Photo: David Levenson
Short biography
Mikhail Shishkin is one of the most prominent names in contemporary Russian literature.
Shishkin was born January 18, 1961 in Moscow, he worked as a school teacher and journalist. In 1995 he moved to Switzerland, where he worked as a Russian and German translator within the Immigration Department and specifically with Asylum Seekers.
Mikhail Shishkin is the only writer who received all the most important and prestigious Russia´s literary awards: the Russian Booker Prize (2000), The National Bestseller Prize (2006) and The Big Book Prize (2011). His books have been translated into 35 languages.
For years, the author has been one of the sharp critics of the Putin regime. Shishkin’s essays have been published in major newspapers in the German-speaking world as well as in the most important international media such as the New York Times, WSJ, The Guardian, Le Mond, etc.
Awards and honors
1993 the Prize for the best Debut of the Year
2000 Russian Booker Prize The Taking of Izmail
2005 Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger (Essay)
2006 Big Book Award Maidenhair
2006 National Best-Seller Prize Maidenhair
2007 Grinzane Cavour Prize Capelvenere (Italian translation of Maidenhair)
2011 Big Book Award Pismovnik (The Light and the Dark)
2011 International Literature Award, Maidenhair (German translation Venushaar)
2013 Best Translated Book Award, shortlist, Maidenhair
2022 Premio Strega Europeo in Italy for Pismovnik (Punto di fuga, Italian translation of The Light and the Dark)