I read, I write, I play the bass guitar. Reality isn't and stories won't save you from what is. But still. I live in Bangalore, India with my wife Yasmine and a hoard of feline masterminds as well as a handful of daft dogs.

Val Votrin is a Belgian writer of Russian origin writing in English and Russian. Votrin was born in 1974 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (then a Soviet republic). He holds a BA in English Literature from Tashkent State University and a MSc in Human Ecology and a PhD in Environmental Science from Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He moved to Belgium in 2000 and became Belgian national in 2007. Votrin has published his short stories and novels since 1995. In 2009, his novel The Last Magog was shortlisted for the Andrei Bely Prize, the oldest independent literary prize in Russia. Another novel, The Speech Therapist was nominated for a string of literary awards, including the Russian Booker Prize, the Big Book Prize and the Alexander Piatigorsky Prize. Votrin writes in a variety of genres, including magical realism, speculative fiction, dystopia and fantasy. His most recent Russian book, The Compiler of Bestiaries, a collection of short stories written between 2007 and 2018, was published in September 2021 in St Petersburg. He currently lives in Amsterdam.

Zhang Yueran (Chinese:张悦然, born 1982) is a Chinese writer. Her main works include short stories and novels. She won the 2001 New Concept Composition Competition organised by Mengya magazine.She is one of a small group of successful Chinese authors known as the "post-'80s" generation. She began writing at the age of 14, and as a high school student, won first prize in the nationwide New Concept Composition Competition. After studying English and law at Shandong University, she completed a graduate degree in computer science at Singapore University. She is one of the most popular young writers in mainland China today. Her published works include Red Shoes (Hong Xie), Ten Tales of Love (Shi Ai) and Oath Bird (Shi Niao). 张悦然，1982年出生于山东济南，初中于山东大学附属中学毕业。2001年毕业于山东省实验中学，后考入山东大学英语、法律双学位班，于新加坡国立大学计算机专业本科毕业，中国传媒大学新闻专业研究生毕业，现就读北京语言大学，攻读古典文学专业。已出版作品有：短篇小说集《葵花走失在1890》、《 张悦然十爱》。长篇小说《樱桃之远》、《水仙已乘鲤鱼去》、《誓鸟》，图文小说集《红鞋》，主编主题书《鲤》系列等，是中国最具影响力的青年作家之一。 张悦然从14岁开始发表文学作品，先后在《青年思想家》、《收获》、《人民文学》、《芙蓉》、《花城》、《小说界》、《上海文学》等重要文学期刊发表作品。其作《陶之陨》、《黑猫不睡》等作品在《萌芽》杂志发表后，在青少年文坛引起巨大反响，并被《新华文摘》等多家报刊转载。2001年获第三届"新概念作文大赛"一等奖。2002年被萌芽网站评为“最富才情的女作家”,"最受欢迎女作家"。2003年在新加坡获得第五届"新加坡大专文学奖"第二名，同年获得《上海文学》"文学新人大奖赛"二等奖。2004年获第三届"华语传媒大奖"最具潜力新人奖。2005年获得春天文学奖。最新长篇小说《誓鸟》被评选为"2006年中国小说排行榜"最佳长篇小说。2008年，张悦然以《月圆之夜及其他》获得2008年度“茅台杯”人民文学奖优秀散文奖。2010年10月诺贝尔文学奖揭晓之际，在强烈的诺贝尔奖情结驱动下，网络忽然风传黄士诚、韩寒、张悦然和郭敬明入选为中国“文坛四大天王”，组成了一支能够有希望劈开中国无缘诺贝尔文学奖魔咒的中国文坛劲旅。

Gary Victor (born 9 July 1958 in Port-au-Prince), is a Haitian writer, playwright, and scriptwriter for television and radio. His radio sketches and uncompromising tone of his television series on the manners of the Haitian bourgeoisie, did not fail to make daily waves on the air. He also served as the General Secretary of the Senate of Haiti from 1996 to 2000. (from Wikipedia) Romancier, scénariste et journaliste, Gary Victor est né en 1958 à Port-au-Prince. Ses ouvrages sont publiés en France, au Canada et en Haïti. Il a reçu de nombreux prix littéraires dont le Prix du livre insulaire à Ouessant (2003), le Prix RFO du livre (2004). Il est l’auteur d’une œuvre originale acclamée en Haïti. Il a publié chez Mémoire d’encrier Chroniques d’un leader haïtien comme il faut. Les meilleures d’Albert Buron (récits, 2006), Treize nouvelles vaudou (nouvelles, 2007), Maudite éducation (roman, 2012, en lice pour le Prix Médicis), Collier de débris (récit post-séisme, 2013). Il a dirigé l’ouvrage collectif Je ne savais pas que la vie serait si longue après la mort (nouvelles, 2012) issu d’ateliers d’écriture qu’il a animés et a participé au collectif Haïti-Québec Bonjour voisine (2013, sous la direction de Marie Hélène Poitras). Son dernier ouvrage paru chez Mémoire d’encrier est Cures et châtiments, qui s’inscrit dans le cycle des polars vaudou, après Saison de porcs (2010) et Soro (2011) mettant en vedette l’inspecteur Dieuswalwe Azémar.

津原泰水 Born in 1964 in Hiroshima Prefecture. After writing novels for young girls as Tsuhara Yasumi, with his forename written in Hiragana letters, in 1997 he published Yoto using his current name. In 2012, 11 eleven reached first place in the Japanese division of the Second Twitter Literary Prize, while in 2014 Goshiki no fune won first place in the Japanese short story section of All-time Best Science Fiction, a special publication to mark the 700th edition of SF Magazine.