Sergey Kuznetsov (writer)
| Sergey Kuznetsov | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
14 June 1966 Moscow, Russia |
| Occupation | writer, journalist, entrepreneur |
| Website | http://www.skuzn.ru/ |
Sergey Yurievich Kuznetsov (Russian: Сергей Юрьевич Кузнецов; born in 1966) is a contemporary Russian writer, journalist and entrepreneur.
Biography
Sergey Kuznetsov was born in Moscow to Galina Kuznetsova, a French language and French literature teacher, and Yuri Kuznetsov, a well-known Soviet chemist. In 1988, Kuznetsov graduated from Moscow State University's Department of Chemistry. Throughout his early literary career, he focused on modern philology; his works included a monograph on Joseph Brodsky's poetics as well as translations of Stephen King and Susan Sontag. He also studied the works of Thomas Pynchon. In 1996 he also started to write articles on modern pop culture for various magazines and online media.
In 2001 he received a Knight Fellowship from Stanford University and moved to California for a year.[1]
After returning to Russia in 2002, Kuznetsov continued to work in journalism, but also concentrated on his books and started a business of his own.
Member of PEN Club and Russian Union of Cinematographers.
Kuznetsov was married to Inna Kuznetsova from 1987 to 1993; from 1995 he is married to psychologist Ekaterina Kadieva. He has three children: Ekaterina (born in 1987), Anna (born in 1996) and Daniel (2001).
He has lived in Paris since 2013.
Career
Literary career
Kuznetsov's first published work was The Nineties: A Fairy Tale, a detective trilogy. His first work that received critical acclaim was PG-21, a futuristic novel written together with Linor Goralik and nominated for the National Bestseller award.
Other books by Kuznetsov were also favored by the critics and were nominated for various literature awards. His Young Adult fiction Alive and Adult was awarded Best Book in Mystics & Horror of 2011 by World of SciFi (Mir Fantastiki) magazine; his novel Round-Dance of Water was shortlisted for Big Book (Bolshaya Kniga), a prominent Russian literary award.
Kuznetsov's books have been translated into many languages. Round-Dance of Water, for instance, was published in Arabic, and several chapters from the book were published independently in the Moscow Noir anthology.[2]
Butterfly Skin [3] was translated into English, German, Polish, Hungarian, Czech and Dutch. The publishers called it a Russian take on the Silence of the Lambs, but critics pointed out that Kuznetsov "aims for more than smug nihilism. He delivers a gratifying conclusion to a sometimes overburdened and sickening journey through sadism and alienation."[4]
Journalism
Kuznetsov took part in forming post-Soviet independent journalism in Russia, focusing mainly on movies and literature. He contributed to Russian editions of Premiere, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue and other magazines. He also participated in multiple online projects and is considered one of the pioneers of digital journalism in Russia.
In 2006, he launched Booknik, a daily online project on Jewish literature and culture which also existed in a hard-copy quarterly version from 2007 to 2013, called Booknik Reader. In 2011, as editor-in-chief of the publication, Kuznetsov was awarded Man of the Year 5771 by the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia. The project exists to date and is supported by the Avi Chai Foundation.
At present, Kuznetsov is still a semi-regular contributor to American periodicals, including The New York Times,[5] The Huffington Post[6] and the others
Entrepreneurship
In 2004 Kuznetsov founded a digital marketing agency called SKCG [7] (an acronym for Sergey Kuznetsov Content Group), aimed at developing and supporting social media projects. The company currently has offices in Kyiv, Paris and the US; international clients include Nike, Audi, Nokia, Estée Lauder, Efes, Jeep, Bosch and other major corporations.
In 2014, Kuznetsov and his wife Ekaterina founded Marabou Science Camp,[8] an educational project for Russian children in Europe. In 2016 they also launched a Science & Vacation Program[9] aimed at explaining science to an adult audience.
References
- ↑ http://news.stanford.edu/pr/01/knightintl.html
- ↑ http://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/moscow-noir/
- ↑ http://titanbooks.com/butterfly-skin-7346/
- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/26/books/review/tawni-odells-one-of-us-and-more.html?_r=1
- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/17/opinion/sunday/a-choice-between-boredom-and-blood.html
- ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sergey-kuznetsov/13-absolutely-terrifying-_b_5877104.html
- ↑ "SKCG". Skcg.fr. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
- ↑ "Умный лагерь Марабу // Главная". Marabou.club. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
- ↑ "Science & Vacation". Scienceandvacation.com. Retrieved 2016-03-04.