Aki SALMELA (poet, translator; Finland) is the author of seven poetry collections and a number of translations, including the poetry of John Ashbery, Charles Simic, and James Tate. His work has been widely anthologized, and appears in literary journals throughout Europe. His first collection, Sanomattomia lehtiä, won the Kalevi Jäntti Prize in 2004; in 2008 he received the Finnish Broadcast Corporation’s Tanssiva Karhu Poetry Prize. His participation is made possible by an anonymous donation to the IWP.
2015 Resident
non-fiction writer, poet
Mookie KATIGBAK-LACUESTA (poet, nonfiction writer; Philippines) is the author of two poetry collections: The Proxy Eros (2008) and Burning Houses (2013). Widely awarded, she was the Filipino delegate to the 2012 Medellín Poetry Festival. Her work has been anthologized in publications and online, in the Philippines and abroad. She participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2015 Resident
non-fiction writer, poet
Harris KHALIQUE (poet, nonfiction writer; Pakistan) is the author of eight poetry collections, including Between You and Your Love (2004), Ishq ki taqveem mein (2006) and Melay mein (2012), which won the 2013 UBL Literary Excellence Award for Urdu poetry. His poems have been anthologized internationally. A campaigner for workers’, women’s, and minority rights in Pakistan and abroad, he contributes regularly to national and international news publications. His participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2015 Resident
fiction writer, poet, visual artist
Teresa PRÄAUER (fiction writer, poet, visual artist; Austria) is the author of the novels Johnny und Jean (2014) and Für den Herrscher aus Übersee [For the Emperor from Overseas], which received the Aspekte prize for best German-language prose debut of 2012, as well as of a book of poetry postcards entitled [Pigeons’ Letters] (2009). In 2015 she received a Droste and a Hölderlin promotion award, and was shortlisted for the Leipzig Book Fair Prize. She regularly publishes on the subjects of poetry, theatre, pop culture and fine arts. Her participation is made possible by the Max Kade Foundation.
2015 Resident
performance artist, poet
El JONES (poet; Canada) is the 2013-2015 poet laureate for Halifax. Named a “Bold Visionary,” one of 23 in her country, she was also the Poet of Honor at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in 2015. Her collection of spoken-word poetry Live from the Afrikan Resistance! appeared in 2014. Her participation is made possible by the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa.
2015 Resident
poet
Johanna AITCHISON (poet; New Zealand) is the author of three books of poetry, including A Long Girl Ago (2007; finalist at the 2008 Montana New Zealand Book Awards) and Miss Dust (2015). Widely anthologized in her home country, Aitchison is also the winner of the 2005 Victoria University Story Inc. Prize for Poetry, and of the 2010 New Zealand Poetry Society International Competition. Her participation is made possible by Creative New Zealand.
2015 Resident
critic, editor, poet
CHENG Ching-hang Matthew 鄭政恆 (poet, editor; Hong Kong) is the author of the poetry collection [The First Book of Recollection], co-author of [Wait and See:The Collection of Six Hong Kong Young Writers], and the editor of [An Anthology of Hong Kong Poetry of the 1950s], [Hong Kong Short Stories 2004-2005], and [Hong Kong Cinema Retrospective 2011], among others. The former Vice-Chair of the Hong Kong Film Critics Society, in 2013 he received the Hong Kong Arts Development Award for Best Artist (Arts Criticism). He participates courtesy of the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation.
2015 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer, poet
Rachel ROSE (poet, nonfiction writer; Canada) is a recipient of the 2013 and 2016 Pushcart Prize, and of the Pat Lowther Poetry Award and the Audre Lorde Poetry Award for 2013. Her poetry books include Notes on Arrival and Departure (2005) and Song and Spectacle (2012); her creative nonfiction essays have appeared in a number of anthologies, including Double Lives: Writing and Motherhood. Rose regularly contributes to literary journals and magazines, including the Malahat Review and Prism International. She participates courtesy of the British Columbia Arts Council and Canada Council.
2015 Resident
poet, translator
Guzal BEGIM (poet, translator; Uzbekistan) is an editor at the Uzbeki children’s magazine Ghuncha, and a reporter. She has three poetry collections, the most recent being Majnunsoat (2012), and a number of poems in international anthologies. She participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2015 Resident
fiction writer, poet
Rochelle POTKAR (fiction writer, poet; India) is the author of The Arithmetic of Breasts and Other Stories, and has three works in progress—a novel, a book of prose, and a book of poetry. Widely published online and in print, Rochelle is the co-editor of Neesah magazine, and an active member of Poetry Couture, which hosts poetry readings at cafes across India. Her participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2015 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer, poet
Anas ATAKORA (poet, fiction writer, nonfiction writer; Togo), currently a PhD candidate at Dalhousie University in Canada, has had his third poetry collection, En attendant le poème, appear in early 2015. The upcoming Tante Béa will be his first short story collection. In 2008, Atakora received the ‘Plumes émergentes’ award from the University of Lomé. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
2015 Resident
fiction writer, poet
Anete KRUUSMӒGI (fiction writer, poet; Estonia) is currently studying traditional dance in Indonesia, and working on several novel projects. A regular contributor to Öhtuleht, a major Estonian daily, she also teaches creative writing in Indonesia. Her participation is made possible by CEC ArtsLink.
2016 Resident
fiction writer, poet, visual artist
CHEN Ko Hua 陳克華 (poet, fiction writer, painter; Taiwan) studied at Taipei Medical University and Harvard Medical School; he now practices as an ophthalmologist at the Taipei Veterans’ General Hospital. He is the author of more than twenty volumes of poetry; his collection [Tears of Ignorance] was recently translated into Japanese. His work often addresses LGBTQ issues. His participation is made possible by the Taiwan Ministry of Culture.
2016 Resident
poet, translator
ko ko thett (poet, translator; Myanmar) has won a PEN Translation Award for Bones Will Crow: 15 Contemporary Burmese Poets (2012), co-edited with James Byrne. His The Burden of Being Burmese (2015) explores the untenable notion of ‘‘Burmese.’’ After working in South East Asia and Europe, ko ko thett returned to his native Yangon. He writes in both Burmese and English. His participation is made possible by the Open Society Foundation.
2016 Resident
fiction writer, performance artist, playwright, poet
Courtney Sina MEREDITH (poet, playwright, fiction writer, musician; New Zealand) published her award-winning play Rushing Dolls in 2012; a poetry collection, Brown Girls in Bright Red Lipstick, appeared the same year. A new book of short stories, Tail of the Taniwha, is available in August 2016. Her writing has been translated into Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, French and Bahasa Indonesia. Her participation is made possible by Creative New Zealand.
2016 Resident
fiction writer, poet, scholar, translator
Stephanos STEPHANIDES (poet, memory-fiction writer, translator, filmmaker; Cyprus) is professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Cyprus. In 2005 he published Blue Moon in Rajasthan and Other Poems; in 2008 he won the first prize for video poetry for Poets in No Man’s Land at the Nicosia International Film Festival. His poetry has been published in a dozen languages; he has served as a judge for the 2000 and the 2010 Commonwealth Writers Prize. His participation is made possible by an anonymous donation to the IWP.
2016 Resident
poet
TSE Hao Guang 谢皓光 (poet; Singapore) is the author of hyperlinkage (2013) and Deeds of Light (2015); the latter was shortlisted for the 2016 Singapore Literature Prize. He co-edits the literary journal OF ZOOS, is the essays editor of poetry.sg, and is co-editing UnFree Verse, an anthology of Singaporean poetry. He participates courtesy of the Singapore National Arts Council.
2016 Resident
fiction writer, non-fiction writer, poet
Tetiana TROITSKAYA (fiction writer, poet, nonfiction writer; Ukraine) graduated from the Skovoroda National Pedagogical University in Kharkiv, and now teaches English philology there. Her novel Akvamaryn dlia vodoleyi won the 2012 Oles Honchar Prize. Her participation is made possible by the William B. Quarton Fund through the Cedar Rapids Community Foundation and the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.
2016 Resident
playwright, poet
Obari GOMBA (poet, playwright; Nigeria) teaches in the Department of English Studies at the University of Port Harcourt, and has facilitated writing workshops for the 2014 UNESCO World Book Capital. In 2013 his volume Length of Eyes was longlisted for the Nigeria Prize for Literature; the most recent of his three poetry collections, Thunder Protocol, appeared in 2015. He writes on issues of class, justice, and culture. He participates courtesy of the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos.
2016 Resident
fiction writer, poet
Eros ATALIA (fiction writer; Philippines) teaches Filipino language, journalism, and film production and theory at the University of Santo Tomas. A recipient of numerous awards for his essays, poems, and fiction, he has had the story “Si Intoy Syokoy ng Kalye Marino” and the novel Ligo na u, lapit na me adapted to film. He is currently completing a PhD in Linguistics at the University of the Philippines. His participation is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
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