Featured
Margaryta Surzhenko was born in 1989 in Luhansk. She began writing fantasy stories at the age of 10 and later studied political science in Kyiv. Her first book was published in 2014 as a creative way to process the war in her hometown. In 2015, Margaryta launched nochdobra.com, a platform for modern short tales. Since 2018, she has been conducting creative writing workshops in Kyiv. Now the author of five books, she teaches writing in Germany and will be a fellow at the Thomas Mann House in Los Angeles in early 2025.
Margaryta uses metaphors and symbolism as her primary tools, allowing her to touch the depths of the human soul. In her debut work, the term ATO (a reference to Ukraine’s “Anti-Terrorist Operation” during the war in Luhansk) is reimagined as an acronym for the names of the main characters, united by the war. This approach highlights that, despite the tragedy of war, it can forge friendships, love, kindness, and even an entire nation.