Hi, just a quick post to inform you about a couple of upcoming events. Next week the Russian stand will open at London Book Fair, we also have talks by Russian literary supernovas at the Pushkin House in London, and a Russian literary festival SLOVO will be featuring talks by many celebrated modern authors all week long.… Read the rest
In addition to the Congress of Translators, I was fortunate to attend the 27th International Moscow Book Fair on the 3-7th of September 2014. There I participated in a panel discussing self-publishing revolution and its onset in Russia.
Russian book industry is lagging behind its American counterpart in terms of its infrastructure and general consumer’s habits, yet its gross value is impressive – over 2 billion dollars a year.… Read the rest
I’m a molecular biologist and literature is not my profession but a passion that I take procrastinatively professionally. I don’t write fiction everyday, even if I have spare time. I have writing periods for my projects. In between, I do research, outline, plot, make music, travel, i.e.… Read the rest
Andrei Rubanov presenting his book Chlorophilia
Many writers create amazing things they’ve never lived through just out their imagination. Still I find writers who experienced terrifying shortcomings of life are able to create truly vibrant prose. Andrei Rubanov is a modern Russian author who has both a very adventurous personal history and a vivid imagination.… Read the rest
Victor Pelelin is probably the most influential modern Russian writer. In his post-modernist stories Pelevin eclectically combines elements of esoterics, theology, philosophy, pop culture, psychology and politics. His writing is multilayered, rich in symbolism and references to the world culture and history. … Read the rest
Amazon, the central hub of techno-consumerism, has the latest Franzen’s book available for pre-order
A big chunk of this week’s popcorn entertainment comes from the writer Jonathan Franzen and his wrath Guardian rant on perils of techno-consumerism as it’s summarised in the latest Ether.… Read the rest
The Night Watch by Sergey Lukyanenko is an international sci-fi bestselling novel turned into a film blockbuster
I was brought up on classical literature, there wasn’t much else in my parent’s library, save for some detective stories that never appealed to me since I considered Crime and Punishment was the way to write a detective story.… Read the rest