Albania

Andrea Hila
Andrea Hila is a journalist and writer from Shkodra, Albania, who emigrated to Canada in 2002. For a long time he was radio correspondent of International German Broadcaster Deutsche Welle. Part of his professional background are publications, broadcastings, scholarships issued by Foreign Office of the Catholic Academy in Bonn (Germany), and training programs organized by Deutche Welle. As a literary writer, Andrea Hila has published a collection of poetry and Friends Forever, a collection of short stories that, in 1997, was awarded the prize for best first book of prose by the Albanian Ministry of Culture. Since arriving in Canada, Hila has participated in a translation program at the Banff Centre and been published in the PEN anthology Speaking in Tongues. He is currently completing another collection of short stories.

Faruk Myrtaj
Wwriter and journalist Faruk Myrtaj has published six short story collections, one novel and a series of essays and poems. While in Albania he wrote for a series of local, Kosovan and Macedonian newspapers, and became vice director of the Albanian News Agency, in the country's Ministry of Culture. In 1996, the Albanian Culture and Sports Ministry awarded Myrtaj a national short story prize for his collection Official Nudo. He has translated the works of Truman Capote, Alistair MacLeod, William Saroyan and others from English into Albanian. In November 2003 Faruk came to Canada with his wife and children. Since arriving here, he has published book reviews and short stories in local Toronto media, and was recently published in PEN Canada's Speaking in Tongues anthology. Myrtaj is also a member of the Writers' Union of Canada.

Genc Tirana
Genc Tirana is an Albanian journalist and writer with over 20 years of experience in the media industry. He has worked on contracts bases for some Canadian institutions and companies like CBC Television and the Canadian Media Guild. As a journalist, Tirana has written many analyses, bulletins and books in English and Albanian. A professor in journalism at the University of Tirana, he lectured on media ethics, wrote textbooks for students and collaborated with the Academy of Sciences in Albania on the preparation of an encyclopedia. In Albania, Tirana wrote and edited numerous social, economic and political stories for various publications. In addition, he has coordinated many media projects such international organizations ARTICLE 19 in London, and the International Federation of Journalists in Brussels. A graduate in both Journalism and Applied Sciences, his diplomas are recognized by York University in Toronto.