Anna Starobinets

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]

Starobinets in 2011

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.