Ludmila Petrushevskaya
Genres
Contemporary Fiction
Biography
Ludmila Petrushevskaya was born in Moscow in 1938. She studied journalism at Moscow State University, and began writing prose in the mid ‘60s. Her first work was published in 1972, only to be followed by almost ten years of officially enforced silence, as the publication of her plays and fiction was forbidden. At that time Petrsuhevskaya earned her living by working as a radio and television journalist and contributing to newspapers and literary magazines. When her sombre and disturbing absurdist plays were finally staged, Ludmila Petrushevskaya became widely recognized as one of Russia’s finest dramatists. A collection of short stories and monologues, Immortal Love, was published in 1988 and met with stunning success among readers and critics alike.
In 1992 Petrushevskaya’s novel The Time: Night was short-listed for the Russian Booker Prize; it was translated into more 30 languages and included in university curriculums as one of the most important novels of the 20th century. Since then, Petrushevskaya has published over thirty books of prose: a five-volume collected works was published in Russia in 1996. Today, Petrushevskaya's award-winning plays are produced around the world, while her prose pieces have been published in more than 30 countries. Ludmila Petrushevskaya is considered to be the only indisputably canonical writer currently at work in Russia today.
Prizes and awards
| 2010 | World Fantasy Award (short story collection There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbour's Baby / Жила-была женщина, которая пыталась убить ребенка своей соседки) |
| 2008 | Bunin Prize, Silver Medal (The Little Girl from the Metropol / Маленькая девочка из «Метрополя») |
| 2004 | Shortlisted for The Russian Booker Prize (Number One, or in the Gardens of Other Possibilities / Номер один, или В садах других возможностей) |
| 2005 | The Stanislavsky Prize for Contribution to Contemporary Theatre |
| 2003 | The State Prize of the Russian Federation (Moscow Choir / Московский хор) |
| 2003 | The New Drama Festival First Prize (BIFEM / БИФЕМ) |
| 2002 | The Triumph Prize for her outstanding achievement in the arts |
| 1991 | Shortlisted for The Russian Booker Prize (Time: Night / Время ночь) |
| 1991 | The Pushkin Prize for her outstanding contribution to Russian literature |
Books
- Two Kingdoms / Два царства, Amfora, 2009
- There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbour’s Baby / Жила-была женщина пытавшаяся убить ребенка соседей, 2009
- The Little Girl from the Metropol or Stories from My Life / Истории из моей собственной жизни, 2009
- Travelling in Different Directions / Путешествия в разные стороны, 2009
- The Book of Princesses / Книга принцесс, 2008
- The Black Butterfly / Чёрная бабочка, 2008
- Borderline Stories About Kittens / Пограничные сказки про котят, 2008
- Paradoski. Lines of Different Lengths / Парадоски. Строчки разной длины, 2008
- Wild Animal Tales / Дикие Животные сказки, 2008
- Columbine's Apartment (collection of plays) / Квартира Коломбины: сборник пьес, 2007
- Moscow Choir (collection of plays) / Московский хор: сборник пьес, 2007
- Life is Theater / Жизнь это театр, 2006
- The Little Girl from the Metropol / Маленькая девочка из «Метрополя», 2006
- City of Light / Город света, 2005
- Number One or in the Gardens of Other Possibilities / Номер Один или В садах других возможностей, Eksmo-Press, 2004
- The Time Night / Время ночь, 1992
- Immortal Love / Бессмертная любовь, 1988