(HUDSON, N.Y.) – A group of eight Writers Omi residents will read from their works at the 3rd Floor Gallery on Saturday, April 18, 2015, at 5:30 pm. The writers, whose work predominantly addresses issues of political action and human rights in their home countries, are in residence for the spring session at the Omi International Arts Center in Ghent. The reading is free and open to the public.

Says DW Gibson, Director of Writers Omi, “We have some very accomplished residents with us this spring, and a few of them know what it’s like to work under censorship and threats against them and their families. As such, it brings a meaningful dimension to the group beyond the quality of the work.”

The writers who will read on April 18 are:

Marine Petrossian (Armenia, Poetry/Nonfiction), a poet and essayist whose writings and TV appearances have made her a public figure in Armenia. Her first poetry book appeared in 1993, just two years after the Soviet Union collapsed and Armenia became an independent republic. Petrossian’s essay “Antipoetry, or When the Poet Does Not Seek an Alibi,” has aroused intense discussions in Armenian literary circles.

Allison Amend‘s (US, Fiction) books include the Award-winning short story collection, Things That Pass for Love and the novel Station West, which was a finalist for the Oklahoma Book Award and the Sami Rohr Prize. Her most recent novel, A Nearly Perfect Copy, was published in 2013.

Born in Tamil Nadu, Salma‘s (India, Fiction/Poetry) first poetry collection shocked conservative society where women are supposed to remain silent. In 2003, Salma and three other Tamil women poets faced obscenity charges and violent threats. Her first novel, The Hour Past Midnight, was translated and published in 2004.

As a writer, Raad Rahman (Bangladesh/India, Fiction) draws on her extensive experience as a human rights and communications expert, having lived and worked in six countries across three continents. Raad’s writing regularly appears in international media outlets, including UNICEF, Global Voices Online, and Al Jazeera.

Born in Opole, Poland, and now based in Berlin, Matthias Nawrat (Germany/Poland, Fiction) has published the novels Wir zwei allein and Unternehmer, as well as several short stories and essays in magazines and newspapers.

Jeremy Tiang (Singapore/USA, Translation/Fiction) has translated six books from Chinese, and was recently awarded a PEN/ Heim Translation Grant. He also writes and translates plays, and his short fiction has appeared in Esquire, Meanjin, Ambit, Litro, the Istanbul Review, and Best New Singaporean Short Stories.

Sanja Lovren?i? (Croatia, Fiction/Poetry) lives in Zagreb where she works as a freelance writer and translator. She was awarded the renowned Croatian Gjalski Prize for the novel Searching for Ivana. Her poetry is published in Croatian and foreign literary magazines and has been translated into German, English, Polish, Hungarian, Slovenian and Russian.

Becca Rose Hall (US, Fiction) studied writing at Stanford and the University of Montana, and her work has appeared many places including Contrary Magazine, High Country News, and The Bellingham Review.

Since its founding in 1992, Omi has hosted hundreds of authors and translators, representing more than fifty countries in the rural setting of Ghent, N.Y. The colony’s strong international emphasis reflects the spirit of cultural exchange that is part of Ledig’s enduring legacy. The program was named for German publisher, Heinrich Maria Ledig-Rowohlt, who was noted for his passionate commitment to quality in literature. His authors included Thomas Wolfe, William Faulkner, Yukio Mishima, Jean-Paul Sartre, Vladimir Nabokov, John Updike, Toni Morrison and Thomas Pynchon. Writers Omi welcomes published writers and translators of every type of literature. International, cultural and creative exchange is a foundation of our mission, and a wide distribution of national background is an important part of our selection process.

About Omi International Arts Center

Omi International Arts Center seeks to foster an environment of creative exploration and exchange, professional opportunity and exposure, and a stylistically and culturally diverse community for creative artists from around the world. Through our programs and resulting public events – including our Residency Programs, The Fields Sculpture Park, Architecture Omi, and Education Omi – Omi contributes to a vibrant arts culture locally, regionally, and internationally.

The 3rd Floor Gallery located on the third floor at 341 1/2 Warren Street. The reading will be free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served, including a selection of international wines generously provided by event supporters, Hudson Wine Merchants.