Andriy Yuriyovych Kurkov is a Ukrainian writer, journalist, screenwriter, president of PEN Ukraine (2018-2022).
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on April 23, 1961 in the village of Budogoshch, Leningrad Region, Russia. From childhood he began to live in Kyiv.
He graduated from Japanese language translator courses at the Institute of Information.
In 1983, he graduated from the Kyiv State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages.
Career
After school, Kurkov worked as the head of a club, a library in a sanatorium in Pushcha-Vodytsia and a clerk.
Later, he was the issue editor of the large-circulation newspaper of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and the editor of the publishing house “Dnipro”.
From 1985 to 1987, he served as an alternative guard in the Odessa Correctional Colony No. 51.
In 1979, he first published a humoresque in Rabochaya Gazeta.
He also worked on the script for the film “Glade of Fairy Tales”, but in the credits Kir Bulychev was indicated as the author.
In particular, Kurkov was a screenwriter at the Oleksandr Dovzhenko Film Studio and taught at Bell College in Cambridge.
Since 1988, he has been a member of the English PEN Club, since 1993 – the Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine, and since 1994 – the National Union of Writers.
In 1998, he joined the European Film Academy and became a permanent member of the jury of its Felix Award.
In 2011, he was a member of the jury of the literary competition “Young Word”.
Writing career
Kurkov has written more than 20 books and more than 20 scripts for feature films and documentaries.
His novel “Picnic on Ice” was published in Ukraine with a circulation of 150 thousand copies.In particular, his books have been translated into 36 languages, including German, French, English and Ukrainian.
At the beginning of 2005, the Russian publishing house “Petersburg Writer” stopped publishing Kurkov’s works. The writer himself associated this with his public statements during the Orange Revolution, when he criticized Russia’s interference in Ukrainian politics and the presidential elections of 2004.
In 2005, Kurkov’s works began to be published again in Russia, but this time in the Amphora publishing house. The writer was also invited to perform in various Russian cities.
From 2006 to 2013, he was a member of the jury of the “Russian Prize” for Russian-speaking writers living outside Russia.
In Ukraine, Kurkov’s works in Ukrainian were published by Folio, Nora-Druk, Old Lion Publishing House and other publishing houses.
In March 2023, the novel “Jimi Hendrix’s Lviv Tour” was included in the long list of the International Booker Prize.
Marital Status
Kurkov is married to Elizabeth Sharpe. The couple has 3 children.
