Residency Participants
Yaiza Berrocal Guevara
Yaiza Berrocal Guevara (playwright, fiction writer, screenwriter; Spain) is the author of a novel, several plays and a screenplay. Her literary work includes Curling (2022), published in the UK in 2025 and forthcoming in Greek in 2026. She is currently working on her second novel, Las promesas. As a playwright, she received Spain’s Calderón de la Barca National Prize for La cadena del frío, later staged in Sala Beckett, Barcelona. Her other plays include Intenta viure sense mi, Ni temeré les feres, Ocho comedias y ocho entremeses nunca antes representadas (documentary theatre) and Flesh Market.
She is also the screenwriter of the animated feature Black Butterflies, winner of the Goya Award for Best Animated Film, as well as the Gaudí, Forqué, Quirino, and Platino awards, and has written for prime-time television series.
She has received grants and residencies from institutions including Barcelona Crea, Teatre Lliure, Fundación Antonio Gala, Spain Ministry of Culture and UNESCO, and is a member of the European CELA program for emerging writers as well as a numerary member of the Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España.
Her participation is made possible by the support of SPAIN arts & culture at the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain in Washington D.C., and the generous support of Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. and other donations made to the International Writing Program.
Nina Dragičević
Nina Dragičević is a poet, writer, sound artist, and sociologist, the author of nine volumes of poetry, essays, and theory, as well as numerous sound-poetry compositions and installations. Known for a distinct formal and stylistic hybridity, linguistic precision, and an articulated queer and feminist stance, her work has been characterised by critics as “striking,” “pioneering,” and “majestic,” as “strong, powerful poetry that deserves a lot of attention.”
Dragičević is the recipient of the Cankar Award 2026, the 2025 Lastovka Award, the 2023 Werner Düttmann Fellowship (Akademie der Künste, Berlin), the 2023 Dr Ana Mayer Kansky Award (University of Ljubljana), the 2021 Jenko Award, the 2020 Župančič Award, two 2018 Knight of Poetry Awards, and was a 2018 Palma Ars Acustica finalist.
She was nominated by Ljubljana City of Literature. Her participation is made possible by the support of the University of Iowa’s Office of the Vice President for Research.
Photo courtesy of Mankica Kranjec Ducheyne.
Amber Esau
Amber Esau is the author of Hungus, her debut poetry collection published earlier this year, and co-editor of a queer poetry anthology, Spoiled Fruit (2023). She has performed her poetry extensively, and her work has been published in various journals and anthologies in Aotearoa-New Zealand. She is working on a mixed media speculative fantasy novel set in the South Pacific.
Her participation is made possible by a grant from Creative New Zealand.
Sarah Gilmartin
Sarah Gilmartin’s short stories have been published in The Dublin Review, The Tangerine and The Stinging Fly. She won the Máirtín Crawford Short Story Award in 2020. Her novels Dinner Party: A Tragedy (2021), Service (2023) and Little Vanities (2026) are published by Pushkin Press. They have been shortlisted for the Irish Books Awards, the Kate O’Brien Award, and translated into Italian, German and (forthcoming) French. She was the 2025 Arts Council Writer-in-Residence at Dublin City University.
She was nominated by Dublin City of Literature. Her participation is made possible by generous donations made to the International Writing Program.
Iván Hochman
Iván Hochman (b. 1994, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an actor, writer, screenwriter, director, and teacher. His play Decir te amo es un atentado received a National Playwriting Award from the Teatro Nacional Cervantes and was presented at the Bienal de Arte Joven. He was selected for the Cannes Writers Club at Canneseries (2024) for his work as a screenwriter. His first novel, Por qué te vas (Milena Caserola, 2020; Alfaguara, 2023), was included in the Mapa de las Lenguas collection (2024). His second novel, Años luz que no brillamos, is forthcoming from Alfaguara. He starred in the Netflix series Love After Music, for which he received several acting awards. He is currently working on a science fiction short story collection and two feature films. He teaches creative writing and mentors long-form literary projects.
His participation is made possible by generous donations made to the International Writing Program.
Human Ip
Human Ip is an ecological writer and painter based in Hong Kong. She graduated from Lingnan University with a degree in Chinese Literature. She has published six novels and essay collections on nature ecology and held three solo art exhibitions. As a prominent ecological writer representing Hong Kong, she is actively promoting ecological writing in the city. In recent years, she has collaborated with several universities and organizations to organize lectures, exhibitions, guided nature tours, and creative workshops. Her initiatives in promoting ecological writing have been widely covered by the media.
Collaborating organizations include The University of Hong Kong’s Centre for Civil Society and Governance, Wu Zhi Qiao (Bridge to China) Charitable Foundation, the Countryside Conservation Office, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and Hong Kong Public Libraries.
In 2019, she served as a mural artist in the Mui Tsz Lam Art Revitalization Project. Between 2021 and 2027, she worked as a mural curator, ecological conservationist, and cultural documentarian in the "Forest Villages: Mui Tsz Lam and Ha Tong Sustainable Rural Project." In 2021, she founded the organic farm and agricultural brand “Farm in-situ” in Lai Chi Wo. In 2024, she served as a writer-in-residence at Hong Kong Baptist University. She has been a part-time faculty member at Lingnan University since 2023.
Raaza Jamshed
Raaza Jamshed is a writer, editor, and scholar working at the intersection of global literature, narrative ethics, and politically engaged fiction and nonfiction. Her debut novel, What Kept You? (Giramondo, 2025), a feminist work of literary fiction, was released to critical acclaim. She is Editor-in-Chief of Guernica Magazine, where she commissions and shapes work across geographies, languages, and traditions. She holds a Doctor of Creative Arts from Western Sydney University. Her creative and editorial practice engages human geography, ecofeminism, and narratives of female experience, with a particular attention to writing from positions of alterity.
Her participation is made possible by a gift to the International Writing Program from an anonymous donor.
KAWAGUCHI Harumi 川口晴美
Harumi Kawaguchi 川口晴美 is a poet based in Tokyo. Her latest poetry collection, やがて魔女の森になる (To the Witches’ Forest, Shicho-sha, 2021) received the 30th Hagiwara Sakutarō Prize in 2022, and her 13th collection, Tiger is here. (Tiger is here., Shicho-sha, 2015) won the 46th Takami Jun Prize in 2016. Her poetry explores women’s experiences and memory, while also bridging literature and popular culture, particularly manga and anime.
Her poems have been translated into English, German, Italian, and Korean, and included in the anthologies such as Poet to Poet: Contemporary Women Poets from Japan (Recent Work Press, 2017). She is increasingly interested in collaborative poetry translation, which she started while she was a guest for Poetry on the Move Festival in Canberra in 2017. Her collaborative translations from English to Japanese have been published in the anthologies, I am Ireland (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ireland, 2025) and pleasant troubles (Recent Work Press, 2018). She has edited several poetry anthologies and has been teaching creative writing over three decades.
Her participation is made possible by a grant from The Japan Foundation.
Jun Li
Jun Li is a Hong Kong writer director. His film works include Tracey (2018), Drifting (2021), and Queerpanorama (2025). He won Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director at the 58th and 62nd Golden Horse Film Awards for the latter two. His theatre works include Song of Grief (2018-2019) and In a Perfect World (2025). He won Best Play and Best Script for the later at the 34th Hong Kong Drama Awards.
His participation is made possible by the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Global.
Mingwei Lien
Lien Ming-wei (fiction writer, nonfiction writer; Taiwan) is the author of one work of reportage and four novels. His writing primarily focuses on fiction and has earned him several literary awards. He has published books such as Tomato Avenue and Other Coming-of-Age Stories (番茄街游擊戰), Son of the Green Cicadidae (青蚨子), The Confession of Blueberry Nights (藍莓夜的告白), Duty Officers of the Mountain and Sea: A Record of Toucheng Professionals (山與海的職日生：頭城職人誌), and Gunner, Snatcher, Robber, and Provoker (槍強搶嗆).
His participation is made possible by a grant from Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture.
Monique Malcher
Monique Malcher is a writer, journalist, and visual artist born in Santarém, in western Pará, Brazil. She holds a Master’s degree in Anthropology (UFPA) and an Interdisciplinary PhD in Human Sciences with a focus on gender studies (UFSC). She currently resides in São Paulo.
Her first book, Flor de Gume (Moinhos Publishing), won the Jabuti Literature Prize in 2021 in the short story category. Malcher is the second woman from northern Brazil to win a Jabuti in the literature category. Flor de Gume was also published under the title Flor de Filo by Fondo de Cultura Económica in Mexico (2025). Her first novel, Degola (2025), was released by Companhia das Letras (1st edition) and is already in its second reprint.
Her participation is made possible by the generous support of Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. and other donations made to the International Writing Program.
Nisrine Mbarki Ben Ayad
Nisrine Mbarki Ben Ayad (she/her), the Poet Laureate of the Netherlands (2026–2027), is an Amsterdam based Dutch Moroccan versatile multilingual writer, poet, literary translator, and programmer. Her work spans poetry, fiction, theatre, and literary translation. Rooted in Dutch, Arabic, and Tamazight, and fluent in English and French, she operates across multiple literary contexts. As a literary translator, she primarily translates female voices from Arabic and English into Dutch.
In January 2022, she debuted with her poetry collection Oeverloos (Shoreless). The collection was nominated for the C. Buddingh’ Prize for best poetry debut and the prestigious Herman de Coninck Prize. Her debut novel Kookpunt (Boiling Point) was published in 2025.
In addition to her literary practice, Mbarki collaborates with various international literature festivals as curator and serves as an active member of several literary organizations, juries, and boards.
Her participation is made possible by the support of the University of Iowa’s Office of the Vice President for Research.
Wame M. Molefhe
Wame M. Molefhe is a Botswana-born writer based in Gaborone. She writes across fiction, film, and television. Her published works include two short story collections and a debut novel shortlisted for the Island Prize for a Debut Novel (2025). She is a Civitella Ranieri fellow (2016).
She is the founder of AgaMotse, a Centre for the Arts.
Her participation is made possible by generous donations made to the International Writing Program.
Zodwa Nyoni
Zodwa Nyoni is a Zimbabwean-born writer and director whose multidisciplinary work spans theatre, film, radio, and opera. She first rose to prominence with her debut play, Boi Boi is Dead, which won the Channel 4 Playwrights’ Scheme and was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Since, her plays have been staged across Europe, Africa, and North America.
In 2025, she premiered three projects:
Liberation: Manchester International Festival production exploring the 1945 Fifth Pan-African Congress, nominated for Best Playwright at the Black British Theatre Awards and Alfred Fagon Award finalist.
Tears Are Not Meant to Stay Inside: An opera focused on ancestral healing for Buxton International Festival.
Castlevania: Nocturne: Series 2 of Netflix’s spin off animated series set during the French Revolution.
Zodwa has directed three short films, including the award-winning short The Ancestors. It won Jurors’ Choice for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking at Women of African Descent Film Festival (Brooklyn, NY); and Best Film at Sacramento Pan African International Film Festival.
She is a BAFTA Connect member and former Oxbelly International Fellow (Greece). Zodwa supports multidisciplinary artists and writers as a Lecturer in Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University and freelance dramaturg and script editor.
She was nominated by Manchester City of Literature. Her participation is made possible by a gift to the IWP from the estate of William B. Quarton.
Sang Young Park
Sangyoung Park is a prominent South Korean novelist and screenwriter, internationally recognized for his sharp emotional insight, wit, and nuanced exploration of urban life, intimacy, and identity. His bestselling novel, Love in the Big City, has been translated into more than twenty languages and was longlisted for the International Booker Prize, the Dublin Literary Award, and the Prix Médicis étranger. Beyond the page, Park has established himself as a versatile creator, serving as the writer and creator for the global television adaptation of his own work.
His participation is made possible by a grant from Arts Council Korea (ARKO).
Nir Ratzkovsky
Nir Ratzkovsky is an Israeli writer, translator from French and English into Hebrew, and scholar of translation and cultural studies. He is the author of the novel Beloved, Daughter and the nonfiction book Adventures of Molière in the Holy Tongue. He has translated major writers including Marcel Proust, Michel Houellebecq, Emmanuel Carrère, Albert Camus, Simone de Beauvoir and Jonathan Littell. Nir teaches at the University of Haifa and Tel Aviv University. He is currently working on a new novel.
His participation is made possible by Fulbright Israel.
Juan Carlos Reyes
Juan Carlos Reyes Vázquez (fiction writer, screenwriter, filmmaker; Mexico) is the author of five books of short fiction, including Impala (2021), Para subir y caer (2015), Iktumbe (2014), Circo de pulgas (2010), and Imagínate lejos (2002). His fiction often explores memory, loss, violence, childhood, altered bodies, and the fragile border between the intimate and the strange.
His work has appeared in the literary journals Crítica and Blanco Móvil, as well as in the anthologies Cuentistas de Tierra Adentro 2007–2017 and Cuerpos Rotos. He has also written and directed twelve short films, including Silla eléctrica para moscas, winner of Best Animated Short Film at the San Diego Latino Film Festival, and Absoluto vacío ensordecedor, winner of Best Experimental Short Film at the Dubai International Shortfilm Festival.
He holds a PhD in Creation and Cultural Theories and is a Senior Research Professor at Universidad de las Américas Puebla, where he has taught literature, film, narrative, and screenwriting for more than fifteen years. He is a member of Mexico’s National System of Researchers.
His participation is made possible by the support of Universidad de las Américas Puebla, University of Iowa International Programs, and generous donations made to the International Writing Program.
Lionel Ruffel
Lionel Ruffel is a French literary scholar, publisher, and writer.
He is the author of three essays on contemporary literature and culture: Le Dénouement (Verdier, 2005), Volodine post-exotique (Cécile Defaut, 2007) Brouhaha, les mondes du contemporain (Verdier, 2016, Minnesota Press, 2017), and three hybrid books that combine memoir, literary essay, and political fable: Trompe-la-mort (Verdier, 2019), I Can’t Sleep (Sternberg Press, 2021), and Trois éveils (Corti, 2024). His next book, Auto-évaluations, will be published in January 2027.
Since 2005, he runs the chaoïd series (which focuses on new voices and emerging literature) at Verdier publishing house where he’s also an associate publisher.
He is a professor of comparative literature and creative writing at Paris 8 University, where he co-founded the master's program in creative writing in 2013 and has been co-director ever since.
Lionel Ruffel has been a fellow in the Literary Arts Program at Banff Center for Arts and Creativity, a Humboldt Fellow at the Freie Universität (Berlin), Levehulme Visiting Professor at the University of St Andrews, and visiting professor at Brown University, Princeton University, Ecal (Lausanne) and the Bern University of the Arts.
His participation is made possible by the support of the University of Iowa’s Office of the Vice President for Research and The Graduate School ArTeC — Paris 8 University.
Mona Sylviana
Mona Sylviana is an Indonesian fiction writer and essayist. Her short story collection Wajah Terakhir (Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 2011) explores the lives of women in contemporary Indonesia. Her work has been translated into English, German, and French, and published in international anthologies including A Tale of Redemption & Other Stories (Lontar Foundation, 2015) and Footprints (Dalang Publishing, 2022). She is the author of Para Penjaga Tanah (dan) Air (Guardians of Land and Water, Noken Studio Nusantara, 2026), a collection of essays about indigenous communities in Central Sulawesi. She is currently working on a short story collection.
Her participation is made possible by the support of the Agency for Language Development and Cultivation, Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education of Indonesia.
Radu Vancu
Radu Vancu (Sibiu, Romania, 1978) is a Romanian poet, novelist, scholar, and translator. President of PEN Romania between 2019-2023. Professor at the Faculty of Letters and Arts at the “Lucian Blaga” University from Sibiu. Editor-in-chief of the Transilvania magazine; editor of the Poesis Internațional magazine. Former national editor of the Romanian section for the Poetry International website.
His poetry was translated in circa 20 languages, either in anthologies/magazines or as individual books. He has also published two novels, Transparența (2018) and Paradis (2025), 3 volumes of his diary (2017, 2021, 2024), 2 children novellas, and a collection of his social & political articles.
Translator of Ezra Pound’s complete works into Romanian, as well as of John Berryman’s The Dream Songs and Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself.”
President of the International Poetry Festival in Sibiu Poets in Transylvania (2013-ongoing).
His participation is made possible by the support of the University of Iowa’s Office of the Vice President for Research and the generous support of Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr.
Ingeborg von Zadow
Ingeborg von Zadow is an internationally renowned playwright based in the UNESCO City of Literature Heidelberg, Germany. Born in Berlin and educated bilingually in Germany, the USA and Belgium, she holds an M.A. in Theater from State University of New York at Binghamton, USA. The Agent/Publisher Verlag der Autoren in Frankfurt a.M., Germany started representing her professionally at the age of 22, after she had spent her youth writing and performing.
Her plays, often written for young audiences, have themes such as friendship, the actions of human beings and the way of the world. They focus on core emotional experiences and capture moments of growth and self-awareness through humor, rhythm and theatrical imagination. The plays have been staged in more than 150 professional national and international productions and translated into 12 languages.
She won the Brothers-Grimm-Prize of the State of Berlin and was nominated for the German Children's Theater Prize and the Mülheimer Children's Plays Prize.
Ingeborg von Zadow is spokesperson of the Heidelberg Authors, and director of the youth program Heidelberger Literaturscouts.
She was nominated by Heidelberg City of Literature. Her participation is made possible by the Max Kade Foundation.
S.M. Zakir
S.M. Zakir or Syed Mohd Zakir Syed Othman born on February 4th, 1969. Start writing in 1990 and until now has received tens of literary awards/prizes including Malaysian Premier Literary Prizes 1994/95 in short stories book category (Merengkuh Langit, DBP 1995) and Kelantan State Literary Awards in short stories book category (Sekuntum Kembang di Sayap Jibril, PPN 2001), Southeast Asia Malay Literary Prize (MASTERA) in literary book categories (Serigala dan Sekuntum Tulip, (DBP 2010), Malaysian Premier Literary Prizes 2010/2011 in short stories book category (Serigala dan Sekuntum Tulip, DBP 2010).
In 2010 was the awardee of MASTERA Young Laureate Awards 2010, awarded by the Literary Council of Southeast Asia (MASTERA) in Jakarta, Indonesia. In 2011 was the awardee of S.E.A Write Award 2011 in short story category, awarded by SEA Write Award Council in Bangkok, Thailand. In 2023 honored as Kelantan State Laurette. Work in the news media before established Nusa Centre, a publishing house and centre for culture research. Earned much acclaim and many awards with five novels, nine short stories books, five poetry collections, a biography, theatre and film criticism, socio-culture essays and political commentary. A columnist for several magazines, also ex-secretary general of the Malaysian National Writers Association.
He has vast experience and knowledge in management, editorial and copywriting throughout his career in publishing and advertising companies, not to mention, presenter and participant in national, regional, international seminars, workshops and conferences.
His participation is made possible by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.