Kurdish Iranian author Ava Homa Appointed 2012 PEN Lecturer at George Brown College

TORONTO, Aug. 28, 2012 /CNW/ - The Kurdish Iranian author Ava Homa is the 2012/2013 PEN Lecturer-in-Residence in the Centre for Preparatory and Liberal Studies at George Brown College.

Born and educated in Iran, Homa has an MA in English Language and Literature from the University of Tehran and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Windsor. In 2010 Tsar Publications published her debut collection of short stories, Echoes from the Other Land, which was subsequently chosen as one of ten finalists in the People's Choice awards for the 2011 Canada Reads competition. 

Homa's short fiction and translations have appeared in several English and Farsi journals and newspapers, including The Windsor Review and The Toronto Star. Homa has been a member of PEN Canada's Writers in Exile network since 2011 and was one of two authors who read a "Letter to Canada" as part of Are You Dying to Vote?- an evening of political theatre produced by The Wrecking Ball theatre group in 2012. 

Background: PEN Canada's Writers in Exile program helps authors and journalists who have been silenced in their country of origin to establish themselves in Canada. A decade ago PEN Canada established the Placement Program to engage exiled writers in literary and academic communities in Canada. George Brown College has partnered with PEN Canada's Writers in Exile since 2004. 

About George Brown College: Toronto's George Brown College has established a reputation for equipping students with the skills, industry experience and credentials to pursue the careers of their choice. From its two main campuses located across the downtown core, George Brown offers 148 full-time and 1,600 continuing education programs across a wide variety of professions to a student body of approximately 63,000 (including those enrolled in full-time, part-time and continuing education programs). Students can earn diplomas, post-graduate certificates, industry accreditations, apprenticeships and four-year bachelor degrees.

SOURCE: PEN Canada

PEN Canada contact: Brendan de Caires,
[email protected] | 416 703 8448 ext. 21
George Brown contact: Alexandra MacLennan,
[email protected] | 416 415 5000, ext. 3623