Podcasts about write award

Chris Albani and Kwame Dawes chat with Dion O'Reilly about KUMI: New-Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set THE LIMITED-EDITION BOX SET is a project started in 2014 to ensure the publication of up to a dozen chapbooks every year by African poets through Akashic Books. The series seeks to identify the best poetry written by African poets working today, and it is especially interested in featuring poets who have not yet published their first full-length book of poetry. The nine poets included in this box set are: Nurain Oládèjì, Sarpong Osei Asamoah, Claudia Owusu, Nome Emeka Patrick, Qhali, Connor Cogill, Feranmi Ariyo, Dare Tunmise, and Adams Adeosun. KWAME DAWES is the author of numerous books of poetry and other works of fiction, criticism, and essays. His most recent poetry collection is Sturge Town which was published by Peepal Tree Press in the UK and W.W. Norton in the US. Dawes is a George W. Holmes University Professor of English and Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner. He teaches in the Pacific MFA Program and is the series editor of the African Poetry Book Series, director of the African Poetry Book Fund, and artistic director of the Calabash International Literary Festival. He is a Chancellor for the Academy of American Poets and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Dawes is the winner of the prestigious Windham/Campbell Award for Poetry and was a finalist for the 2022 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. In 2022, Kwame Dawes was awarded the Order of Distinction Commander class by the Government of Jamaica, and in 2024, he was appointed Poet Laureate of Jamaica.CHRIS ABANI's prose includes The Secret History of Las Vegas, Song for Night, The Virgin of Flames, Becoming Abigail, GraceLand, and Masters of the Board. His poetry collections include Smoking the Bible, Sanctificum, There Are No Names for Red, Feed Me the Sun, Hands Washing Water, Dog Woman, Daphne's Lot, and Kalakuta Republic. He holds a BA and MA in English, an MA in gender and culture, and a PhD in literature and creative writing. Abani is the recipient of a PEN USA Freedom to Write Award, a Prince Claus Award, a Lannan Literary fellowship, a California Book Award, a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, a PEN Beyond Margins Award, a PEN/Hemingway Award, and a Guggenheim fellowship. He won the prestigious 2024 UNT Rilke Prize and was a finalist for the 2024 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. He is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Born in Nigeria, he is currently on the board of trustees, a professor of English, and director of African Studies at Northwestern University.

- Tối qua ( 25/11), hai nhà văn Việt Nam là Nguyễn Bình Phương và Nguyễn Một đã vinh dự được nhận Giải thưởng nhà văn Đông Nam Á (S.E.A Write Award) năm 2022-2023 do Hoàng gia Thái Lan và Hội Nhà văn Thái Lan tổ chức dành cho các nhà văn, nhà thơ xuất sắc của các nước trong khu vực Đông Nam Á. Chủ đề : giải thưởng, nhà văn --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/vov1tintuc/support

Today I‘m excited to be speaking with Ahmed Naji, a writer who spent two years in prison in Egypt for writing what the authorities judged to be objectionable material.But while Ahmed Naji was in prison, he discovered literature and through that, himself. It's an amazing story of a person who finds magic and hope in the unlikely environs of the library of a stereotypical prison—a pestilential and dank hovel, one biscuit short of hell.But before I talk to him, I thought it might be useful to get some context going here, so, a little bit, about Egyptian literature first. Modern Egyptian literature began to flourish in the early 20th century, or right up to say the 1940s, as writers started to break away from traditional Arabic literary forms such as classical Arabic poetry, with specific meters and rhyming schemes. It was during that time that author Taha Hussein, often called the "Dean of Arabic Literature," challenged classical literary norms, when he introduced a more accessible style of prose.The next decade saw the birth of a cultural renaissance with the overthrow of the monarchy in 1952 and the beginning of the republic. That's about when Naguib Mahfouz happened. He went on to win the Nobel in 1988 and brought world attention to Egyptian literature.As with all cultural forms, one decade tends to build on the previous and the successive decades have seen social realism, pioneering books, like "Woman at Point Zero", about the struggles of women in Egyptian society, and writers explained the challenges of contemporary life. There was the growth of female and feminist voices and of course the influences from the Arab Spring. Importantly, there has been a growth in contribution to literature from the Egyptian diaspora.I found Ahmed Naji's writing online and I was fascinated by his story and his work and we tracked him down to his new home in the United States. Ahmed's latest book Rotten Evidence is a story about his time in prison, about how he discovered literature and found the writer in himself and the reality of protest. These lines capture the essence of the protest against censorship and being jailed for alleged obscenity."James Joyce, who swore to express himself with the greatest degree of freedom possible—and never to serve home, fatherland, or church—said a writer had three weapons: silence, exile, and cunning. Well, Joyce, they put me in prison, and all I had left was laughter and rage."Such is the captivating prose of my guest today. Ahmed Naji joins me from his home in Las Vegas for this delightful conversation.ABOUT AHMED NAJIAhmed Naji is a writer, journalist, documentary filmmaker... and criminal. His novel Using Life made him the only writer in Egyptian history to have been sent to prison for offending public morality. Naji has won several prizes including a Dubai Press Club Award and a PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award. He is currently a fellow at the Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute. Buy Rotten Evidence: Reading and Writing in an Egyptian Prison: https://litcity.in/rotten-evidenceWHAT'S THAT WORD?!Co-host Pranati "Pea" Madhav joins Ramjee Chandran in "WHAT'S THAT WORD?!",  where they discuss the Arabic proverb  "BUKRA FI'L MISH MISH".CONTACT USReach us by mail: theliterarycity@explocity.com or simply, tlc@explocity.comOr here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theliterarycityOr here:  https://www.instagram.com/explocityblr/

Prabda Yoon is an Artist, Filmmaker, writer, publisher and translator. He Lives in Bangkok, Thailand.After studying Graphic Design and visual communication in the US, he embarked on a prolific career, authoring a remarkable collection of twenty fiction books, encompassing both short stories and novels.As a designer, Yoon designed over 100 book covers, lending his creative touch to numerous publications. His artistic works have been exhibited regularly in Thailand and Japan, gaining recognition and appreciation in various art exhibitions.As a translator, Yoon brought Western literary classics to Thai readers, making the likes of Nabokov's Lolita and J.D. Salinger's iconic Catcher in the Rye accessible to a broader audience through his adept translations.He won the prestigious S.E.A. Write Award in 2002 for his story collection "Kwam Na Ja Pen" (Probability). In 2021, Yoon's significant contributions to arts and culture won him the Fukuoka Prize."The Sad Part Was," a poignant collection of twelve short stories from Yoon's acclaimed "Kwam Na Ja Pen," found international acclaim with its English translation by Mui Poopoksakul, published by Tilted Axis Press in the UK. The book marked a historic moment as the first-ever translation of Thai fiction to be released in the UK. Additionally, Yoon's second story collection, "Moving Parts," also translated by Mui Poopoksakul, further cemented his reputation as a writer with global appeal.Prabda Yoon's stories offer a meditative study of modern Thai life, deftly weaving together urban alienation and surrealism themes. Through his experimental storytelling, Yoon delves into the complexities of human relationships and the emotional landscapes of his characters, who often grapple with loneliness and isolation.To buy 'The sad part Was' -https://bit.ly/44R6wxNTo buy 'Moving Parts' -https://bit.ly/478mzcKYou can read more about him at -https://bit.ly/prabdawikiFollow us on Spotify: http://bit.ly/harshaneeyam Follow us on Apple podcast: http://apple.co/3qmhis5 *Contact us - harshaneeyam@gmail.com ***Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by Interviewees in interviews conducted by Harshaneeyam Podcast are those of the Interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Harshaneeyam Podcast. Any content provided by Interviewees is of their opinion and is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrpChartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

“กาลเวลาใช่จะรักษาบาดเเผลเเห่งชีวิตได้เสมอไป” . เกิดในฤดูหนาวที่แดดส่องถึง นวนิยายที่ว่าด้วยการเกิดขึ้นของเหตุการณ์ในซีกโลกหนึ่งที่อาจมิได้เกี่ยวข้องกับแต่ละเหตุการณ์ในอีกซีกโลก ทว่ามันคือความทรงจําร่วมของช่วงเวลาที่ผู้คนบนโลกมีการรับรู้ร่วมกัน . ความสัมพันธ์ของผู้คนกลุ่มหนึ่ง ครอบครัวหนึ่ง หรือคนคู่หนึ่ง แน่นอนว่ายอมมิใช่เรื่องราวเดียวกัน แต่นั่นก็คือ “ความสัมพันธ์” ที่หากผู้ใดมีโอกาสได้มองย้อนกลับไปในความสัมพันธ์ของตนเอง ความทรงจําของแต่ละช่วงเวลายอมมีรสชาติไม่เหมือนกัน . อาทิตย์ละเล่ม Podcast สัปดาห์นี้ชวนคุยถึงวรรณกรรมจากปลายปากกา "นทธี ศศิวิมล" ที่ร้าวรานและแสนทำงานกับความทรงจำ ผ่านเข้ารอบสุดท้าย Short List รางวัลวรรณกรรมสร้างสรรค์ยอดเยี่ยมแห่งอาเซียน (S.E.A.Write Award) ประจำปีพ.ศ.2564 ——————————————— - เกิดในฤดูหนาวที่แดดส่องถึง - นทธี ศศิวิมล : เขียน สั่งซื้อหนังสือเล่มนี้ได้ที่ : https://bit.ly/3sNJ0R0 . Host : อาทิตย์ ธรรมชาติ ——————————————— ติดตามฟัง อาทิตย์ละเล่ม Podcast ได้ทุกวันอาทิตย์ ตั้งแต่เวลา 15.00 น.เป็นต้นไป และรายการอื่นของ Amarinbooks Podcast ได้ที่นี่ . Facebook : www.facebook.com/amarinbookspodcast Youtube : youtube.com/c/Amarinbooks Spotify : spoti.fi/3mDEGAU SoundCloud : @amarinbooks Podbean : bit.ly/3araSl6 Apple Podcast : apple.co/3oWkcFV Google Podcast : bit.ly/3FcP9eJ Blockdit : www.blockdit.com/amarinbooks . #เกิดในฤดูหนาวที่แดดส่องถึง #รีวิวหนังสือ #อาทิตย์ละเล่มPodcast #Amarinbooks #AmarinbooksPodcast

Episode Show Notes In this episode we cover:  What makes a good crime book Mistakes to avoid writing crime How to create mystery and tension How to create realistic crime when you're not a police officer How to balance character development across an episodic series Find out more about Rachel on: Facebook Instagram Twitter Website   THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY KOBO WRITING LIFE Visit Kobo Writing Life here, read the Kobo Writing Life blog here, and listen to their podcast here.    

Looking to improve content across all platforms of your business? By consistently journaling, you'll be able to use the written content and ideas for blog posts on your website, videos, and even future products or business ventures. Ian Garlic talks with Lisa Tener, Bestselling Author & Book Coach, about the keys to writing award-winning books and how journaling can help you build up your content. Discover the dangers of not journaling and how to complete your first draft in only 8 weeks. What You'll Learn:The Keys to Creating Award-Winning BooksHow QR Codes Helped One Author Win Business Books AwardsHow to Create Better Blog Posts Using JournalingOvercoming Perfection Through JournalingThe Danger of NOT Journaling Before Creating a VideoHow to Complete Your First Draft in 8 WeeksConnect with Lisa:Learn More About LisaTwitterLinkedInBOOK: The Joy of Writing JournalFREE Training: Bring Your Book To LifeFacebook Group: Write and CreateResources:Connect with IanBook a Discovery Call Today with Our ExpertsSubscribe to the YouTube Channel See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ahmed Naji, a writer from Egypt, is presently a fellow at the Black Mountain Institute in Las Vegas. His work touches on a variety of themes, including sci-fi, Islamic methodology, sex, friendship, prison literature, music, magic, and masculinity. Naji’s novel, Using Life, was among the “Tales of a Fantastic Future” shortlisted by the Neukom Institute Literary Arts Awards (2018). The work also led to a two-year prison sentence in Egypt for obscenity and disturbing public morals. Naji served a year of his sentence and was honored by the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award in 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How to set and build a story for your fictional audio show? What's the best way to ask for feedback and what to consider while giving one? Nikesh Murali answers all these questions in great detail and goes deeper into the narration part of audio content and the art of storytelling. Nikesh, an award-winning writer and professional voice actor is the man behind Indian Noir, a chart-topping podcast featuring thrilling crime and horror audio stories set in India. He is an internationally acclaimed spoken poetry artist and also the author of a multi-award winning, Amazon bestselling short story collection 'The Killing fields'. Together with Nikesh, we produce a mythology fiction show, Heirs of The Pandavas- check the show out for gripping narration and great sound design. Find Nikesh @indiannoir and Bijay @bijayspeaks on Instagram.  For brand partnerships, collaborations, and sponsorship opportunities, send us an email at hi@wyn.studio. Podcast Unfiltered is a WYN Studio production. Find us at http://wyn.studio. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ahmed Naji is the guest. He is the author of three novels, including Using Life (University of Texas Press), which led to his imprisonment in Egypt—and then led to the writing of a new memoir, Rotten Evidence: Reading and Writing in Prison, currently excerpted in The Believer magazine. In 2016, Naji was sentenced to 2 years in prison after a reader complained that an excerpt of Using Life published in a literary journal harmed public morality. His imprisonment marks the first time in modern Egypt that an author has been jailed for a work of literature. Writers and literary organizations around the world rallied to support Naji, and he was released in December 2016. His original conviction was overturned in May 2017. His other books include the novels Rogers and And Tigers to My Room. Throughout his career, he has won several prizes, including the 2016 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award. He is now a fellow at the Black Mountain Institute in Las Vegas, where he lives with his small family. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Launched in 2011. Books. Literature. Writing. Publishing. Authors. Screenwriters. Life. Death. Etc. Support the show on Patreon / get merch.  www.otherppl.com @otherppl Instagram  Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com Get Otherppl t-shirts, sweatshirts, etc. The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's edition of The PEN Pod, we announce the winner of our 2020 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, imprisoned Chinese writer and activist Xu Zhiyong. We speak to his friend, scholar and advocate Teng Biao. Then, an excerpt of a conversation between authors Yuri Herrera and Fernanda Melchor, part of our PEN World Voices podcast These Truths --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/penamerica/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/penamerica/support

Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante and the Nuestra Palabra Crew talk to Pulitzer-prize winning author Jose Antonio Vargas about his book: Dear America, Notes of An Undocumented Citizen. The crew discusses the NALAC Report which quantifies the inequity of Arts Funding for the Latinx community. Chilakill Entertainment joins us in the studio to talk about their upcoming play in Spanish. Click her to donate to Nuestra Palabra: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9CPLMM88TF5BS Bios: Jose Antonio Vargas, a journalist and filmmaker, is the founder and CEO of the non-profit Define American. His work has appeared internationally in TIME, as well as in the San Francisco Chronicle, the New Yorker, and the Washington Post, where he won a Pulitzer Prize as part of a reporting team. In 2014, he received the Freedom to Write Award from PEN Center USA. He directed the documentary feature Documented and MTV special White People, which was nominated for an Emmy Award. An elementary school named after him will open in his hometown of Mountain View, California in 2019. Chilakill Entertainment is formed by Xilo Martinez, Eddy Rojas, Rafael Sosa, & Chavo Mayoral. NP Radio airs live Tuesdays 6pm-7pm cst 90.1 FM KPFT Houston, TX. Livestream www.KPFT.org. More podcasts at www.NuestraPalabra.org. The Nuestra Palabra Radio Show is archived at the University of Houston Digital Archives. Our hard copy archives are kept at the Houston Public Library’s Special Collections Hispanic Archives. Producers: Leti Lopez & Marlen Treviño. Board operators: Alex Sorto & Joe Anthony Treviño. Tony Diaz Sundays, Mondays, & Tuesdays & The Other Side Sun 7am "What's Your Point" Fox 26 Houston Mon Noon "The Cultural Accelerator" at www.TonyDiaz.net Tues 6pm NP Lit Radio 90.1 FM KPFT, Houston www.NuestraPalabra.org 24/7 The Other Side TV www.TheOtherSideTele.com

A father searches for his addict son while grappling with his own choices as a parent (and as a user of sorts) Achingly funny and full of feeling, Eat Only When You’re Hungry follows fifty-eight-year-old Greg as he searches for his son, GJ, an addict who has been missing for three weeks. Greg is bored, demoralized, obese, and as dubious of GJ’s desire to be found as he is of his own motivation to go looking. Almost on a whim, Greg embarks on a road trip to central Florida—a noble search for his son, or so he tells himself. Greg takes us on a tour of highway and roadside, of Taco Bell, KFC, gas-station Slurpees, sticky strip-club floors, pooling sweat, candy wrappers and crumpled panes of cellophane and wrinkled plastic bags tumbling along the interstate. This is the America Greg knows, one he feels closer to than to his youthful idealism, closer even than to his younger second wife. As his journey continues, through drive-thru windows and into the living rooms of his alluring ex-wife and his distant, curmudgeonly father, Greg’s urgent search for GJ slowly recedes into the background, replaced with a painstaking, illuminating, and unavoidable look at Greg’s own mistakes—as a father, as a husband, and as a man. Brimming with the same visceral regret and joy that leak from the fast food Greg inhales, Eat Only When You’re Hungry is a wild and biting study of addiction, perseverance, and the insurmountable struggle to change. With America’s desolate underbelly serving as her guide, Lindsay Hunter elicits a singular type of sympathy for her characters, using them to challenge our preconceived notions about addiction and to explore the innumerable ways we fail ourselves. Praise for Eat Only When You're Hungry "[A] commanding narrative . . . A savage tale of parenthood and squandered hope from an author whose unsparing eye never ceases to subvert the mundane." —Kirkus "Hunter's absurd Floridian landscapes and darkly tender moments are keen and hilarious, exposing the complexities of addiction and an overweight man with a weak heart but unfailing love." —Booklist "The frailties of the human body and the human heart are laid bare in Lindsay Hunter’s utterly superb novel Eat Only When You’re Hungry. There is real delicacy, tenderness, and intelligence with which Hunter tackles this portrait of a broken family of people who don’t realize just how broken they are until they are forced to confront the fractures between them and within themselves. With this novel, Hunter establishes herself as an unforgettable voice in American letters. Her work here, as ever, is unparalleled." —Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist "This novel takes us on a road trip with an American Everyman into the heart of American hunger—for freedom, for connection, for junk food, for love. Hunter has a brilliant sense for the perfectly telling image, and her humor is so biting and smart it was almost a surprise, at the end of this engrossing book, to realize how thoroughly she had broken my heart.” —Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You "Compassionate, claustrophobic, gut-wrenchingly observed, Eat Only When You’re Hungry probes the fine lines between hunger and addiction, addiction and desire. In perfectly nuanced prose, Lindsay Hunter observes the human ability to go on in the face of the unexpected, the unknown, the regretted, and, perhaps most important, the mundane." —Lori Ostlund, author of After the Parade Lindsay Hunter is the author of the story collections Don’t Kiss Me and Daddy’s and the novel Ugly Girls. Originally from Florida, she now lives in Chicago with her husband, sons, and dogs. Photo by Liliane Calfee Roxane Gay is the author of the novel An Untamed State, which was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction; the essay collection Bad Feminist; Ayiti, a multi-genre collection, the collection of stories Difficult Women and the memoir, Hunger. She is at work on a comic book in Marvel’s Black Panther series. Her writing has appeared in Best American Short Stories 2012, the New York Times, the Guardian, and many others. She is a recipient of the PEN Center USA Freedom to Write Award, among other honors. She splits her time between Indiana and Los Angeles. She can be found online at www.roxanegay.com and on Twitter @rgay. Event date:  Thursday, August 10, 2017 - 7:30pm

In this episode, we talk with the writer Sara Wilson, who gives us tips on short-form writing, offers ideas for what should go on the back of the postcard, and how to make your postcard memorable. You can find Sara's work on Sara-Writes.com. And keep your eye out for the book she's writing now. 

Eat Only When You're Hungry (Farrar, Straus, Giroux) A father searches for his addict son while grappling with his own choices as a parent (and as a user of sorts) Achingly funny and full of feeling, Eat Only When You’re Hungry follows fifty-eight-year-old Greg as he searches for his son, GJ, an addict who has been missing for three weeks. Greg is bored, demoralized, obese, and as dubious of GJ’s desire to be found as he is of his own motivation to go looking. Almost on a whim, Greg embarks on a road trip to central Florida—a noble search for his son, or so he tells himself. Greg takes us on a tour of highway and roadside, of Taco Bell, KFC, gas-station Slurpees, sticky strip-club floors, pooling sweat, candy wrappers and crumpled panes of cellophane and wrinkled plastic bags tumbling along the interstate. This is the America Greg knows, one he feels closer to than to his youthful idealism, closer even than to his younger second wife. As his journey continues, through drive-thru windows and into the living rooms of his alluring ex-wife and his distant, curmudgeonly father, Greg’s urgent search for GJ slowly recedes into the background, replaced with a painstaking, illuminating, and unavoidable look at Greg’s own mistakes—as a father, as a husband, and as a man. Brimming with the same visceral regret and joy that leak from the fast food Greg inhales, Eat Only When You’re Hungry is a wild and biting study of addiction, perseverance, and the insurmountable struggle to change. With America’s desolate underbelly serving as her guide, Lindsay Hunter elicits a singular type of sympathy for her characters, using them to challenge our preconceived notions about addiction and to explore the innumerable ways we fail ourselves. Praise for Eat Only When You're Hungry "[A] commanding narrative . . . A savage tale of parenthood and squandered hope from an author whose unsparing eye never ceases to subvert the mundane." —Kirkus "Hunter's absurd Floridian landscapes and darkly tender moments are keen and hilarious, exposing the complexities of addiction and an overweight man with a weak heart but unfailing love." —Booklist "The frailties of the human body and the human heart are laid bare in Lindsay Hunter’s utterly superb novel Eat Only When You’re Hungry. There is real delicacy, tenderness, and intelligence with which Hunter tackles this portrait of a broken family of people who don’t realize just how broken they are until they are forced to confront the fractures between them and within themselves. With this novel, Hunter establishes herself as an unforgettable voice in American letters. Her work here, as ever, is unparalleled." —Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist "This novel takes us on a road trip with an American Everyman into the heart of American hunger—for freedom, for connection, for junk food, for love. Hunter has a brilliant sense for the perfectly telling image, and her humor is so biting and smart it was almost a surprise, at the end of this engrossing book, to realize how thoroughly she had broken my heart.” —Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You "Compassionate, claustrophobic, gut-wrenchingly observed, Eat Only When You’re Hungry probes the fine lines between hunger and addiction, addiction and desire. In perfectly nuanced prose, Lindsay Hunter observes the human ability to go on in the face of the unexpected, the unknown, the regretted, and, perhaps most important, the mundane." —Lori Ostlund, author of After the Parade Lindsay Hunter is the author of the story collections Don’t Kiss Me and Daddy’s and the novel Ugly Girls. Originally from Florida, she now lives in Chicago with her husband, sons, and dogs. Roxane Gay is the author of the novel An Untamed State, which was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction; the essay collection Bad Feminist; Ayiti, a multi-genre collection, the collection of stories Difficult Women and the memoir, Hunger. She is at work on a comic book in Marvel’s Black Panther series. Her writing has appeared in Best American Short Stories 2012, the New York Times, the Guardian, and many others. She is a recipient of the PEN Center USA Freedom to Write Award, among other honors. She splits her time between Indiana and Los Angeles. She can be found online at www.roxanegay.com and on Twitter @rgay.

Chris Abani' reads from his novel The Secret History of Las Vegas. Cristina García reads from her novel King of Cuba. The discussion took place on April 1, 2014, and was moderated by Elena Creef, Associate Professor of Women's and Gender Studies at Wellesley College. Cristina García is the author of six novels: King of Cuba, The Lady Matador’s Hotel, A Handbook to Luck, Monkey Hunting, The Agüero Sisters, winner of the Janet Heidiger Kafka Prize; and Dreaming in Cuban, finalist for the National Book Award. García has edited two anthologies, Bordering Fires: The Vintage Book of Contemporary Mexican and Chicano/a Literature(2006) and Cubanísimo: The Vintage Book of Contemporary Cuban Literature (2003). She is also the author of three works for young readers, Dreams of Significant Girls (2011), a young adult novel set in a Swiss boarding school in the 1970s; The Dog Who Loved the Moon, illustrated by Sebastia Serra, (Atheneum, 2008); and I Wanna Be Your Shoebox (Simon and Schuster, 2008). A collection of poetry, The Lesser Tragedy of Death (Akashic Books), was published in 2010. García holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Barnard College, and a Master's degree in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Her work has been nominated for a National Book Award and translated into 14 languages. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Writers’ Award, a Hodder Fellowship at Princeton University, and an NEA grant, among others. García has been a Visiting Professor at the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas-Austin and The University of Miami. She teaches part time at Texas Tech University and will serve as University Chair in Creative Writing at Texas State University-San Marcos from 2012-14 Chris Abani's prose includes Song For Night, The Virgin of Flames,Becoming Abigail, GraceLand, and Masters of the Board. His poetry collections are Sanctificum, There Are No Names for Red, Feed Me The Sun - Collected Long Poems, Hands Washing Water, Dog Woman, Daphne's Lot, and Kalakuta Republic. He holds a BA in English (Nigeria), an MA in Gender and Culture (Birkbeck College, University of London), an MA in English and a PhD in Literature and Creative Writing (University of Southern California). He is a Professor at the University of California, Riverside and the recipient of the PEN USA Freedom-to-Write Award, the Prince Claus Award, a Lannan Literary Fellowship, a California Book Award, a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, a PEN Beyond the Margins Award, the PEN Hemingway Book Prize & a Guggenheim Award. 

We are pleased to present a reading by Chris Abani, recorded at the 2009 Port Townsend Writers' Conference. Chris Abani is a novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter and playwright. Born in Nigeria to an Igbo father and English mother, he grew up in Afikpo, Nigeria, received a BA in English from Imo State University, Nigeria, an MA in English, Gender and Culture from Birkbeck College, University of London and a PhD in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Southern California. He has resided in the United States since 2001. He is the recipient of the PEN USA Freedom-to-Write Award, the Prince Claus Award, a Lannan Literary Fellowship, a California Book Award, a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, a PEN Beyond the Margins Award, the PEN Hemingway Book Prize and a Guggenheim Award. Abani's fiction includes The Secret History of Las Vegas (Penguin 2014), Song For Night *(Akashic, 2007), *The Virgin of Flames (Penguin, 2007), Becoming Abigail (Akashic, 2006), GraceLand (FSG, 2004), and Masters of the Board (Delta, 1985).   His poetry collections are Sanctificum (Copper Canyon Press, 2010), There Are No Names for Red (Red Hen Press, 2010), Feed Me The Sun - Collected Long Poems *(Peepal Tree Press, 2010) *Hands Washing Water (Copper Canyon, 2006), Dog Woman (Red Hen, 2004),Daphne’s Lot (Red Hen, 2003) and *Kalakuta Republic *(Saqi, 2001). --- The Port Townsend Writers' Conferece began in 1974 thanks to novelist Bill Ransom, who envisioned an egalitarian, non-hierarchical conference where the emphasis was on the craft of literary writing. Such writers and welcomers as Jim Heynen, Carol Jane Bangs, Sam Hamill, Rebecca Brown, and many others continued this emphasis on the writing craft over the next few decades, and the Conference has become an annual pilgrimage for many. Whether you’re seeking to create or revise new work, find writing community, or simply desire a writing retreat in an inspirational location, Centrum is at the heart of the thriving Pacific Northwest literary scene.