Born in Moscow, Vera Bogdanova (1986) moved to Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2023. She graduated from Moscow Region State University as a professional translator from the English language and attended language school in New York. In 2019 she completed a two-year creative writing course run by Olga Slavnikova.

Bogdanova’s short stories were published in anthologies, literary journals and platforms. She is also the author of sci-fi novels published under the literary pen-name Vera Ogneva, which received nominations for literary awards (New Horizons and Interpresscon in 2017).

Her first novel, published under her real name, Pavel Zhang And Other River Beasts, was a finalist of the Litsei Literature Award for Young Writers, entered a short list for the National Bestseller Prize, and was in the run for the Big Book Award, Yasnaya Polyana Award and New Literature Prize (NOS). Bogdanova runs a blog on translated fiction from the States and the United Kingdom, @wordsnletters.

Her novel The Season of Poisoned Fruits received a warm welcome from critics and struck a chord with readers, keeping on the national bestselling charts for the second year now. In 2024, Bookmate Original publishes Bogdanova’s audio series, a thriller Seven Methods of Souls Pickling, which tops the critics’ list of the most anticipated book of the year.