Writers

Dmitry Danilov

Born: 1969

Quick Study: Dmitry Danilov is a versatile writer of prose, poetry, and plays who is known for a documentary-like style capable of creating suspense, dry humor, and a touching view of reality.

The Danilov File: Dmitry Danilov began his career as a journalist and corporate writer, often writing about his travels around Russia. Danilov’s novel Horizontal Position, which was shortlisted for the 2011 Big Book and 2012 NOSE awards, draws on autobiographical material, too: the novel’s narrator, a corporate writer, keeps a diary that describes, in documentary fashion, his work and trips to other cities, including Arkhangel’sk in northern Russia, and New York. His 2012 novel Description of a City involves travel, too, describing monthly visits to a southern Russian city; that book was also a Big Book finalist. During the 2010s, Danilov began publishing poetry and plays, winning yet more nominations and awards. His The Man from Podolsk was awarded the 2018 Golden Mask for drama/best playwright; his dramatic works have been staged in Moscow and other cities.

Psssst………: Danilov recommends visiting Murmansk, Russia, calling it “fantastically beautiful” and noting that the sun never sets in the summer.

Danilov’s Places: Moscow plus numerous travel destinations from Murmansk to New York.

The Word on Danilov: Sergei Shargunov’s review of Horizontal Position for Radio Vesti calls Danilov a good stylist and essayist, writing that the book’s protocol-like language is surprisingly poetic. He concludes by saying he’s not sure what makes the book so good, interesting, and impossible to put down. Horizontal Position offers something like a hidden camera, says Shargunov, “Everything is humdrum and unhurried but for some reason you can’t look away, it’s as if you were reading a thrilling detective novel.”

Danilov on Danilov: In an interview with Tin House, Danilov told Jeff Parker, the editor of the anthology Rasskazy: New Fiction from a New Russia, that he’s more interested in what’s around his characters than what’s in his characters: “And when I write I am interested in shifting the focus from the person onto what surrounds him, to some things and circumstances that we usually don’t pay attention to. Because of that my characters come out very passive. They practically blend with the world.”

On Writing: In an interview with Voice of Russia, Danilov said he earns most of his money from non-literary jobs but doesn’t consider literature a hobby, saying it’s difficult work. When asked if he’s a night owl, he said he is, going on to say, “I don’t write every day. I generally don’t work on it that often. That means it’s like this for me: I just feel that today is it, I’m going to sit down, I’m going to write today. I sit there for a very long time and do something. Then I usually work on something else.”

Danilov Recommends: In a diary-like piece for OpenSpace.ru, Danilov mentions enjoying Zakhar Prilepin’s Black Monkey and Anatolii Gavrilov’s The Lookout’s Cry, a book mixing poetry and prose. He also praises Yury Mamleev.


More on Dmitry Danilov

Major Awards and Nominations:

  • Varied works – winner, prose, Andrei Bely Award, 2019
  • The Man from Podolsk – winner, drama/best playwright, Golden Mask Award, 2018
  • Description of a City – finalist, Big Book Award, 2013
  • Horizontal Position – finalist, Big Book 2011 and NOSE 2012

Translations:

  • Anthology: “More Elderly Person” was anthologized in Rasskazy: New Fiction from a New Russia (Tin House, 2009, story tr. Douglas Robinson).

Titles:

  • Gray Sky (Серое небо), 2017
  • Sit and Watch (Сидеть и смотреть), prose, 2016
  • There Are Things More Important Than Football/Soccer (Есть вещи поважнее футбола), prose, 2015
  • Black and Green (Чёрный и зелёный), stories, 2010
  • House Number Ten (Дом десять), stories, 2005

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