Martha MUKAIWA (nonfiction, fiction, journalism; Namibia) is an arts and travel journalist, and activist for black Namibians, women, and the LGBTQIA+ community. She has written for The Namibian, Quartz, Matador Network, and The Africa Report, among other publications. She has also served as film juror for the Namibian Theatre and Film Awards, on panels providing grants to Namibia’s upcoming voices in the arts, and on UNESCO’s #JournalistsToo campaign. She participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
THAWDA AYE LEI (fiction, nonfiction; Myanmar), a graduate of the International Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, is a journalist-turned-advocate. She is also the author of three novels and a story collection [The Borderless Cloud], and the founder of the online magazine Myat shu. Thawda Aye Lei's participation was made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Alexandra K* (KATSAROU) Αλεξάνδρα Κ* (fiction, drama, screenwriting, journalism; Greece) has collaborated with the National Theatre of Greece, the Greek National Opera and other major cultural institutions. Ηer 2018 play Επαναστατικές Μέθοδοι για τον Καθαρισμό της Πισίνας σας [Revolutionary Ways to Clean Your Swimming Pool] has been translated widely, and received a Eurodram 2019 Prize; her most recent play [Milk, Blood], based on Medea, premiered at the ancient theater of Epidaurus. She is a regular contributor to Greek magazines and newspapers. Her participation was made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Sanam MAHER (non-fiction writer, journalist; Pakistan) covers stories on Pakistan’s art and culture, business, politics, religious minorities, and women. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Al Jazeera, The Caravan, Roads & Kingdoms, and The Times Literary Supplement, amongst others. Her first book, A Woman Like Her: The Short Life of Qandeel Baloch, an investigation into the murder of Pakistan’s first social media celebrity, appeared in 2018. She participates courtesy the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
IWP '05 alumna Ma Thida is a Burmese surgeon, writer, poet, human rights activist and former prisoner of conscience. Among her nine books are The Sunflower (1999), The Roadmap (2011) and the memoir Sanchaung, Insein, Harvard (2012). Recently elected as Chair of The Writers in Prison committee of PEN International, she is the founder and past president of PEN Myanmar and past board member of PEN International; in 2016 she was the first recipient of the Václav Havel Foundation’s “Disturbing the Peace” award. At present (2021), she is a visiting research associate at Yale’s Southeast Asia Studies program.
Mohamed KHEIR محمد خير (fiction writer, poet, journalist, editor, lyricist; Egypt) won the Egyptian Ministry of Culture Award for his first poetry collection, Leil Khargi (2002); both his story collections Afarit Al Radio (2011) and Remsh Al Ein (2016) received The Sawiris Cultural Award. In 2021, the second of his three novels was published as Slipping by Two Lines Press. Alongside his literary work and a career in journalism, Kheir also writes lyrics for young singers from Egypt and Lebanon. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Cultural and Educational Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Pavla HORÁKOVÁ (novelist, non-fiction writer, journalist, translator; Czech Republic) is the author of five novels, including a children’s trilogy, and two nonfiction titles. Her widely translated Teorie podivnosti [A Theory of Strangeness] won the 2019 Magnesia Litera Award for best work of Czech fiction; Srdce Evropy [The Heart of Europe] was in a national critics’ poll voted among the best books of 2021. A recipient of two awards for her literary translations, she also has a long career in radio journalism. Her participation is possible thanks to a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Edson INCOPTÉ (fiction writer, poet, journalist, activist; Guinea-Bissau) has an extensive resume as organizer and activist in the areas of youth, civic development, and equity, and is the Secretary of PEN Guinea-Bissau and the Writers Association of Guinea-Bissau. His own publications comprise a volume of poetry and one of prose; he has co-edited anthologies of new Guinea-Bissau authors and contributes columns for magazines and radio. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Zaza MUCHEMWA (poet, playwright, arts administrator; Zimbabwe) has had her poetry appear at PEN International and Badilisha Poetry X-change and included in the anthology Zimbabwe Poets for Human Rights; author of the play The IVth Interrogation, she is also an award-winning theater director and producer. Her journalism appears in Index on Censorship Magazine, Povo Magazine and elsewhere. She participates thanks to a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Mashiul ALAM মশিউল আলম (journalist, fiction writer, translator; Bangladesh) has published 12 novels and novellas, and eight collections of short stories; among the titles are Tanusreer Songey Dwitiyo Raat [Second Night with Tanusree] (2000), Mangsher Karbar [The Meat Market] (2002), Abedalir Mrittur Por [After Abedali's Death] (2004), and Pakistan (2011). Among his many published stories, “Milk” was awarded the 2019 Himal South Asian Short Story Prize; a collection of his stories, in Shabnam Nadiya's translation, won a 2020 PEN/Heim Translation Fund grant. He has translated Russian classics into Bengali. In 2019, he was awarded the debut Sylhet Mirror Prize for Literature. His participation was made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State
Mohamad NASSEREDDINE (poet, translator, journalist; Lebanon) is a regular contributor to the Al-Akhbar daily, the current vice president of Lebanon PEN, and a professor of Medical Physics at Lebanese University in Beirut. Work from his seven volumes of poetry has been widely translated and anthologized. He participates courtesy the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Yasser ABDEL HAFEZ ياسر عبد الحافظ (novelist, journalist, editor; Egypt) is the author of three novels: [On the Occasion of Life] was longlisted for the 2008 Arabic Booker; The Book of Safety, the winner of the Banipal Translation Prize (English translation Robin Moger) appeared in 2017; the third, [Platitude], is forthcoming. With a long career in journalism, Abdel Hafez is the managing editor of the literary magazine Akhbar al-Adab. He lives in Cairo. His participation was made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Sara JARAMILLO KLINKERT (journalist, novelist, screenwriter; Colombia) has worked for numerous newspapers and major media channels in Colombia. Her autobiographical novel Cómo maté a mi padre [How I killed my father] came out in 2019; a second novel, Donde cantan las ballenas [Where the whales sing], appeared in 2021. She has a MA from Escuela des escritores (Madrid) and lives in Medellín. Her participation was made possible by the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá.
Shehan KARUNATILAKA (novelist, screenwriter; Sri Lanka) has authored the novels Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew (2010) and Chats with the Dead (2020) as well as the children’s book Please Don’t Put That in Your Mouth (2019). The recipient of the 2008 Gratiaen Prize, the 2012 Commonwealth Book Prize, and the 2012 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, he also writes on sport, music, and travel for major newspapers and magazines. His participation was made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
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Beaudelaine PIERRE, journalist, scholar, and novelist, writes about her native Haiti and her adopted Youwès. She is the author of You May Have the Suitcase Now (2021) and the co-editor of the trilingual anthology How to Write an Earthquake / Comment écrire et quoi écrire / Mou pou 12 Janvyé (2011). Her debut novel Testaman appeared in 2002, followed by La Nėgresse de Saint Domingue (2010) and L'enfant qui voulait devenir président (2012). A 2007 alum of the International Writing Program, she is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Saint Catherine University in Saint-Paul Minnesota.
Soonest NATHANIEL (poet, spoken-word artist; Nigeria) is the author of the mixed-genre volume Burying the Ghosts of Dead Narratives (2022) and the poetry collection Teaching Father How to Impregnate Women (2018). The winner of the 2017 RL Poetry Award and many Nigerian poetry and spoken-word competitions, he was named a Langston Hughes Fellow at the Palm Beach Festival and served as the Poet Laureate for the Korea Nigeria Poetry Festival; his poems appear in Nigerian, US and British magazines. He participates thanks to a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State.
Marina PORCELLI (fiction writer, essayist; Argentina) is the author of the novella Cuaderno de invierno [ A Winter Notebook] (2021), a collection of essays on gender Nausica. Viaje al otro lado de la otredad [Nausicaa. Journey to the Other Side of Otherness] (2021), the story collections La cacería [The Hunt] (2016) and De la noche rota [Of the Broken Night] (2009/2021), and others. Her work has garnered her the 2014 Edmundo Valadés Ibero-American Award and the 2021 Eduardo Mallea National Essay Award; she has attended residences in Mexico, Canada, and China. A frequent contributor to Latin American newspapers, she writes the column “Nocaut Lírico” [The Lyrical Knockout] about gender and boxing for Playboy Mexico. Her participation was made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Saba HAMZAH سبأ حمزة (poet, scholar; Yemen/ The Netherlands) is the author of the poetry collections تراتيل عذراء [Virgin Hymns] (2012) and حصتنا من السماء [Our Shared Sky] (2021). She has contributed to and collaborated with many academic, artistic, and media platforms and publications, and is the founder of the Yemeni Women’s Archive, a digital space for knowledges emerging from women’s experiences. Her participation was made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Martha Cecilia RUIZ (nonfiction; fiction; editor; arts promotor; Nicaragua) has for the past three decades worked as a reporter, scriptwriter, and a host of radio and tv programs. The organization she founded, “Proyecto365MCR,” promotes Nicaraguan women’s creative writing. The author of Familia de cuchillos [Family of knives] (2016), she has also contributed fiction and non-fiction to a dozen national and regional anthologies. Her participation was made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Artur DOMOSŁAWSKI (non-fiction, journalist; Poland) has among his titles Gorączka latynoamerykańska [Latin American Fever], Śmierć w Amazonii [Death in the Amazonas], the essay collection Wykluczeni [The Outcasts] and two biographies: Ryszard Kapuściński: A Life, for which he was voted “Journalist of the Year” for 2010, and Wygnaniec. 21 scen z życia Zygmunta Baumana [The Exile. 21 Scenes from the Life of Zygmunt Bauman], the winner of the 2022 “Juliusz” prize for best biography. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, El País, Letras Libres, Etiqueta Negra, Words Without Borders, The Baffler, and elsewhere; his work has been frequently awarded, and widely translated. His participation is courtesy of the Paul Engle Fund.
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