Andrej Kurkow

Born in 1961 in Leningrad, Andrey Kurkov has lived in Kyiv since a young age. He studied foreign languages (he speaks 11 languages, including Japanese) and has worked as a prison guard (in Odessa prisons), journalist, cameraman, and screenwriter. To date, he has written the novels "The Death of a Stranger" (1996), "Petrovich" (1998), "A Friend of the Deceased" (2001), "Penguins Don't Die from Cold" (2002), "The President's Last Love" (2004), as well as the short story collection "Autumn Fire" (2007). His books have been translated into 21 languages.