Amara Nicole OKOLO (fiction writer, non-fiction writer; Nigeria) is the author of the novel Black Sparkle Romance (2014) and the story collection Son of Man (2016). A participant in Chimamanda Adichie’s Farafina Creative Writing Workshop (2015) and the Invisible Borders TransAfrican Project (2017), she often speaks at book events and festivals. She is also a practicing lawyer. Her participation was made possible by a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2018 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer
Aram PACHYAN Արամ Պաչյան (fiction writer, essayist; Armenia) is the author of story collections Ռոբինզոն [Robinson] (2011) and Օվկիանոս [Ocean] (2014). His novel Ցտեսություն, Ծիտ [Goodbye, Bird] (2012) has been translated into English, with French, Bulgarian, Arabic, and Georgian editions forthcoming, and was staged at the Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art; his fiction has been set to music. In 2010, Pachyan received the Presidential Prize for his short stories. His participation was made possible by the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State
2018 Resident
journalist, non-fiction writer, poet
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.
2019 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer, publisher
Yamkela TYWAKADI (fiction, nonfiction, South Africa) is a novelist, publisher, performer, and the founder of Blank Page Edu, a company that develops mobile apps and board games. Often working in South Africa’s native languages, she has published 15 books; her first, Andingombala Ndingumntu: IsiXhosa novel, is used in isiXhosa classes throughout the country. Ms. Tywakadi is on Mail & Guardian’s list of 200 Young South African Leaders for 2019. She participates courtesy of the U.S. Consulate General in Johannesburg.
2019 Resident
activist, fiction writer, journalist, non-fiction writer
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.
2019 Resident
fiction writer, filmmaker, non-fiction writer, playwright
Amira-Géhanne KHALFALLAH (fiction, nonfiction, drama; Algeria) is a journalist, novelist, filmmaker, and playwright. Her plays Les draps [Sheets] and Shams et les poissons du désert [Shams and the Desert Fish] have been published; her debut novel Le naufrage de la lune [The Wreck of the Moon] appeared in 2018; her short film Essebat [The Shoe] screened at several international festivals; a feature film is in development. She participates through a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2019 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer
Ben SOHIB (fiction, nonfiction; Indonesia) is known for his popular novels The Da Peci Code (2006) and Rosid dan Delia [Rosid and Delia] (2008); adapted to film as Tiga hati, dua dunia, dan satu cinta [Three Hearts, Two Worlds, and One Love], which garnered Best Film at the 2010 Indonesian Film Festival. Author of five books, including two story collections, he has represented Indonesia at international arts festivals. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the U.S. Department of State.
2019 Resident
activist, editor, filmmaker, non-fiction writer, performance artist, poet, translator
Roy Chicky ARAD רועי צ'יקי ארד (poetry, fiction, nonfiction, performance; Israel) is an activist, musician/performer and writer, with eight published volumes of poetry and prose. He edits the poetry magazine Ma'ayan, translates, largely poetry, and writes for the daily Ha’aretz. The Culture Guerilla group, which he co-founded, takes poetry into Israeli streets. He participates courtesy of Fulbright Israel.
2019 Resident
activist, fiction writer, non-fiction writer, poet
Samuel MENGHESTEAB ሳሙኤል መንግስትኣብ (fiction, nonfiction, drama, poetry; Eritrea) is the author of the Tigrigna story anthology Seb ziseanet seb, and a regular contributor to Tigrigna-language magazines. He teaches adult and youth theater and literary programs, and writes pop song lyrics. His participation is courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the U.S. Department of State.
2019 Resident
activist, fiction writer, journalist, non-fiction writer
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.
2019 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer, poet
The Atayal writer and activist WALIS Nokan 瓦歷斯‧諾幹 (poetry, nonfiction, fiction; Taiwan) founded the Hunter Culture Magazine (獵人文化雜誌), which developed into the Research Center for Humanities of Taiwan’s Aboriginal Peoples. An author of two dozen books, most recently a volume of flash fiction [Path of Dreams], he has received awards that include the United Daily News critics’ top honors for prose, and Ministry of Education’s Award for Literary Creation. He participates courtesy of the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan.
2019 Resident
editor, fiction writer, non-fiction writer
Clara CHOW 赵燕芬 (fiction, nonfiction, drama; Singapore) is a short story writer, editor, columnist, co-founder of the arts and literature magazine WeAreAWebsite.com, and author of two short story collections. Named among Singapore’s Top 12 Writers to Watch, she won the 2018 Jane Geske Award for her story “Siren (Redux).” Chow participates courtesy of National Arts Council Singapore.
2021 Resident
editor, non-fiction writer, playwright, poet, translator
Habib TENGOUR (poet, essayist, playwright, translator, scholar, editor; Algeria) has published over twenty volumes of writing, most recently the poetry volume La Sandale d'Empédocle (2021). His poetry has been translated into English, German, Italian, Arabic, and many other languages; in turn, he translates poetry from the Arabic and the English. In 2016, that work garnered him a Prix européen de poésie Dante. He also directs the series “Poèmes du monde” for the Algerian publisher APIC. His participation was made possible by the Paul and Hualing Nieh Engle Fund.
2021 Resident
journalist, non-fiction writer
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.
2021 Visitor
activist, editor, fiction writer, non-fiction writer, poet
The recipient of a Caine Prize, a Commonwealth Prize for Best First Book, and the Windham-Campbell Prize for Literary Achievement, Helon HABILA is the author of six volumes of fiction and non-fiction, the editor of several collections of writing, and a publisher. His most recent novel is Travelers (2019). The first African Writing Fellow at the University of East Anglia, he was the inaugural Chinua Achebe Fellow at Bard College; his current appointment is at George Mason University, where Professor Habila teaches in the disciplines of Creative Writing, English, and Global Affairs. An IWP 2004 alum, he returns as our 2021 Ida Beam Distinguished Visitor.
2021 Visitor
activist, editor, fiction writer, journalist, non-fiction writer, physician, poet
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.
2022 Fall Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer, scholar, translator
KANG Byoung Yoong 강병융, КАН БЁН ЮН (fiction writer, essayist, translator, scholar; South Korea) is currently the Korean Studies Program Chair at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; previously, he has taught in Korea and in Russia. His stories and his ten novels—most recently 나는 빅또르 최다 [I Am Victor Choi]—often engage parodically with classics of world fiction. He is also and essayist and the author of scholarly works on modern Korean and Russian fiction, and on philosophy. His participation was made possible by Arts Council Korea (ARKO).
2022 Fall Resident
non-fiction writer, poet, translator
Krystyna DĄBROWSKA (poet, essayist, translator; Poland) is the author of five poetry volumes, most recently Miasto z indu [City of Indium] (2022). The recipient of the Wisława Szymborska, the Kościelski, and the Capital City of Warsaw literary awards, she has had her poems translated into twenty languages. In the U.S., they have appeared in Harper’s, Ploughshares, POETRY and elsewhere; in 2022, a poetry volume in English translation, Tideline, appeared from Zephyr Press. Dąmbrowska herself translates Louise Glück, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, Charles Simic and many other Anglophone poets. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State has funded her residency.
2022 Fall Resident
non-fiction writer, playwright, poet, scholar, screenwriter
Joaquín ORTEGA (playwright, essayist, poet, scholar; Venezuela) works across media and institutions. The author of a volume of poetry and of plays like “Lo escuche llorar en mi boca. Tríptico de Caracas” [I Heard Him Cry in My Mouth. A Caracas Triptych], he has long been a librettist for popular radio and TV comedy shows, and has also published La cultura del milenio: ensayos sobre creatividad [The Millennium Culture: Essays on Creativity]. He teaches at Universidad Central de Venezuela, in the School of Political and Administration Studies. His residency is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2022 Spring Resident
activist, fiction writer, non-fiction writer
Felix K. NESI (fiction writer, activist; Indonesia) is the author of Orang-Orang Oetimu [People of Oetimu], which won the 2018 Jakarta Arts Council Novel Competition, and, in 2016, the story collection Usaha Membunuh Sepi [Effort to Kill the Quiet]. With the support of the Indonesian National Book Committee, he has researched Timorese slavery in the Netherlands. He is also the founder of a street bookstore, a library, and the book festival Kencan Buku Fesek, all in West Timor. His participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
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