The Creative Writing Workshop at the University of New Orleans will welcome a group of six acclaimed writers from six different countries when they visit New Orleans on Monday, Oct. 14.

The campus community and the public at large are invited to hear from the group of international poets, essayists, and specialists in fiction and non-fiction as they share their insights through a panel discussion and perform readings of their original works.

The guests are resident writers from the International Writers Residency Program at the University of Iowa. This is the second year this respected program has chosen to visit UNO.

The distinguished writers from Hong Kong, Singapore, Czech Republic, Argentina, Lithuania, and Taiwan will read from their original work (fiction, poetry, drama, essay) and answer questions from UNO students and faculty from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in Room 407 of the Earl K. Long Library.

Visiting writers:

•    Chan Lai-kuen (poetry, essay; Hong Kong), whose blog handle is “Dead Cat,” is a poet, a public speaker and teacher. Her three books include, Cat Were Singing, which won the Recommendation Prize at the 11th Hong Kong Biennial Awards for Chinese Literature, a prose collection, and a bilingual Chinese-English volume of poetry. Chan’s work has been translated and published internationally. She participates courtesy of the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation.

•    Tautvyda Marcinkeviciute (poetry, translation; Lithuania) has published 15 books of poetry and three books of children’s poetry. Among her many national awards is the Poezijos Pavasaris National Poet Laureateship. A prolific translator, her own work has been translated into more than 10 languages. The bilingual volume “Terribly in Love” appeared in 2018. Her work explores the intricacies of pressing social issues with courage, clarity, and linguistic dexterity. She participates courtesy of the Paul and Hualing Engle Foundation.

•    Walis Nokan (poetry, fiction; Taiwan) has been awarded a number of literature prizes including the Wu Zhuo-liu Literature Prize, United Daily News critics’ choice top honors for prose writing, and Ministry of Education Award for Literary Creation for his work, which has been included in "Indigenous Writers of Taiwan: An Anthology of Stories, Essays, and Poems." Walis founded the Hunter Culture Magazine which developed into the Research Center for Humanities of Taiwan’s Aboriginal Peoples.  

•    Santiago Loza (drama, fiction; Argentina) is a co-founder of the Elefante Theater Club in Buenos Aires, author of over 20 plays, collected in three volumes, and of two novels. “La Primera Casa” (The First House), was released in August 2019. His first feature, “Stranger,” won the 2003 Tiger Award for Best Picture at the Rotterdam Film Festival, and was followed by seven features and shorts, several of them winners at national and international competitions.

•    Clara Chow (fiction, nonfiction, drama; Singapore) holds a Master of Arts in Literary Studies and extensive background in journalism, copywriting, and teaching. She has published two short story collections and her work has been widely anthologized. Chow was named one of Singapore’s Top 12 Writers to Watch in 2016 and received the 2018 Jane Geske Award for her story “Siren” (Redux). Chow co-founded the online literary and art journal WeAreAWebsite.com, and teaches creative writing and workshops on topics like “Writing as Resistance” and zine making.

•    Róbert Gál (poetry, fiction; Czech Republic), a literary editor and publisher, works at intersections of genres and media. His six volumes of philosophical prose have been translated from his native Slovak into English and Czech. He has collaborated with composers, dancers, filmmakers, and visual artists in performance and installation work in Europe and the U.S. His participation was made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.