Participants by Genre

Sabit MADALIEV is a prominent figure in Russian-language literature of Central Asia. His work embraces modern and traditional Uzbeki themes and poetry genres; he seeks to express them in traditional as well as in contemporary, often Western, forms. From 1991 to 1996 he was the editor of The Star of the East , an influential, post-independence literary journal in Tashkent. He has published ten books of poetry and fiction, as well as essays on issues of democracy and national problems in Central Asia. An orchestrated campaign led to his ouster from The Star of the East, and to a publishing blacklist. Subsequently he worked on a World Bank Project, aimed at publicizing the Aral Sea ecological disaster; more recently, however, his dissenting views have made it impossible to find work. His last two books are Rubai quatrains, aimed to give new life to a medieval poetic genre. After a nine-month wait for a visa, he will spend a year at the University of Iowa, serving as the International Program's first Public Intellectual. He is participating courtesy of the Institute for International Education.

MO Yan / 莫言 (fiction writer, journalist; China)  is one of China's foremost novelists, best known for his 1987 novel Hong Gaoliang Jiazu ( Red Sorghum ). The internationally acclaimed film adaptation, directed by Zhang Yimou, won the Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival, becoming one of China's most popular films and bringing Chinese cinema into the international mainstream. After a childhood of extreme poverty during the Cultural Revolution, Mo worked in a factory until he joined the army in 1976. He began writing in 1981 and graduated from the Army Academy of Art and Literature in 1986, subsequently receiving a M.A. in literature from Beijing Normal University. In the late 1990s, he left the army to become a professional writer. He has written dozens of short stories and ten or more novels, translated widely. In addition to Red Sorghum , released by Viking in 1993, titles available in English include: Explosions and Other Stories (1991), The Garlic Ballads (1995), and The Republic of Wine: A Novel (2000). Mo Yan is participating courtesy of the University of Iowa; he will be attending the IWP 9/3–9/18.

Said EL HAJI 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.

Polina KOPYLOVA is a graduate of Saint-Petersburg State University of Cinema and Television. She works as a freelance journalist, specializing in modern literature and television. She has also participated in translation projects in English and Finnish. From 2000-2003, she was a correspondent for the magazine Piterbook. She lives in Helsinki, where she is actively involved in the literary community. She participates courtesy of the Open World Program.

Jamby DJUSUBALIEVA is a correspondent accredited to the United Nations, frequent contributor to the Kyrgyz and European press and the editor-in-chief of the journal Meerim. From 2000 to 2003, she served as an official at Kyrgystan's Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva. She participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State.

Ulziitugs LUVSANDORJ (poet, fiction writer, journalist; b. 1972, Mongolia) is the author of one novel Nudnii shilend uldsen zurguud [‘The Pictures, What Remained in the Glasses’] (2004) and four books of poetry. In 2002, her poetry collection Erh cholootei baihyn urlag buyu Shine nom [‘Art of Freedom or The New Book’] was nominated for the National Literary Award Altan Od [Golden Feather]. For the past eight years, she has worked as a freelance journalist. She participates courtesy of the Center for Asian and Pacific Studies (CAPS) at the University of Iowa.

Abdalla Mohamed ABDALLA was born in 1953 in Sudan, where he worked as a teacher, freelance musician, activist and journalist (where he wrote on culture and politics for various newspapers and magazines). He has co-authored a book on traditional Sudanese musical instruments and composed music for two films. In 1991 he went into exile, and lived in Russia and Egypt before coming to the United States as a refugee in 1996.

Ayurzana GUN-AAJAV is a graduate of the Maxim Gorky Literary Institute in Moscow. He has published six books of poetry, two collections of short stories, several non-fiction books, and three novels. In 2002, he was awarded the National Literary Award Altan Od [Golden Feather] for Durlalgui yrtontsiin blues [‘The Blues of a World Without Love’] and again in 2003 for the novel Ilbe zereglee [‘The Magic Mirage’]. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

Lindsay SIMPSON (novelist, journalist, non-fiction writer; Australia) spent twelve years as an investigative journalist with The Sydney Morning Herald and in 1999 was the founding member of the Journalism and Media Studies program at the University of Tasmania. Author of six books of non-fiction, she currently lectures on journalism and writing at James Cook University. In 2006 she published her first novel, The Curer of Souls. Her participation is partly funded by James Cook University.