Andrew Bromfield

The translator Andrew Bromfield is a graduate of the University of Sussex who worked for some years as a lecturer in Russian in Ireland, has lived in Moscow for long periods and now lives and works in rural Surrey. He is best known for his acclaimed translations of the stories and novels of Victor Pelevin, including The Life of Insects, The Clay Machine Gun and Babylon. During the perestroika years in Moscow Andrew began to combine commercial translation with literary work and continues to do so. As the co-founder and editor (with Natasha Perova) of the journal Glas he was responsible for establishing its reputation for high-quality English translations of contemporary Russian literature. The numerous authors he has translated include Zinovy Zinik, Leonid Latynin, Zufar Gareev and Victor Erofeev. His translations of the stories of Dmitry Bakin are to be published this year by Granta Books under the title Reasons for Living. Current projects include the translation of material for the prestigious cultural journal Rossica, several novels by the highly successful Russian crime writer Boris Akunin (Grigori Chkhartishvili) and the "original version" of Leo Tolstoy's great novel War and Peace. When time allows, Andrew practises and enjoys meditation, Tai-Chi, music, walking, cycling, travelling and even gardening. Just occasionally he has time to read a book or catch up on his sleep. He is delighted to be involved with the launch of such an exciting initiative to make some of the true wealth of modern Russian available to the English reader.