Alan CHERCHESOV (2008 Fall Residency Visitor) has published the novels Requiem for Living (1994; and, in English, Northwestern University Press, 2005), [Wreath for the Grave of the Wind, 2000], and [Villa Belle-Lettre, 2005], as well as short stories; he is currently working on his fourth novel, Don Ivan. His translation of Wambaugh’s The New Centurions appeared in 1992. Cherchesov is the president of the Institute of Civilization, a private educational institute in Vladikavkaz, in North Ossetia. The recipient of a number of literary prizes, he was a finalist for the 2001 and 2006 Russian Booker Awards. His participation is provided courtesy of the William B. Quarton Foundation.