Mahmut Yolwas, a writer born in 1970 in Ili, a prefecture in the north of East Turkistan, was arrested in China in 2017. He was sent to a re-education camp, and since then, there has been no clear information about his situation.
Yolwas attended Xinjiang Xihanze Supply and Trade School, graduating in 1994. He then worked as a market manager in ToqquzTara as a government official.
Yolwas began writing in 1993 and published his first story, “Illness,” in the “Ili River” literature magazine, which focuses on modern Uyghur literature. Over the years, he has published nearly 50 short stories, which have been featured in various newspapers and magazines. His short story “Blue Reed” won the 10th “Khan Tengri Literary Award” and was translated into Chinese and published in the prestigious “Ethnic Literature” magazine.
In 2012, Yolwas’s book “Grandmother’s Cloud” was published by Xinjiang Youth Publishing House. The book comprises of ten of his children’s stories. His fictional story “Grandmother’s Cloud” was selected as part of the Uyghur textbooks for Uyghur students. However, the textbooks were accused of being problematic, and hundreds of Uyghur intellectuals were arrested, with one of them being sentenced to death for probation in two years.
“Back Wall” (a short novel)
