Visited Iris Colomb’s exhibition at the National Poetry Library today. Her approach to poetry as multimedia experience feels completely fresh. The ‘Try destruction!’ installation caught my attention immediately. A carefully constructed pyramid of crumpled paper balls where Colomb had systematically fragmented existing texts, transforming written words into sculptural form. The methodical destruction becomes an act […]
Three weeks deep into Project Mirror research and reality keeps making my dystopian fiction look tame. My protagonist is shaping up as a tech support specialist for people’s faces. When someone’s lip enhancement algorithm crashes mid-Zoom call, she fixes it. When their eye color update conflicts with skin tone optimization, she debugs their entire aesthetic
I just finished a residency through Literature Across Frontiers on the Culture Reset platform. Task: produce reflective essay on literary exchange, collaborate with peers on short translations. Wrote the essay in English. Prepared dedicated Russian version, not translation, adaptation. Different rhetorical traditions, different assumptions about what “literary exchange” means. The Russian version had to argue
Writing About Literary Exchange Read More »
Yesterday a client asked for ‘influencer hands.’ Not the manicure – she wanted surgery to match some AI-generated beauty standard from TikTok. Her actual hand shape wasn’t good enough anymore. That conversation gave me my next book idea. I’ve been sketching this world where beauty isn’t just aspirational – it’s algorithmic. Your reflection gets software
When Your Mirror Needs an Update Read More »
Sometimes the best way to test whether your stories have actual pulse is to watch faces while you tell them. Last night I found myself in Principal Tower’s cinema room, surrounded by the kind of glass and steel that makes you feel simultaneously insignificant and invincible, talking about the messy, impossible journey of turning ideas
From Concept to Publication: My impressions Read More »
Sometimes the most meaningful validation comes from unexpected quarters. This week, I discovered that Eastern Empire had been the subject of a comprehensive critical analysis in Arts & Culture UK, penned by respected critic and reviewer Yulia Tulegenova. Reading Tulegenova’s piece felt like watching someone carefully dissect the architectural blueprints of a building you’d constructed
Critical Recognition Read More »
Tomorrow at 7 PM, I’m sitting down with anyone curious about how stories actually get made. Twelve months ago, I stood in front of fifteen people in Moscow, sharing Omnichannel Hearts in Russian and wondering if these narratives would resonate beyond that room. Now Eastern Empire and Omnichannel Hearts carry awards I never expected —
Tomorrow Night: Two Books, One Journey Read More »
Dive into my latest novel that explores art meets algorithm in our hyperconnected world. Multilingual storytelling with visual elements—questioning what’s authentic behind perfectly curated facades.
