Katya Apekina

Katya Apekina is a Russian-American novelist and translator.

Life

Apekina was born in Moscow into a family of refuseniks. ^[1] They moved to the United States when Apekina was three. She grew up in Greater Boston. ^[2] She attended Columbia University and Washington University in St Louis for her Master of Fine Arts. She now teaches at Antioch University Los Angeles. ^{[3] [4] [5]} She has a daughter. ^[6]

Work

Apekina's debut novel The Deeper The Water The Uglier The Fish was published by Two Dollar Radio in 2018. ^[7] It was a finalist for the 2018 Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the First Novelist Award, and shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. ^{[8] [9] [10]} Her sophomore novel, Mother Doll, was published in 2024. ^{[11] [12]}

She has published short fiction in Alaska Quarterly Review, The Iowa Review, and Joyland. ^{[13] [14] [15]} Her work is influenced by the work of Nadezhda Teffi and Marina Tsvetaeva. ^[16]

She has translated poetry and prose for a Farrar, Straus and Giroux compendium of Vladimir Mayakovsky's work. ^[17] She also writes nonfiction for Electric Literature. ^[18]

References

1. Robbins, Emily (18 Mar 2024). "Carrying the Story: A Conversation with Katya Apekina on "Mother Doll"". Chicago Review of Books. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
2. Giardina, Elena (18 March 2024). "Katya Apekina reconsidered her early experience as a Russian immigrant in writing her novel 'Mother Doll'". Boston Globe. Boston Globe Media Partners. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
3. Mayo, Giuliana (26 April 2024). "On how family informs the creative process". The Creative Independent. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
4. "Katya Apekina". antioch.edu. Antioch University. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
5. "The Deeper The Water The Uglier The Fish A Novel By Katya Apekina". Two Dollar Radio. Two Dollar Radio. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
6. Hunter, Lindsay (12 Mar 2024). "Katya Apekina on Talking to Ghosts". Literary Hub. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
7. Schaub, Michael (26 September 2018). "'The Deeper The Water The Uglier The Fish' Is A Darkly Beautiful Debut". npr.org. National Public Radio. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
8. "Katya Apekina". antioch.edu. Antioch University. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
9. "The Deeper The Water The Uglier The Fish A Novel By Katya Apekina". Two Dollar Radio. Two Dollar Radio. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
10. Schaub, Michael (20 Feb 2019). "L.A. Times Book Prize finalists include Michelle Obama and Susan Orlean; Terry Tempest Williams receives lifetime achievement award". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
11. Dennis, Chris (3 Apr 2024). "Katya Apekina's 'Mother Doll' Is an L.A. Novel Where the Dead Get to Speak". Jezebel. Paste. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
12. Robbins, Emily (18 Mar 2024). "Carrying the Story: A Conversation with Katya Apekina on "Mother Doll"". Chicago Review of Books. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
13. Apekina, Katya (7 Mar 2024). "Help Me, You're Bleeding". Joyland. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
14. Apekina, Katya (2012). "Maureen and Marjorie". The Iowa Review. 42 (1). Retrieved 17 May 2025.
15. Apekina, Katya (2020). "The Party". Alaska Quarterly Review. 36 (3 & 4). Retrieved 17 May 2025.
16. Giardina, Elena (18 March 2024). "Katya Apekina reconsidered her early experience as a Russian immigrant in writing her novel 'Mother Doll'". Boston Globe. Boston Globe Media Partners. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
17. "Katya Apekina". PEN America. PEN. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
18. Apekina, Katya (29 Oct 2018). "Is Russia a Terrible Country?". Electric Literature. Retrieved 17 May 2025.