As part of our ongoing interview with returned Peace Corps novelist, John Coyne, here are a few brilliant writers who worked for that volunteer organization--producing a flourishing writing community. Click on each name to see a full biblography and Amazon.com links for each author...
Mike Tidwell (Zaire 1985-87) most recently wrote a novel about the Mississippi Bayou with some of the juiciest prose you will find anywhere.
Moritz Thomsen (Ecuador 1965-67) lived and worked in South America for much of his life. "Write every day. Every day, without fail. And secondly, find a mentor, some old man to idolize and then tear down. Old men, are easily seduced," he told Pat Joseph in a loving Salon.com tribute to the deceased author.
Maria Thomas (Ethiopia 1971-73) wrote fiction about Africa, and died in a plane crash during a relief mission in 1989. In honor of her memory, Peace Corps Writers gives out an annual Maria Thomas Fiction Award.
Richard Wiley (Korea 1967-69) has written a set of novels, winning the Maria Thomas Fiction Award in 1999. He helped start (and now teaches at) the Creative Writing MFA Program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
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