Jack Harte was born in Co Sligo, in the west of Ireland, grew up in the midlands, and has lived in Dublin for many years. He pursued many occupations, including Principal of Lucan Community College in Dublin. From schooldays he has been a writer, and has written a variety of books. His short story collections, Murphy in the Underworld, Birds and other Tails, and From Under Gogol's Nose, have been widely acclaimed and translated into Russian, Bulgarian, Hindi, and German. His novel, In the wake of the Bagger, was the first literary work to have been commissioned under the Irish Government's Per Cent for Art scheme, and was nominated by a popular handbook as one of the 101 Irish Books you Must Read. His second novel, Reflections in a Tar-Barrel, was published in Bulgaria before it appeared in English and was a major success in that country. His most recent book was a memoir/biography of his cousin and friend, Fred Conlon, the acclaimed Irish sculptor who died in 2005. Jack Harte founded the Irish Writers' Union and the Irish Writers' Centre, and was instrumental in engineering the survival of the latter when state support was withdrawn in 2009.
Federica Sgaggio, 1965, is a writer, journalist and blogger. She is the author of novels, short stories and an essay about journalism, ‘Il Paese del Buoni e dei Cattivi’, (2011), a copy of which is stored in the Library of Congress, Washington D.C. She is moving to Ireland with her family in the near future.
Nicoletta Di Rubbo was born in Milan in the mid seventies. She graduated in foreign languages and literatures at the Orientale Institute of Naples in 2000. She now manages a Learning Centre for children in Benevento and she teaches English using a creative and enjoyble method. She says that translation is her passion, it helps her to dream and never forget the child she had been.
James Eugene Lindsey was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1965. He now lives in Nuevo León, México, and is a missionary/pastor, and also a language instructor at the Universidad Tecnológica Linares. He is married to Irma Yolanda (Mayoli) Cruz and is the father of Sarah, Allen, and Jasmine Lindsey.
Colin Carberry was born in Toronto, raised in Longford, Ireland, educated at the University of Toronto, and now lives in Mexico. Carberry is the author of three poetry books, The Crossing (Bearing Press, 1998), The Green Table (Exile, 2003), and Ceasefire in Purgatory (Luna, 2007), and is the translator of Jaime Sabines's Love Poems (Biblioasis, 2011), along with an earlier volume of Sabines's work. He has read on radio and television, and at book fairs, festivals and universities in Bosnia, Canada, Ireland, Mexico, Serbia, Slovenia and the United States. He was one of four poets representing Canada at the 2010 Sarajevo Poetry Days International Festival. In April 2011 he read at Niš and Belgrade universities and at the Embassy of Canada to Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia at the official request of Canadian Ambassador, John Morrison. He represented PEN Mexico at the 44th Bled International Writers' Gathering in Slovenia in May 2012, where he read from his work and reported on the deteriorated state of free expression in his adopted country. He is also the founder and organizer of the Linares International Literary Festival.
Veronica Garza Flores was born in Linares, Mexico, in 1975. She holds a degree in Applied Linguistics, specializing in teaching English as a foreign language, and is currently English Coordinator at La Universidad Tecnológica Linares. She is the translator of Immigrant Sorrow, a chapbook of poems by Bosnian poet Goran Simic, as well as numerous poems, stories and texts by Canadian and European authors, into Spanish.
Ayten Mutlu was born in Bandirma, Turkey, where at the age of ten she began to write poetry and short stories. Her political activism began in high school, when she was fifteen years old. She was educated at Yıldız Technical University and İstanbul University, and graduated from the Managment Faculty of İstanbul University in 1975. She recently retired from The Central Bank. Her political activity included involvement in an attempted Women Rights Movement.
Mutlu has published poetry, prose, stories, and criticism. She also translated contemporary poets from English to Turkish and published many of them in periodicals. She recently translated women poets from Antiquity to the Present - selections from the world over.
Some of her poems were featured in magazines and anthologies in France, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Senegal, Morocco, Italy, Serbia, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Macedonia, Romania, India, Spain, Argentina, South Korea and many other countries, such as Russia.
Her awards for poetry include the Ibrahim Yildizoglu Poetry Award, 1997, Yalova Effectiveness of International Poetry Prize, 2001, M.Sunullah Arısoy Poetry Competition, 2005. She has been a board member of the Association of Authors, the Turkish Union of Writers, and PEN International. She was invited to many poetry festivals in France, Germany, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Italy, Syria, Iraq, and Jordan.
Aazam Abidov, poet, translator, was born on November 8, 1974 in Namangan, City of flowers, Uzbekistan. He trained in philology. He has several poetry and translation books to his credit. Literary scholars and readers have acclaimed his English translations from eminent voices of Uzbek poetry, Usmon Nosir and Chulpon, and contemporary Uzbek poetry. His Uzbek translations from English, American, Indian, French and other world classical and contemporary poetry have also been appreciated in Uzbekistan. One of the founders of the Creative Writing and Translation Club in the Uzbek capital, Aazam tries to become a bridge between world and Uzbek literature, widen the circle of young literary translators and encourage them to translate world literature into the Uzbek language and Uzbek literature into world languages. The most successful works by Aazam Abidov are Tunes of Asia (English translation of contemporary Uzbek poetry), The Island of Anxiety (poems in Uzbek, English and Spanish), Dream of Lightsome Dawns, A Miracle Is On the Way and I leave you in complete boredom (Uzbek translation of world poetry and fiction, as well as Aazam’s own poems). He writes in both Uzbek and English. His poems and translations have appeared in numerous anthologies in Uzbekistan, India, France, Korea, Japan, and Colombia and in many web magazines. Aazam's awards include BBC World Uzbek Service's award for free speech in Uzbekistan (2005), literary prizes of "Ulughbek" Foundation (1996, 2000); he was a winner of republican contest on Uzbek and Uzbek Literature (1995), winner of poetry contest "My first booklet" among young poets and writers (1990) and winner of the competition "Art Holiday" (1987-1988). Aazam's poems have been translated into Russian, Spanish, Assamese, Gujarati, Malayalam, Bulgarian, Turkish, Vietnamese, Armenian, French and Hindi languages. He was a Creative Writing Fellow at the University of Iowa (2004) and attended poetry festivals, creative writing workshops and cultural events in India, USA, Germany, Russia, Kazakhstan, Sweden, Austria, Netherlands, France, Vietnam, Turkey and Colombia. His awards also include Franklin Award and Eagle Award. Aazam lives with his wife, journalist and editor Nodira Abdullaeva and with his three sons in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Valentin Krustev was born in Bulgaria in 1949. Law graduate from the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridki”. His poetry collection, "Between Heaven and Earth" was published by Orpheus Press in 2005. He has translated extensively from and into English and from Russian, including works by Jack Harte, Joseph Brodsky, Irwin Show, William Meredith, Ekaterina Yossifova, Georgui Konstantinov, Lyubomir Levchev, Tanya Kolyovska and many more. His translations from and into English have appeared in numerous anthologies and literary magazines. Some of his poems have been published in literary magazines in Hungary, Russia and the USA.
Dr Ruzana Pskhu was born in the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation. She studied Philosophy at the Peoples' Friendship University in Moscow and was awarded a PhD in 2004. She now works at this University in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, where she is the Assistant Professor in the Department of History of Philosophy. She is also the Coordinator of Scientific Programmes. A member of the Russian Philosophical Society, Ruzana's chief areas of interest are Indian Philosophy (Vedanta), Arab Philosophy (Sufism), and the Philosophy of Religion (Christianity).
Cai Xin (Andy Tsai)
The most unforgettable time for me was the five-year stay in Dublin, Ireland. That experience has enriched my life from many perspectives: the English language, the friendship, the Irish histories, the pubs, the Guinness...
Born a small-town boy, I love nature and stories. And I am very lucky: my mother is an English teacher for junior and high school students, and she is a very good story teller. That’s why I am always fascinated by all kinds of folktales and stories.
My later experience as a colleague student majoring in English Literature gives me another opportunity to read more stories in English, which also inspire me to explore not only the stories around me in China, but also those on the other side of the world.
Being posted as a diplomat in Dublin between 2004 and 2009, I had amazing times, bathing in the splendid and colorful Irish culture. Ireland, indeed, is a story land.
Now I am back in China. I still enjoy reading stories in my own time as my biggest hobby. May all the story-lovers in this world have wonderful dreams!
Personal Experience:
Bachelor (Honor) in English Literature, Wuhan University, China (1998-2002)
Staff of the Protocol Department, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Cooperation, Beijing, China (2002-2004)
Commercial Attaché, Chinese Embassy in Dublin (2004-2009)
Master of Media Study, DIT, Dublin (2006-2008)
Deputy Director, Protocol Department, Ministry of Commerce, Beijing, China (2009 - present)
