for the leading Spanish newspapers El Pais and La Vanguardia. She is an IWP grantee of the US Information Agency.

1996
critic, fiction writer, journalist

Adovi John-Bosco Adotévi is director of the independent weekly, Motion d'Information. His extensive knowledge of African politics and world affairs comes from long experience as head of the foreign news departments for periodicals in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire, as well as his association with the ANB-BNA news agency in Brussels. He holds a law degree from the University of Bordeaux (France), and in post-graduate studies in law (the diplome d'etudes superieures) from the Faculty of Law and Economic Studies in Dakar. One of his country's most distinguished critics, Mr. Adotévi is known throughout the region for his novel Sacrilege a Mandali, and for such essays as L'Apartheid et la societe international ("Apartheid and International Society"). His participation in the IWP is supported by the US Information Agency's International Visitor Program.

1996
fiction writer, journalist

Roberto AMPUERO is a lecturer of literature and journalism at the University of Vina del Mar, and a columnist for Santiago's leading newspaper El Mercurio. Among his widely published novels are Quién mató a Cristian Kustermann? (Santiago: 1993), Der Schluessel liegt in Bonn (Berlin: 1995), Boleros en La Habana (Buenos Aires: 1995), and El Aleman de Atacama, forthcoming in November. He studied at the University of Chile and the University of Havana, studying Latin American and Spanish literature and social anthropology. He has worked extensively in Bonn and Berlin as a translator, a foreign correspondent, chief editor of the magazine Desarrollo y Cooperación in Bonn, and moderator for a program on Deutsche-Welle TV. He has received the Artes y Letras prize, and the Municipal Prize for Literature from the City of Valparaíso. He is supported by a grant from the Fundación Andes.

1996
fiction writer, journalist, non-fiction writer

Stephan SANDERS is a well-known figure in the Netherlands for his widely read commentary in major newspapers and his participation in literary and cultural debates on national television. He studied philosophy and political science at the University of Amsterdam. Since 1982 he has published articles in numerous Dutch weeklies and newspapers and has worked for several radio stations. Since his debut in 1991 he published four collections of essays and stories. He is a member of the Dutch Rushdie Defense Committee and of the European Writers' Parliament. Stephan Sanders is known for his sharp, independent and bright comments in Holland's leading newspaper de Volkskrant. He is attending the IWP on a full grant from the Foundation for the Production and Translation of Dutch Literature.

1998
fiction writer, journalist

Igal SARNA (fiction writer, cultural journalist, Israel; born 1952, Tel Aviv) received the IBM Prize for Tolerance for a series of articles about Iranian political refugees in an Israeli prison, and his biography of the Israeli poet Yona Wallach (Keter Publishing Co., 1993) was on the Israeli best-seller list for several months. His novel The Memory Hunter was published by Am Oved in 1997. His collection of short stories, Israel, Another Landscape has been translated into Italian and French. After fighting in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Mr. Sarna was one of the founding members of Peace Now. He has been on the editorial board of Israel's most popular daily newspaper, Yediot Ahronot since 1986. His participation in the IWP is supported by the United States Information Agency.

1999
fiction writer, journalist, non-fiction writer

Slawomir POKRAKA (born 1974, Lublin) writes for the Echo Ziemi Lubartowskiej (local daily) in Lubartow. At a very young age he recently published "Palimpsest," "Wall," and other short stories in Akcent (cultural quarterly); "Final Thing" in Tworczosc (national Literary magazine), 1997; "After-image and Other Miniatures" and "What are the Limits of Civil Obedience?" in Scriptores Scholarum (Lublin cultural magazine), 1997; and "Old Woman" in Attempt (university magazine), 1996. His short stories, published in regional and national cultural periodicals, are a valuable voice of his young generation and a reflection of life in the small town and rural areas of southeastern Poland. Mr. Pokraka would like to learn about young American literature, logic and literature, American literary periodicals, and U.S. provinces and networks during his stay in this country. He is attending the IWP on a grant from the US Information Agency.

2000
fiction writer, journalist

Viktoriya Anatolyevna FOMINA (born 1965, Nalchik) is considered a rising talent in Moscow literary circles. Her recently published collection of short stories was nominated for one of the highly rated "Anti-Booker" awards in 1999 and received critical acclaim. Her stories have received awards in two Internet literary competitions, have been translated into Italian and German, and are included in a recent German anthology of the best prose by young Russian writers. Her readings on the radio programs "Liberty" and "Resonance" are very popular with Russian audiences. Her work has appeared in prestigious Russian journals, including Znamya, Druzhba Narodov, Vremya 1 My, and Strelets. She was educated at the Moscow Literary University and the Moscow Art Theater School; she is a member of the Union of Writers of Moscow. The US Department of State is supporting her participation in the IWP.

2001
journalist, poet

Thongbay PHOTISANE (born 1960, Svanakhet) directs and edits the only monthly literary magazine in Laos, and serves as second secretary of the Lao Writer's Association, editing its newsletter. His most recent short stories, "The Life of Love," "The Love of the Luang Prabang Song," "Life and Family" and "Song of Man" have appeared in Vannasin magazine, the monthly publication of the Lao Ministry of Information and Culture; these were also published as a book. He is the IWP's first representative from Laos. The first Laotian participant in the program, he is here through the US Department of State.

2001
fiction writer, journalist

Rehman RASHID (born 1955, Perak) is the author of Malaysia Journey, a best selling book that presents, in alternating fictional and nonfiction segments, reflections on Malaysian society since independence, and on the relations among Malaysia's three major ethnic groups. He also wrote Pangkor: Treasure of the Straits. He is currently at work on another novel. As a journalist, Mr. Rashid served as senior writer for Bermuda Business (Bermuda) and Asiaweek (Hong Kong), and leader writer for the Straits Times . He holds a bachelor of science in marine biology from the University of Swansea (Wales). He is at the IWP on a grant from the US Department of State.

Gordon McLAUCHLAN
2002
fiction writer, journalist

Gordon McLAUCHLAN is a highly accomplished journalist and fiction writer. He is the chairman of Four Star Books and host of the Radio New Zealand program “Book Club.” He has also hosted two New Zealand network television magazine shows, edited Bateman’s New Zealand Encyclopedia, provided the New Zealand questions for Trivial Pursuit, and was president of the New Zealand Society of Authors. He has written more than eight books, including political commentaries. He is participating courtesy of Creative New Zealand and the University of Iowa.

Gideon NYIRENDRA
2002
journalist, poet

Gideon NYIRENDRA is a freelance journalist for the “Community Voice” and the “Zambian Citizen” newspapers in Lusaka. Established poet, former president of the Poetry Society of Zambia, and dedicated student of Human Rights Law, Mr. Nyirendra has been helping to advance every form of Zambian literature. He is participating courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.

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.

Gintaras GRAJAUSKAS
2003 Resident
editor, journalist, poet

Gintaras GRAJAUSKAS (b. 1966, Marijampole) won the Z. Gele Prize for best first book of poems with Tatuiruote (Tattoo, 1993). Another collection of his, Kauline dudele (Bone Pipe, 1999), won both the Spring of Poetry and Simonaityte Awards. His works have been translated into English, German, Polish among other languages. In addition to writing poetry, Mr. Grajauskas works as a journalist and editor of Klaipeda, a daily newspaper very popular in Klaipeda city and the western part of Lithuania. He is responsible for the selection of literary works and promotion of young Lithuanian writers featured in Klaipeda's monthly literary supplement "Gintaro Lasai" (Drops of Amber). Since 2000, he has organized the annual poetry festival Placdarmas (Bridgehead) in Klaipeda. Having studied jazz at the State Conservatoire in Klaipeda, he also sings and plays the bass guitar in the band Rokfeleriai. He is participating courtesy of the U.S. Department of State.

Helon HABILA
2004 Resident
fiction writer, journalist, poet

Helon HABILA began his career in journalism, a s the literary editor for the Lagos-based Vanguard Newspaper. In 2000, he won two of the country's major literary awards for his poem, "Another Age,"and for his short story, "The Butterfly and the Artist." In 2001, his short story, "Love Poems," won him the coveted Caine Prize for African Writing. Then his debut novel, Waiting for an Angel (2003), which follows the difficulties faced by a young journalist writing under military rule in a country like Nigeria, won the Commonwealth Prize for Best First Book, African Region. He is currently the African Writing Fellow at the University of East Anglia in the UK and has a new novel, Measuring Time, due out in 2005. Mr. Habila is participating courtesy of the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation and the William B. Quarton International Writing Program Scholarship.

Alexis STAMATIS
2004 Resident
fiction writer, journalist, playwright, poet

Alexis STAMATIS (poet, fiction writer, journalist, librettist, playwright; b. 1960, Greece) has left few literary stones unturned. A novelist, poet, playwright, translator, and journalist, Mr. Stamatis is the author of five novels and five collections of poems, numerous translations and magazine articles, two opera librettos, and two plays. His most recent works are the novel Theseus Street (2003) and the poetry collection The Closer I Get the More the Future Gets Away (2004). Mr. Stamatis worked as a writer for the 2004 Olympic Games, and is currently the chief editor for foreign literature for the Metaixmio Publishing House. He has also worked as an architect. Mr. Stamatis is participating courtesy of the Greek Fulbright Commission.

Natalya VOROZHBIT
2004 Resident
journalist, playwright

Natalya VOROZHBIT (playwright, journalist; b. 1975, USSR; lives in Russia) is the author of six plays, including ãThe Lives of Simple People,ä produced in Kiev, and published in her native Ukraine; and ãGalka Motalka,ä to be published in the Moscow journal Contemporary Drama . She has worked as a journalist, an editor, and in television. She was also a contributor to ãOld People: Plans for the Future,ä a documentary play project. Her participation was made possible by the Trust for Mutual Understanding Foundation.

Pages

Happening Now

  • Congratulations to our colleagues Jennifer Croft and Aron Aji, who are among those serving as judges for the National Book Awards this year, in their case in the category of translated literature.

  • Ranjit Hoskote’s speech at the 2024 Goa Literary Festival addresses the current situation in Gaza.

  • In NY Times, Bina Shah worries about the state of Pakistani—and American—democracy.

  • “I went to [Ayodhya] to think about what it means to be an Indian and a Hindu... ”  A new essay by critic and novelist Chandrahas Choudhury.

  • In the January 2024 iteration of the French/English non-fiction site Frictions, T J Benson writes about “Riding Afrobeats Across the World.” Also new, a next installment in the bilingual series featuring work by students from Paris VIII’s Creative Writing program and the University of Iowa’s NFW program.

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