has published five novels (A Woman of Five Seasons is available in English from Interlink Books), and one short story collection. An TV producer and news editor, she has won numerous awards for her documentaries about prominent figures in Arabic letters. She writes a regular column for the Jordanian daily Al-Dustour and comments on literary topics for Amman Magazine, where she also serves on the editorial board. Al-Atrash holds degrees in Law and Arabic Literature and is a member of the High Council and Executive Committee of the Jordanian Ministry of Culture, in charge of the Family Library Program. Currently, she serves as the President of PEN Jordan. She attends courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State.
has authored over 15 plays, most recently TAXI/ VINYL; she runs playwriting workshops, translates and directs new writing. A participant in cultural exchanges in Ireland, Switzerland, Holland, Germany, and at the New York Fringe Festival, she has been a beneficiary of international residencies at the Royal Court Theatre and The Bush Theatre (London). Her awards include “Play of the Year 2000,” and “The European Author Award” at the New Plays Festival in Heidelberg, Germany, in 2007, and a shortlist as “best playwright” by the Romanian Writers’ Union, for Kamikaze. She lives in Tirgu Mures, and attends courtesy of the Romanian Cultural Institute and independent sources.
is the editor of Junior Magazine, and an active social volunteer. He has published over 300 poems, 50 short stories, and numerous essays. His forthcoming publications include two collections of poems [‘Reverse Poetry’] and [‘Satan’s Laugh to the Happy World’], and three children’s poetry books. He also translates current American writing. His participation is independently funded.
was born in Croatia and emigrated to Switzerland in 1978; returning in 1988, she fled back to Switzerland in 1991. A founder of Glas Kastela, a newspaper in Croatia, Rajcic has also published five books of poems, including Post Bellum (2000) and Buch von Glück (2004), and two plays: [‘A Bit of Cleanliness’] has been performed in Germany and Switzerland. Her literary awards include the Chamisso Scholarship and the Meran Poetry Prize. Her participation is co-sponsored by Pro Helvetia.
is the author of a collection of short stories titled [‘Bent (a Girl)’] (2001) and the prose collection [‘Did You See Me? I Was Walking in the Street’] (2007). Her work has been translated into Italian and English; her artwork is on the cover of several books. A regular columnist for Albilad newspaper since 2003, she is a family physician in Jeddah. She participates courtesy of the William B. Quarton Foundation.
Lijia (张丽佳) is a factory-worker-turned journalist, TV producer and lecturer. Her memoir about working at a missile factory, Socialism Is Great! (2008) was published in the U.S., Australia, and India, and is being translated into a number of languages. Other publications include China Remembers, an oral history of the PRC, and Western Images of Chairman Mao, presently banned in China. Her articles have appeared in prominent Asian, European and American magazines and newspapers, and she is a frequent commentator for the BBC, CNN and NPR. She participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State.
is based in Mumbai. His book reviews and essays appear weekly in the Indian newspaper Mint Lounge, and have been published in dailies, magazines and journals worldwide. His short stories are included in the anthologies India, First Proof 2, and India Shining. He is the editor of India: A Traveler’s Literary Companion and writes the literary weblog “The Middle Stage” (at middlestage.blogspot.com). His first novel, Arzee the Dwarf, was shortlisted for the 2010 Commonwealth First Book Award. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State.
grew up in Albania, where she worked as editor before moving to the Netherlands in 1995. She now coordinates the media programs in Kosovo and in the Caucasus at the Press Now Foundation. Her work has appeared in journals and magazines in Albania, Kosovo, Austria and the Netherlands; she has performed at literary events in the Netherlands and Belgium. In 2008 her first poetry collection Papa Dixhital was awarded the Migjeni prize by the Ministry of Culture of Albania; a second collection, Paradise in Orange, is forthcoming. Her participation is privately funded.
Milagros SOCORRO (fiction writer, nonfiction writer; Venezuela) is the author of 13 books, including the short story collections Una atmósfera de viaje [A Journey’s Atmosphere] (1990) and Actos de Salvajismo [Acts of Wildness] (1999), and the novel El abrazo del tamarindo [The Embrace of the Tamarind Tree] (2008). Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies of Latin American literature, and she has edited 12 literary collections. She teaches journalism and creative writing at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, is the editor of the online news portal Código Venezuela, and contributes regularly to magazines and newspapers. She participates courtesy of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas.
Andra ROTARU (poet, journalist; Romania) is a cultural journalist and literary activist. Her 2005 debut collection Într-un pat sub cearșaful alb [In a Bed Under the White Sheets] garnered four national awards; it was followed by the poetry volumes Ținuturile sudului [Southern Lands] (2010) and Lemur (2013), the latter turned into a collaborative dance/video performance presented in the U.S. and across Europe. Her work has been widely translated and anthologized. Her participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Sabata-mpho MOKAE (poet, nonfiction and fiction writer; South Africa) is the author of the poetry collection Escaping Trauma (2012) and the biography The Story of Sol T. Plaatje (2010). His debut novel in Setswana, Ga Ke Modisa [I’m Not My Brother’s Keeper] (2012) won the M-Net Literary Award for Best Novel in Setswana as well as the M-Net Film Award; the youth novella Dikeledi [Tears] was launched in 2014. In 2011 he also won the South African Literary Award in the literary journalism category. He is a columnist and a journalist, and a co-founder of the annual Sol Plaatje Literary Festival. He participates courtesy of the U.S. Consulate General in Cape Town.
Yuriy SEREBRIANSKY Юрий Серебрянский (fiction writer, journalist; Kazakhstan) is the editor-in-chief of Esquire Kazakhstan, the editor of the Polish diaspora magazine Ałmatyński Kurier Polonijny, and the author of five volumes of prose and poetry. His novel [Destination. Road Pastoral] won the Russkaya Premia for best short prose in 2010; the novel [Prazhaki] won the same award in 2014. His [Kazakhstani Fairy Tales] won an award at the 2017 Silk Roads Book Fair. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Fatena ALGHORRA (poet, journalist; Belgium) has four books of poetry: two were translated, one winning a prize for best Arabic translation into Italian. A fifth volume will appear in Arabic and in Dutch. Her work appears in the anthology Fifty Years of Palestinian Poets. In 2012 she won the El Hizjra prize for Dutch language writers of diverse background. After a career in broadcasting in Gaza, she is now a freelance journalist for Al Jazeera, a lecturer, a performer, and the organizer of poetry events in Belgium and the Netherlands. She participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Subraj SINGH (playwright, fiction writer, journalist, critic; Guyana) teaches at the University of Guyana and the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama, and has a weekly arts column in the Guyana Chronicle. His Rebelle and Other Stories won the 2015 Guyana Prize for Literature as the Best First Book of Fiction; his play “Masque” won the 2016 National Drama Festival Awards for Best New Guyanese Play and Best Production. He participates thanks to the William B. Quarton Fund through the Cedar Rapids Community Foundation.
Gimba KAKANDA (fiction writer, poet, journalist; Nigeria) published a first volume of poetry, Safari Pants, in 2010; his other work has been anthologized. He is an editor at the Daily Nigerian, a daily committed to promoting transparency in governance, and maintains a weekly column in other periodicals concerned with social issues. He participates courtesy of the U.S. Embassy in Abuja.
Salah BADIS صلاح باديس (poet, translator, journalist; Algeria) is a founding member of Nafha magazine, a journalist and music editor, and a musical and cultural researcher for print and radio. Salah’s first poetry volume,ضجرالبواخر [Ship Weariness], was published in 2016. His poems and essays have been translated into English, French, and Turkish. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State.
Jacqueline GOLDBERG (poet, fiction writer, essayist, journalist; Venezuela) is the author of six books of prose, 10 children’s books, and 20 volumes of poetry. Her novel Las horas claras [The Clear Hours] received the 2012 prize of Fundación para la Cultura Urbana, was the Venezuelan Booksellers’ Book of the Year, a finalist for the Critic’s Award Novel for 2013, and was re-published in Mexico in 2018. Goldberg frequently speaks at literature and at food festivals. Her participation is made possible by the US Embassy in Caracas.
Aušra KAZILIŪNAITĖ (poet, performance artist, journalist; Lithuania) is the author of four volumes of poetry: in 2018, The Moon is a Pill appeared in English. Kaziliūnaitė's poems appeared in How the Earth Carries Us: New Lithuanian Poets (2017) and New Baltic Poetry Anthology (2018), and have been translated into many other languages. She is the recipient of several national awards, including, in 2016, the Young Artist Prize from Lithuania’s Ministry of Culture. She participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Eman ALYOUSUF م. إيمان اليوسف (fiction writer, journalist; United Arab Emirates), a chemical engineer by training, is the author of three short story anthologies and three novels; Haris al-Shams [The Sun’s Guardian] won the 2016 Emirates Novel Awards. Her short film Ghafa was screened at the 2017 Dubai International Film Festival. A columnist and editor at AlRoeya newspaper, she has published a collection of interviews with female Emirati writers, and promotes literary culture at home and abroad. She participates courtesy of the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. State Department.
Bejan MATUR (poet, non-fiction writer; Turkey), of Kurdish origin, lives in İstanbul. Her first collection of poetry, Rüzgar dolu konaklar [Winds Howl through the Mansions] (1996), won several literary prizes. Since then she has published eight other poetry collections, most recently Aşk olmayan [Love/less] (2016); her poems are widely translated. In addition to her years as a columnist, she has worked with NGOs on conflict resolution. Her participation is made possible by an anonymous gift to IWP.
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