Sofia Grishchuk

What was your favorite book as a child?

It's hard to say. Like many Post-Soviet children, I had lots of books in my family home and I would read basically everything I could find. I was also crazy about animals and insects, so among my favorites there were various encyclopedias and "My family and other animals" by Gerald Durrell.

Do you remember the original reason or motivation why you started writing creatively?

I'd like to give a really noble answer here but, to be perfectly honest, I think the main reason why I started writing was my desire to be seen, heard and liked. But other than that, there have always been things I couldn't otherwise put into words, it has been, as it seems now, the only way of putting myself out there.

What was the most adventurous or thrilling thing you ever did/experienced?

My Erasmus semester in Turin, Italy. I learnt Italian basically from scratch just by talking to people and did a lot of other things that aren't characteristic of me at all. It was probably the only period of my life when I felt truly young.

Do you listen to music while reading or writing?

I never do: I find it impossible to concentrate. I'm not a very musical person — sometimes I feel that the only way for me to truly enjoy music is to associate it with an intense emotional experience or a meaningful image.