ICORN Writers: K - L - M - N - O

Click on the alphabetical list to read the writers' biographies.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

  Irakli Kakabadze

Irakli Kakabadze is a prose writer, performance poet and lyricist. He is also a passionate activist. He comes from Georgia, but currently lives in Ithaca where he teaches at Cornell University.

 Ayaz Khonsyawashan

 Guest Writer, Bergen City of Refuge 2007 - 2009

The Kurdish poet and journalist from Iran has contributed to several Kurdish and Persian journals of literature, politics, arts and culture. Khonsyawashan became a member of the Mariwan Committee on Literature in 1991. Three years later he published the only journal using the Kurdish language in Iran at that time. Before having to flee to Iraq due to persecution based on his cultural and political activities, he took part in the founding, running, and editing of several cultural journals. From 2003 until 2007, he lived in Turkey, where he was a founding member of the Writers Union of Eastern Kurdistan, of which he is still a board member. He was initially invited as an ICORN Guest Writer by Oslo City of Refuge, but was not granted permission to leave Turkey. He was eventually invited to Bergen City of Refuge in 2007. Khonsyawashan has also written a novel, he is working on translating his poems into Norwegian, and he is actively working to help other persecuted writers.

  Mansour Koushan

 Guest Writer, Stavanger City of Refuge 2000 - 2002 

Mansour Koushan comes from Iran where he worked as a theater producer/director, television screenwriter and novelist. He was forced to flee his homeland along with a whole generation of artists. Since moving to Norway, Mansur Koushan has been the artist director of a free theatre group and published his novels in Norway and Sweden. In 2010 he was awarded the prestigious Norwegian PEN's Ossietzky Prize for an outstanding effort in promoting freedom of expression.

Otba Fathalla Mahmoud

Guest writer, Stavanger City of Refuge 2007 - 2009

Otba Fathalla Mahmoud is a writer and journalist. In his home country Iraq, he wrote about politics, society and culture. After 2003, he thought the situation would be different for journalists, but his work put him in severe troubles. In 2006 he had to flee to Syria. The following year he arrived as an ICORN guest writer to Stavanger.

Basim Mardan

Former Guest Writer of Skien City of Refuge

Basim Mardan is a writer, playwright and translator from Iraq. His story can be found in the Winter 2006 Newsletter and on the American PEN website .

Rhoda Mashavave

Guest writer, Palma City of Refuge 2009 - present
Guest writer, Grosseto City of Refuge 2007 - 2009

Rhoda Mashavave is a journalist from Zimbabwe. She has worked as an information officer for Movement Democratic Change, the biggest opposition party in Zimbabwe. She is a member of the Union of Journalists and the Media Institute of Southern Africa. Mashavave was put under surveillance, threatened, arrested and interrogated about her work.
 

Taurai Mbeve

. . is a pseudonym for a current ICORN Guest Writer whose identity cannot be revealed at this time. We hope that we will be able to present this person's real name and writing credentials in the near future. Please check back.

  Abduallahi Muhiaddin

Guest Writer, Skien City of Refuge, 2011-2013

  Muhiaddin (pen name ‘Abdul Arts’) is a Somali freelance cartoonist and journalist who has lived in Egypt as a refugee for the last four years. He has published numerous cartoons in Somali and online newspapers, often on political and social issues such as Islamic extremists, Somali pirates, corruption, female genital mutilation and AIDS. He has also recently published some articles on a Somali-language entertainment news website (http://www.jilaa.com/). Mr. Muhiaddin holds a press card from the Federation of Arab Journalists (FAJ) on the basis of his membership in the Somali Journalists’ Society. Muhiaddin left Mogadishu due to fear of persecution by both Al-Shabaab and government agents, arriving in Cairo, Egypt, in September 2005, where he successfully claimed asylum and has since lived. However, since October 2007 Mr. Muhiaddin has reportedly been the target of attacks and threats in Cairo which he attributes to Al-Shabaab militants based in Somalia and Egypt who are angered by his depiction of the group in his cartoons.  In December 2007, Muhiaddin’s brother, a journalist and an environmental activist, was reportedly killed by Al-Shabaab militants. Muhiaddin successfully moved to Skien, Norway in November 2011 as an ICORN Guest Writer.

Musa Mutaev

Former Guest Writer, Trondheim City of Refuge 

Musa Mutaev was born in Frunze, Kyrgyzstan but was deported, along with his family, during Stalin's regime. He grew up in Chechnya and studied pedagogic at the university. He worked as a teacher, then as an editor for a literary journal Orga. He is an award winning short story writer and novelist.

Norwan (pseudonym)

Guest Writer, Stavanger City of Refuge 2011 - present

Poet and writer from Afghanistan. More information will be published when the safety of the writer and her family is confirmed. Please check back later.

  Andrei Nekrasov

Guest Writer, Haugesund City of Refuge 2011-2013

Andrei Nekrasov is an internationally-acclaimed filmmaker, writer, and journalist.  He has directed 11 films and television productions, most of them focusing on human rights, Russian politics, and conflict issues. He has also written numerous plays and scripts and is an active contributor to newspapers and web sites. His films have been shown at international film festivals including Cannes and Sundance and have won  numerous awards. His documentary Disbelief (2004) about the 1999 bombing of an apartment building in Moscow sheds light on both terrorism and post-Soviet government operations. His latest film, Russian Lessons (2009) deals with the Russian-Georgian war of 2008.

Mana Neyestani

Guest Writer, Paris City of Refuge 2011-2013

Mana Neyestani is an award-winning cartoonist from Iran with over 20 years experience. He has worked with various Persian newspapers and from 2003-2006 he was in charge of the children's section of the weekly magazine Iranjome, now banned.  Neyestani has published several collections, including 'The Life of Mr. Ka' and an autobiographical graphic novel, 'Metamorphosis: The Iranian Way.' 

Neyestani came under fire in 2006 for a cartoon that highlighted the plight of the minority Azeri community in northwestern Iran; the cartoon incited rioting among Azeris. He was subsequently held in prison for three months and fled Iran while awaiting trial. He is Paris' first guest writer.