Anna Starobinets

Starobinets in 2011

Anna Alfredovna Starobinets (Russian:Анна Старобинец, born 1978) is a Russian writer and scriptwriter who has been called the "Russian Queen of Horror".[1] She has published novels, short stories and children's books, and describes herself as writing "horror and supernatural fiction for adults, and also fairy and detective stories for children".[2]

Personal life

Starobinets was born in Moscow in 1978.[3] Her husband, writer Alexander Garros [ru], died in 2017, after which she had "writer's block" for 18 months. She has two children, and a poodle.[1]

She has said that her favourite book is Neil Gaiman's American Gods.[4]

Writing

Starobinets' first published work, the short story collection An Awkward Age (2010), was a finalist in the Russian National Bestseller Prize. It comprises "chilling short stories set in the streets of Moscow and various creepy parallel worlds", and has been translated into seven languages.[1][3] It has been described as "one of the most stunning debuts to come out of Russia since Victor Pelevin: hip, funny, angry, and dark as hell"[4] and as "an insightful take on the contemporary condition of man—in Russia and further afield".[5]

Catlantis (2015) was her first children's book to be translated into English, and was listed in The Telegraph's 2015 "Best Christmas books for children"[6] and described by The Guardian as "a madcap and highly original adventure".[7] It was translated by Jane Bugaeva, who also translated In the Wolf's Lair.[8]

Starobinets describes Look At Him (2017) as an "autobiographical non-fiction novel about the loss of an unborn baby in Russia".[9] She has written a four-book children's series The Beastly Crimes books, which have been published in English as In the Wolf's Lair (2018), A Predator's Rights (2019), Claws of Rage (2019) and The Plucker (2019).

Her book Lis'i Brody(Russian: Лисьи броды, lit. 'Fox Fords') was called "one of the best novels of 2022" by Mir Fantastiki.[10]

Starobinets was awarded the European SF Award in the category of "Hall of Fame: Best Author" in 2018.[11][12]

Selected publications (translated into English)

  • Starobinets, Anna (2019). The Plucker. Translated by Bugaeva, Jane. Dover. ISBN 978-1782690887.
  • Starobinets, Anna (2019). Claws of Rage. Translated by Bugaeva, Jane. Dover. ISBN 978-0486829524.
  • Starobinets, Anna (2019). A Predator's Rights. Translated by Bugaeva, Jane. Dover. ISBN 978-0486829517.
  • Starobinets, Anna (2018). In the Wolf's Lair. Translated by Bugaeva, Jane. Dover. ISBN 978-0486827629.
  • Starobinets, Anna (2015). Catlantis. Translated by Bugaeva, Jane. Pushkin Children's Books. ISBN 978-1782690887.
  • Starobinets, Anna (2015). The Living. Translated by Rann, James. Hesperus Press. ISBN 978-1843913771.
  • Starobinets, Anna (2015). The Icarus Gland: and other stories of metamorphosis. Translated by Rann, James. Skyscraper publications. ISBN 978-1843913771.
  • Starobinets, Anna (2010). An Awkward Age. Translated by Aplin, Hugh. Hesperus Press. ISBN 978-1843917144.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Anna Starobinets". In The Studio. BBC World Service. 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  2. ^ "About author". Anna Starobinets. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Anna Starobinets". The Short Story Project. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Anna Starobinets". Read.Russia. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  5. ^ "New & Notable: European region". Belletrista: Celebrating Women Writers from Around the World. 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  6. ^ Clements, Toby (23 November 2015). "Best Christmas Books for Children". The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  7. ^ Empire, Kitty (13 December 2015). "Older children reviews – animal magic". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  8. ^ "The Russian Stories and Poems that Shaped Translator Jane Bugaeva's Childhood". World Kid Lit. 2018.
  9. ^ "Books for Adults". Anna Starobinets. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  10. ^ Nevskij, Boris (5 January 2023). "Лучшие книги 2022: фантастика, фэнтези и мистика" [Best books of 2022: the fantastical, fantasy, and the mystical]. Mir Fantastiki (in Russian). Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  11. ^ "2018 ESFS Awards Winners". Locus Online. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Анна Старобинец: "Пишут, что дали премию за то, что Россию ненавижу"" [Anna Starobinets: "They write that I got the award for "hating Russia"]. BBC News Русская служба (in Russian). 26 July 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2024.