Anna Dereka

Anna Dereka was born in Thessaloniki. She lives and works in Ioannina. She is a journalist and the cultural editor-in-chief for a daily newspaper. Her Saturday inserts feature scholars and artists from Epirus under the title "Epirus, Our Culture." She is also a producer at the Municipal Radio of Ioannina, where she has been responsible for cultural broadcasts since its inception. One of her notable shows is "Alcohol from Black Roses." In February 2009, she was elected president of the Society of Writers and Authors of Epirus and took on the role of director for the magazine "Epirotika Grammata." Along with a four-member team, she published the literary-philological magazine "Phegos." She has published sixteen poetry collections, eight of which are commercially available, while the other eight are collectible handmade editions. Her debut in poetry was marked by the collection "Autumn Courage" in 1977. Anna was invited twice (1980, 1981) to Columbia University in New York for a global meeting of women poets, where she represented Greek female poets. During the academic year 2003-2004, a doctoral dissertation on her life and work was conducted by Italian postgraduate student Katia Sicuro at the University of Lecce, in the Department of Languages and Literature. She was honored by the city and the University of Lecce and Brindisi during the "Poets of the Mediterranean" event (2004 and 2008). She also received accolades from the Music Society of Northern Greece in Thessaloniki (1980) and the Association of Philologists of Ioannina (2010). Her work has been featured by the English BBC, RAI, and ERT, among others. Anna has been a regular member of the Society of Greek Writers of Athens since April 8, 1984. She is part of the National Society of Greek Writers of Athens and is a founding member of the Society of Writers and Authors of Epirus. Her poetry has been translated into English, Italian, and Romanian.