Writers from Greece

Greece
1972
Costas TAKTSIS
Greece
1973
Petros AMPATZOGLOU
Greece
1974
Katerina ANGELAKE-ROUK
Greece
1975
Anastassios G. DENEGRIS
Greece
1976
Thanassis VALTINOS
Greece
1978
Dimitri NOLLAS
Greece
1979
Argyris HIONIS
Greece
1981
George SKOURTIS
Greece
1981
Ersi SOTIROPOULOU
Greece
1982
Nikos PHOKAS
Greece
1984
Vangelis RAPTOPOULOS
Greece
1997

Christos HOMENIDES (born in Athens, 1966) is considered the new star of Greek letters. His novel, The Wise Kid (Athens, 1993; sixteenth edition in September 1996), is being made into a film in English, a step toward worldwide recognition. He is a member of the Education Council of the Center for Diplomatic Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is also an attorney-at-law; he graduated from the law school of the University of Athens in 1990. He is a regular contributor to the magazine Elle, where his interviews with famous authors, political figures, and scientists appear. Mr. Homenides is the IWP's first author from Greece in over a dozen years, and his participation reestablishes a strong Greek presence exemplified by such writers as Costas Tachtsis, Thanassis Valtinos, Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke, and Odysseus Elytis. The US Information Agency is providing the support for his participation.

Alexis STAMATIS
Greece
2004 Resident

Alexis STAMATIS (poet, fiction writer, journalist, librettist, playwright; b. 1960, Greece) has left few literary stones unturned. A novelist, poet, playwright, translator, and journalist, Mr. Stamatis is the author of five novels and five collections of poems, numerous translations and magazine articles, two opera librettos, and two plays. His most recent works are the novel Theseus Street (2003) and the poetry collection The Closer I Get the More the Future Gets Away (2004). Mr. Stamatis worked as a writer for the 2004 Olympic Games, and is currently the chief editor for foreign literature for the Metaixmio Publishing House. He has also worked as an architect. Mr. Stamatis is participating courtesy of the Greek Fulbright Commission.

Ersi Sotiropoulos
Greece
2007 40th Anniversary Guest

Ersi Sotiropoulos is a Greek poet, novelist, and short story writer. Her novel, Zigzag through the Bitter Orange Trees, was awarded both the National Literature Prize and the Book Critics' Award in 2000, and was published in English in 2007 by Interlink Press. She has written scripts for film and television and participated in several exhibitions of visual and concrete poetry.

Chris CHRYSSOPOULOS
Greece
2007 Resident

Chris CHRYSSOPOULOS is among the most prolific young prose writers on the Greek literary scene. He has authored four novels, most recently ‘Imaginary Museum,’ 2005; a volume of essays (‘The Language Box,’ 2006), a collection of short stories (‘Napolean Delastos’ Recipes,’ 1997), a novella (‘The Parthenon Bomber,’ 1996), and, with Diane Neumaier, an exhibition catalogue (Encounters, 2003) and an artist book (The black dress, 2002). His work is available in five languages and he has been awarded grants in Europe and the US. He participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

Jianni SKARAGAS
Greece
2008 Resident

Jianni SKARAGAS has published four novels, including [’Epiphania’], which recently appeared in French translation. An established screenwriter, Skaragas has spent the past decade writing for Greek television and radio; and his short stories, essays, and other writings appear regularly in literary journals and newspapers throughout the Hellenic world and Europe. The Greek Cultural Center of New York has chosen the theatre adaptation of his English novel [Prime Numbers] to celebrate its 30 years anniversary in an American premiere February 2009. He participates courtesy of the Fulbright Foundation of Greece.

Dimitris Lyacos
Greece
2012 Resident

Dimitris LYACOS (poet, playwright; Greece/Italy) is the author of the cross- genre trilogy Poena Damni, which includes Z213: ΕΞΟΔΟΣ  [Z213: EXIT] (published in English in 2010), ΜΕ ΤΟΥΣ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΥΣ ΑΠΟ ΤΗ ΓΕΦΥΡΑ [With the People From the Bridge], and Ο ΠΡΩΤΟΣ ΘΑΝΑΤΟΣ [The First Death]. The trilogy has been translated into six languages, and staged in theatres across Europe and the U.S., inspiring works in various media including a sound and sculpture installation, paintings, and a dance adaptation. Lyacos’ participation is made possible by a grant from the Counting Art non-profit organization and Athens-based ABOUT Cultural Venue.

Auguste Corteau
Greece
2014 Resident

Auguste CORTEAU (fiction writer, playwright, translator; Greece) is the author of fourteen novels, among them [Shameless Suicides] (2005), [The Obliteration of Nikos] (2008), [Sixteen] (2010), and [The Book of Katherine] (2013), and the short story collection [The Man Who Ate Too Much] (2012). He also won the 2004 Greek National Book Award for Children’s Literature and the IBBY Prize for Best Children’s Novel.  Corteau has translated over 30 titles, including the work of Apollinaire, Faulkner, Salinger, Proulx, Updike and Banville. He writes primarily in English, teaches creative writing, and is a self-taught pianist. He participates courtesy of the U.S. Embassy in Athens.

Greece
2019 Resident

Amanda MICHALOPOULOU Αμάντα Μιχαλοπούλου (fiction;  Greece) is the author of eight novels, three story collections and children’s fiction, and a contributing editor to Greek and German dailies. Her debut novel Yantes won the 1997 Diavazo Award; I’d Like (2005), in Karen Emmerich’s translation, received National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) International Literature Prize. Her work has been translated into 20 languages; she has had fellowships and literary residencies in Germany, China, the U.S., and elsewhere. She teaches creative writing in Athens, and participates courtesy of an anonymous gift to the IWP.

Greece
2021 Resident

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.

Happening Now

  • We regret the passing, on April 11, 2024, of the distinguished Romanian author and critic Dan Cristea, who served as the editor in chief of the Luceafărul de Dimineață cultural monthly. In addition to being an alum of the 1985 Fall Residency, Cristea received his PhD in Comparative Literature at the University of Iowa.

  • Our congratulations to 1986 Fall Residency writer Kwame Dawes, who has been named the new poet laureate of Jamaica.

  • Congratulations to our colleagues Jennifer Croft and Aron Aji, who are among those serving as judges for the National Book Awards this year, in their case in the category of translated literature.

  • Ranjit Hoskote’s speech at the 2024 Goa Literary Festival addresses the current situation in Gaza.

  • In NY Times, Bina Shah worries about the state of Pakistani—and American—democracy.

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