We are happy to share that Montaser Abdelmawgood and Åse Kristine Tveit have both published works inspired by their residencies at Artica Svalbard.
Based in Trondheim, Montaser Abdelmawgood is an Egyptian poet and author. He has published several poetry collections, including Thamat Ashiaa lan yogrebha (2012) and Huroob wa Haza'em (2004). His poems have been published internationally, in outlets ranging from Dubai Cultural to Mina Magazine.
Nominated by Norsk PEN, Abdelmawgood spent July and August 2020 as a writer-in-residence at Artica Svalbard. His stay has now resulted in the recently published book Solitude of the Archipelago (Svalbard Diaries, July and August 2020), written in Arabic.
Åse Kristine Tveit, PhD and Associate Professor at OsloMet, was nominated by the Norsk faglitterær forfatter- og oversetterforening (NFFO) for a residency in 2023. Her research interests include representations of childhood in literature. During her stay in Longyearbyen in March and April 2023, Tveit found the necessary time to read extensively through children's literature centred around Svalbard.
Her paper, When the Polar Bear Breathes in Your Face: Svalbard as a Transitional Site in Children's Literature, was published as a result of her residency. It explores how Svalbard's natural environment shapes depictions of transitional phases in children's literature. The paper can be read here.
We warmly congratulate Åse Kristine Tveit and Montaser Abdelmawgood on their publications. We are proud that their time at Artica Svalbard contributed to the development of these works.