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Kevin Bloom is a South African author, editor, and journalist. His work has appeared in a wide range of African and international publications, including Granta and the Guardian. His first book, Ways of Staying, won a South Africa Literary Award for literary journalism, and was shortlisted for a number of other prizes. He works too as a presenter and co-writer of investigative TV documentaries, and as a supervisor in the MA Creative Writing Program at Wits University in Johannesburg. Since mid-2010, Kevin Bloom and co-author Richard Poplak have been traveling across Africa gathering research for a book to be titled Whiteout: The Chinese Advance and the Twilight of the European in Africa which is expected to be published in early 2013. Kevin will be discussing the findings from the seven African countries he has visited thus far and the implications of his research. A line from the book's outline states: 'While the West sleeps, China buys up the continent of Africa wholesale. One imperial age dies out in lethargic ignominy; another begins with fierce resolve. Whiteout is a parsing of this immensely important historical transition.' More information on the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council can be found here.