As the 2016 Olympic Games draw to a close in Rio, don’t let that feeling of international fellowship and connection fade away. According to the Olympic Charter, “the goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.” Why not extend that principle to reading? We can’t all be Olympic athletes, but with some effort we can all be champion readers, promoting greater understanding and working our way around the globe through books. As a starting point, here are authors from each of the countries competing in the 2016 Olympics with a few exceptions. 

Identifying a published author from each of the nations competing in the Olympics was a challenge. In many Pacific Island nations, for example, there is a long tradition of oral storytelling, and a culture of written literature is just emerging. Wherever possible, a link to the author’s work in the NYPL catalog is included in the list. In some cases, these titles are available only in the original language, not in English translation, as for example, many francophone African writers. If NYPL does not currently own works by the author in any language, a link to another source, such as Banipal Magazine of Modern Arab Literature or the blog A Year of Reading the World, is included. For a few Caribbean island nations, a link to books about the place is included in place of an author link. See the World Literature resources at the end of this post if you're interested in exploring further. And please suggest other international authors in the comments section below.

For the first time at the Rio 2016 Olympics, a Refugee Olympic Team (ROT) has competed in the Games. Ten athletes, men and women forced to flee their native countries, participated in athletics, judo, and swimming events. Several authors on the list, like  Ismail Kadare of Albania and Sarah Mkhonza of Swaziland, are or have been refugees. 

Authors by country

Authors are listed for 192 of the 204 countries on this list. For the others links to general resources about the country or its literature are included. We left out the United States since the goal is to read authors from other countries, but please suggest representative U.S. authors in the comments if you like.

Afghanistan - Atiq Rahimi
Albania - Ismail Kadare
Algeria - Yasmina Khadra
American Samoa - Caroline Sinavaiana-Gabbard 
Andora - Albert Salvadó 
Angola - Pepetela
Antigua & Barbuda - Jamaica Kincaid
Argentina - Adolfo Bioy Casares
Armenia - Hovhannes Tumanyan
Aruba - books about Aruba
Australia - Richard Flanagan
Austria - Elfriede Jelinek
Azerbaijan - Chingiz Abdullaev 
Bahamas - Patricia Glinton-Meicholas
Bahrain - Munira Al-Fadhel
Bangladesh - Selina Hossain
Barbados - Karen Lord
Belarus - Svetlana Alexievich
Belgium - Amélie Nothomb
Belize - Zee Edgell
Benin - Paulin J. Hountondji
Bermuda - F. Van Wyck Mason
Bhutan - Kunzang Choden
Bolivia - Edmundo Paz Soldán
Bosnia & Herzegovina - Ivo Andrić
Botswana - Bessie Head
Brazil - Clarice Lispector
British Virgin Islands - Barbara Christian
Brunei - Hajah Norsiah binti Haji Abdul Gapar
Bulgaria - Georgi Gospodinov
Burkina Faso -  Ansomwin Ignace Hien
Burundi - Ketty Nivyabandi
Cambodia - Patrice Nganang
Canada - Kim Thúy
Cape Verde - Corsino Fortes
Cayman Islands - books about the Cayman Islands
Central African Republic - Etienne Goyémidé
Chad - Koulsy Lamko
Chile - Roberto Bolaño
Chinese Taipei - Chu Tien-wen
Columbia - Laura Restrepo
Comoros - Mohamed Ahmed-Chamanga
Congo - Sony Lab'ou Tansi
Cook Islands - books about the Cook Islands
Costa Rica - Carmen Lyra
Côte d'Ivoire - Véronique Tadjo
Croatia - Dubravka Ugrešić
Cuba - Leonardo Padura Fuentes
Cyprus - Costas Montis
Czech Republic - Ivan Klima
Democratic People's Republic of Korea - Yeonmi Park 
Denmark - Jussi Adler-Olsen
Djibouti - Abdourahman A. Waberi
Dominica - Jean Rhys
Dominican Republic - Junot Diaz
DR Congo - Sony Lab'ou Tansi
Ecuador - Jorge Carrera Andrade
Egypt - Ahdaf Soueif
El Salvador - Roque Dalton
Equatorial Guinea - Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel
Eritrea - Reesom Haile
Estonia - Andrus Kivirähk
Ethiopia - Nega Mezlekia
Federated States of Micronesia - Luelen Bernart
Fiji - Epeli Hauʻofa
Finland - Arto Paasilinna
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - Aco Šopov
France - Patrick Modiano
Gabon - Bessora
Gambia - Ebou Dibba
Georgia - Erlom Akhvlediani
Germany - Herta Muller
Ghana - Ama Ata Aidoo
Great Britain - Hilary Mantel
Greece - Nikos Kazantzakis  
Grenada - Merle Collins
Guam - Craig Santos Perez
Guatemala - Miguel Ángel Asturias
Guinea - Tierno Monénembo
Guinea-Bissau - José Carlos Schwarz
Guyana - Wilson Harris
Haiti - Edwige Danticat
Honduras - Roberto Sosa
Hong Kong, China - Lilian Lee / Li Bihua
Hungary - László Krasznahorkai
Iceland - Arnaldur Indriðason
India - Arundhati Roy
Indonesia - Pramoedya Ananta Toer
Iraq - Dunya Mikhail
Ireland - Edna O’Brien
Islamic Republic of Iran - Mahmoud Dowlatabadi
Israel - A. B. Yehoshua
Italy - Paolo Giordano
Jamaica - Marlon James
Japan - Kenzaburō Ōe
Jordan - Ibrahim Nasrallah
Kazakhstan - Abai Qunanbaiuli
Kenya - Binyavanga Wainaina
Kiribati - Teresia Teaiwa
Kosovo - Ali Podrimja
Kuwait - Fatimah Yousif al-Ali
Kyrgyzstan - Chinghiz Aitmatov Lao People’s Democratic Republic - Souvankham Thammavongsa
Latvia - Aspazija
Lebanon - Amin Maalouf
Lesotho - Thomas Mofolo
Liberia - Bai T. Moore
Libya - Ibrahim Al-Koni
Liechtenstein - Armin Öhri
Lithuania - Tomas Venclova
Luxembourg - Jean Portante
Madagascar - Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo
Malawi - Paul Tiyambe Zeleza
Malaysia - Tan Twan Eng
Maldives - books about the Maldives
Mali - Massa Makan Diabaté
Malta - Immanuel Mifsud
Marshall Islands - Marshall Islands: Telling Tales
Mauritania - Moussa Ould Ebnou
Mauritius - Barlen Pyamootoo
Mexico - Valeria Luiselli
Monaco - books about Monaco
Mongolia - Byambyn Rinchen
Montenegro - Dragan Radulović
Morocco - Fatema Mernissi
Mozambique - Mia Couto
Myanmar - Htin Aung
Namibia - Joseph Diescho
Nauru - Stories from Nauru
Nepal - Samrat Upadhyay
Netherlands - Hella Haasse
New Zealand - Janet Frame
Nicaragua - Claribel Alegría
Niger - Ousmane Amadou
Nigeria - Chika Unigwe
Norway - Sigrid Undset
Oman - Jokha al-Harthi
Pakistan - Kamila Shamsie
Palau - Palau: A World Apart
Palestine - Suad Amiry
Panama - Rosa María Britton
Papua New Guinea - John Kasaipwalova
Paraguay - Gabriel Casaccia
People’s Republic of China - Mo Yan
Peru - Mario Vargas Llosa
Philippines - José Rizal
Poland - Wisława Szymborska
Portugal - José Saramago
Puerto Rico - Judith Ortiz Cofer
Qatar - Sophia Al Maria
Republic of Korea - Shin Kyung-sook
Republic of Moldova - Emilian Bukov
Romania - Gabriela Adameșteanu
Russian Federation - Ludmila Ulitskaya
Rwanda - Yolande Mukagasana
Saint Kitts and Nevis - Caryl Phillips
Saint Lucia - Derek Walcott
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines -St Vincent & the Grenadines: Journeys
Samoa - Sia Figiel
San Marino - books about San Marino
Sao Tomé and Principe - Conceição Lima
Saudi Arabia - Raja Alem
Senegal - Mariama Bâ
Serbia - Danilo Kiš
Seychelles - Antoine Abel
Sierra Leone - Ishmael Beah
Singapore - Goh Poh Seng
Slovakia - Svetlana Žuchová
Slovenia - Vlado Žabot
Solomon Islands - poetry in the Solomon Islands
Somalia - Nuruddin Farah
South Africa - Nadine Gordimer
South Sudan - Stella Gaitano
Spain - Javier Marías
Sri Lanka - Shyam Selvadurai
Sudan - Leila Aboulela
Suriname - Astrid Roemer
Swaziland - Sarah Mkhonza
Sweden - Henning Mankell
Switzerland - Peter Stamm
Syria - Samar Yazbek
Tajikistan - Rumi
Tanzania - Abdulrazak Gurnah
Thailand - Chart Kobjitti
Timor-Leste - Luís Cardoso
Togo - Kossi Efoui
Tonga - Epeli Hauʻofa
Trinidad and Tobago - Monique Roffey
Tunisia - Sabiha Al Khemir
Turkey - Orhan Pamuk
Turkmenistan - Berdy Kerbabayev
Tuvalu - Tuvalu: how to make it rain
Uganda - Doreen Baingana
Ukraine - Oksana Zabuzhko
United Arab Emirates - Nasser al-Dhaheri
Uruguay - Eduardo Galeano
Uzbekistan - Tohir Malik
Vanuatu - Grace Mera Molisa
Venezuela - Rómulo Gallegos
Vietnam - Dương Thu Hương
Virgin Islands - Tiphanie Yanique
Yemen - Nadia Al-Kokabany
Zambia - Ellen Banda-Aaku
Zimbabwe - Petina Gappah

World Literature Resources

• The Words without Borders magazine features writing from around the globe with each issue focusing on writers from a particular country or on a theme such as International Graphic Novels or Women Write War. The theme of the July 2016 issue is Brazil Beyond Rio.
• Three Percent, a resource for international literature at the University of Rochester, offers reviews of contemporary literature in translation and other articles of interest. Three Percent also administers the Best Translated Book Awards.
• In her blog A Year of Reading the World, Ann Morgan describes her literary journey as she attempts to read a book from every country on the globe. She reflects on her experiences as a British reader interacting with other literatures in The World Between Two Covers: Reading the Globe, published in 2015.

You can also use NYPL’s databases to find surveys of world literature. These resources are available outside the library with your library card:

• The Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century available through Credo Reference, has articles on authors and literature by country and region, including difficult to find information on literature in developing countries (e.g. Pacific Islands literature, Beninian literature, Sudanese literature).
• The Literature of War, also available through Credo Reference, includes discussions of works from writers of 63 nationalities, aiming to provide historical, cultural and social context for literary works that deal with war.
• The Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation available through Oxford Reference Online offers articles on oral tradition, francophone writing outside France, and modern Arabic literature as well as entries on hundreds of authors and classic works well known to English language readers.
• In the literature section of Very Short Introductions from Oxford University Press, you can find introductions to Chinese Literature, Colonial Latin American Literature, English Literature, French Literature, German Literature, Italian Literature, Modern Latin American Literature, Russian Literature, and Spanish Literature.