Here are the biographies of the international guest writers at The Exchange for 2008, presented through the International Writing Program at the Writers Workshop, University of Iowa.

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featured artists from abroad:

Laila al-Atrash (novelist, journalist; Jordan) has published five novels (A Woman of Five Seasons is available in English from Interlink Books), and one short story collection. A TV producer and news editor, she writes a regular column for the Jordanian daily Al-Dustour and comments on literary topics for Amman Magazine, where she also serves on the editorial board. Al-Atrash holds degrees in Law and Arabic Literature and is a member of the High Council and Executive Committee of the Jordanian Ministry of Culture, Currently, she serves as the President of PEN Jordan. She attends courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State.

Tarek Eltayeb (novelist, fiction writer, poet, playwright; Austria) was born in Cairo to Sudanese parents and educated in Austria. He has published five collections of poems, most recently Bacd Az-Zann [‘Certain Suspicions’] (2007), two novels Bayt An-Nakhil [‘The Palm House’] (2006), and Mudun Bila Nakhil [‘Cities Without Palms’] (1992), two short story collections, and a play El-Asanser [‘The Elevator’], (1992). His writings have been translated into several languages, including English. His awards include the Elias Cannetti Fellowship from the City of Vienna and three Major Project Fellowships for Literature. He attends courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State.

Yael Globerman (poet, fiction writer, novelist; Israel) is the author of the novel Menanea et ha-ets ['Shaking the Tree'] (1996), and two poetry collections. Her debut poetry volume, ['Alibi'], received the ACUM Award for Poetry (2000) and the 2002 PAIS Award; the collection ['Same River Twice'] came out in 2007, with excerpts appearing in VQR (Summer 2008). She is the editor and translator of A Soul's History: Selected Poems by Stephen Spender (2007); her translations of Ann Sexton are forthcoming in 2009, and a W.H. Auden volume is due in 2010. Globerman has co-written film scripts and a play; she teaches creative writing at Oranim College, is on the board of the Helicon Society for the Advancement of Poetry, and is an editor of the society's poetry magazine. She attends courtesy of the United States-Israel Education Foundation (USIEF) and the Fulbright Commision for Israel.

Gutierrez Mangansakan II (journalist, poet, essayist, filmmaker, editor; The Philippines) has written for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila Times, Philippine Star, Manila Standard, Manila Bulletin, and Malaya, and provides the column "This Blessed House," for a Mindanao-based news service. His first film, House under the Crescent Moon, won Best Documentary at the 15th Cultural Center of the Philippines Prize for Independent Film and Video in 2001; his other films have been screened at international film festivals to wide acclaim. He is editor of Children of the Ever-Changing Moon, an anthology of essays by young Moro writers (Anvil, 2007). His poems, essays and short stories have appeared in ANI 33, Banaag Diwa, and Dagmay. He participates courtesy of the US Embassy in Manila.