Victoria Hislop

Victoria Hislop was born in Bromley, Kent, near London, in 1959. She studied English literature at St Hilda's College, Oxford. She is a travel writer for publications such as the "Sunday Telegraph," "Mail on Sunday," and "Woman & Home." Her first novel, "The Island," remained at No. 1 on the "Sunday Times" bestseller list for eight consecutive weeks and has sold over two million copies. "The Island" is a publishing phenomenon in Greece, being the top bestseller of all time and beloved by both female and male audiences. Victoria Hislop also participated as a script consultant for the Greek television adaptation of the novel, a 26-episode series that achieved unprecedented viewership ratings. She was named Top Newcomer at the 2007 Galaxy British Book Awards and received the Richard & Judy Summer Read award. "The Island" has been translated into over 30 languages. Her second novel, "The Return," debuted at No. 2 on the "Sunday Times" bestseller list and No. 1 on the paperback list. Her third novel, "The Thread," was also shortlisted for the British Book Awards. Her subsequent books reached No. 1 on the Sunday Times list. "Those Who Are Loved" went straight to the top of the Sunday Times bestsellers upon its release in June 2019. Victoria divides her time between England and Greece. She speaks fluent French and hopes to achieve the same level in Greek. She was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of Sheffield in Thessaloniki. In July 2020, she was granted honorary Greek citizenship by the President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou. This decision took into account the "global promotion of the Spinalonga monument" through her work, as well as the "highlighting of modern Greek history and culture," as stated in the presidential decree.