Olga Zilberbourg
Fiction writer. Like Water & Other Stories (WTAW Press)
Co-moderator, San Francisco Writers Workshop (Tuesdays 7-9 pm at Noisebridge)
Co-founder, Punctured Lines, a blog ab literatures of the former USSR & diaspora, w Yelena Furman
Finishing 1st novel
- This coming Sunday! Come to Davis, CA for a theatrical reading. I'm thrilled to see actor Eileen Hoang perform my story "Doctor Sveta" from LIKE WATER AND OTHER STORIES, and Mayettte McDonald perform Shirley Chan's story. #coldwar #events #fiction #reading
- Event details: storiesonstagedavis.com/authors/2-08...
- Reposted by Olga Zilberbourgwww.jewishbookcouncil.org/pb-daily/int.... Thank you @jewishbookcouncil.bsky.social for sharing my words. #InterfaithSolidarity
- MIGJENI translated from Albanian by Genta Nishku Reading Turkoslavia exchanges.uiowa.edu/nishku-migjeni
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgWe're thrilled to announce ANMLY's 2027 Best Literary Translations nominations, for @deepvellum.bsky.social's upcoming anthology! Congratulations to all of our nominees! Check out their work in ANMLY #40 and #41, out now! anmly.org
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgBEST LITERARY TRANSLATIONS 2026 is available for preorder! Guest edited by National Book Award winner Arthur Sze, BLT 2026 is compiled from over 450 submissions written in 62 original languages and features poetry and prose written in languages both widely spoken and critically endangered.
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgYou can now pre-order BLT 2026 via @deepvellum.bsky.social
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgAnd much gratitude to the Best Literary Translation series co-editors: @wendycall.bsky.social, @kolatubosun.bsky.social, Noh Anothai and Öykü Tekten. Asanteni sana.
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgHonored to be included in BEST LITERARY TRANSLATIONS 2026, guest-edited by U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze, to be published by @deepvellum.bsky.social on 4/14. Thanks to @koimolove.bsky.social for writing the beautiful story; thanks to @commonmag.bsky.social for publishing it and nominating it to BLT.
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgThrilled to have a translation in this volume! #DeepVellum #besttranslations #Brazilianliterature #literatureintranslation
- Delighted to have a translation featured in this book.
- This anthology is now available for pre-order from @deepvellum.bsky.social. Huge thanks to the editors and the publishers of literature in translation for your support! I'm thrilled that this poem by Olga Bragina will now have even more reach. Please buy the book & ask your library to carry it!
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgMost human cultures believe nature is good for us. Now scientists are studying biochemical compounds emitted by plants to protect themselves from insects, bacteria, protozoa and fungi -- which seem to be protective medicine for people too. My story for Nature Outlook: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
- Reposted by Olga Zilberbourg[This post could not be retrieved]
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgPre-orders, Early Love And Holding On To The Fist Of Memory wtalabi.wordpress.com/2026/01/29/p...
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgThe coven has spoken & our first #NYRBWomen26 group chat will be held on Sun, Feb 15 at 10a PST. I'll send the link to everyone who filled out the poll. Anyone else who wants to join, just DM me your email address & I'll add you. I'm looking forward to chatting about Ms. Laura Willowes!! 🧙♀️🐈⬛✨
- Reposted by Olga Zilberbourg
- Reposted by Olga Zilberbourg[This post could not be retrieved]
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgHELLO AND YES THIS IS GOOD NEWS! We're ecstatic to share that @haydenmcasey13.bsky.social's story collection SHOW ME WHERE THE HURT IS has been named a FINALIST for the @penamerica.bsky.social 2026 Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection!
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgWinter reading season is here ❄️📖 If you’re curled up with a WTAW Press book, we’d love to hear what you think. Reviews—on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Bookshop—make a real difference for small presses and the writers we publish.
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgDon't forget to write reviews of the WTAW Press books you've read. They make a big difference! #WTAWPress #supportsmallpresses #postyourbookreviews
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgJanuary is almost in the rearview, and applications for our Writers Workshops close February 9. We're excited for fiction writers who will have an opportunity to work with either Jamil Jan Kochai, Idra Novey, Matthew Neill Null, or Maurice Carlos Ruffin. kenyonreview.org/event/summer...
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgWriting is the Closest We Will Ever Get to Time Travel: An Essay by Dana Kanafina #booktwitter #writerscraft #margaretatwood #personalessay #writerslife #kazakhstan
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgReading A Winter Book by #ToveJansson with @lizoksbooks.bsky.social. The book features enchanting pictures from Jansson’s life, including her childhood. #ToveWinter26
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgP.S. If I'd known January 21 is Squirrel Appreciation Day, I would have made sure to read and post a few days ago, particularly given the entertainment our yard squirrels provide. How did I miss @artologica.net's post about this holiday? Will try to do better in '27. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirre...
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgFolks -- I am looking for a short story I read 30+ years ago. Set in an unnamed country. Man sneaks into a rich woman's home, hiding from the authorities, who then come to arrest him for not carrying his papers. /1
- I really related to Dana Kanafina's thought experiment, trying to imagine herself in the future, revisiting her home country from the position of acquiring a new identity. It's a game I've been playing my entire life.
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgToday we are featuring a personal essay by Dana Kanafina, a writer from Kazakhstan, now living in Germany "So does all this suggest that sixty years from now, Kazakhstan will be as central to world literature as Canada is today?" Many thanks to @olgaz.bsky.social for her editing advice and support.
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgToday on the blog, an essay about Kazakhstan's literary present and future by Dana Kanafina, a writer from Kazakhstan now living in Germany. Many thanks to @olgaz.bsky.social for her editing support with this piece.
- I’m delighted to announce that on Sunday, February 8, 2026 my work will be featured by Stories on Stage, a reading series in Davis, CA. A professional actor Eileen Hoang will perform my story “Doctor Sveta” from LIKE WATER AND OTHER STORIES.
- Show details here: storiesonstagedavis.com/authors/2-08...
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgNADEZHDA IN THE DARK A novel-in-verse by Yelena Moskovich available now from Dzanc Books Read the excerpt on puncturedlines.com (ed. @yelenafurman.bsky.social and @olgaz.bsky.social)
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgDelirious is exactly how it often felt to be translating it - in the best possible way.
- The day I went to London to receive a mug (and companionship of wonderful writers and readers)!
- People are sharing what they did in 2016. This is a YouTube clip me handing over the Willesden Herald prize mug to @olgaz.bsky.social in the performance studio at Willesden Library. With @liarsleague.bsky.social youtube.com/clip/UgkxG7C... #2016echo
- Reposted by Olga Zilberbourg"[W]e’re delighted to present a passage that refers to a novel we love, Margarita Khemlin’s Klotzvog, available in English translation by Lisa C. Hayden [...] we consider it one of the most insightful books about the Sov Jewish experience(s), written by a woman and centering a female protagonist."
- Today, we're celebrating the publication of Yelena Moskovich's NADEZHDA IN THE DARK, a novel-in-verse brought to us in the US by Dzanc Books. A story of a relationship, this book offers a review of recent history with Russia's war against Ukraine at the center. #booksky 1/2
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgThank you @olgaz.bsky.social for this piece on the blog and @lizoksbooks.bsky.social for making Klotsvog available to non-Russian speakers.
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgReissue of my 2014 poetry collection, with a new introduction. On sale from Counterpoint Press, March 1.
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgIt got chills reading this, thank you, @puncturedlines.bsky.social, Yelena Moskovich & Dzanc Books! Margarita's "Klotsvog" means the world to me in ways I can't articulate. That's partly because I knew her & partly because the book hits so hard emotionally. The "dead tone" is a perfect example.
- Read an excerpt on Punctured Lines, referencing KLOTSVOG by Margarita Khemlin in @lizoksbooks.bsky.social's translation. Available wherever books are sold! #booksof2026 2/2 puncturedlines.com/2026/01/13/e...
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgRead an excerpt on Punctured Lines, referencing KLOTSVOG by Margarita Khemlin in @lizoksbooks.bsky.social's translation. Available wherever books are sold! #booksof2026 2/2 puncturedlines.com/2026/01/13/e...
- A book-length poem that tells a good story (and, incidentally, includes a number of fantastic book reviews) -- don't miss! With my gratitude to @yelenafurman.bsky.social for co-editing the blog post!
- Today, we're celebrating the publication of Yelena Moskovich's NADEZHDA IN THE DARK, a novel-in-verse brought to us in the US by Dzanc Books. A story of a relationship, this book offers a review of recent history with Russia's war against Ukraine at the center. #booksky 1/2
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgThe Pomegranate is now open for #submissions! Mothers who write, you can find our guidelines here: www.the-pom.com/p/submission... #writersky #momsky #momswhowrite
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgMany thanks @olgaz.bsky.social for this early review of Disappearing Act by Maria Stepanova @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social - it’s such a humane and real response to the book it made me see it differently again.
- Thanks for publishing my review of Maria Stepanova's new novel, The Disappearing Act, translated by Sasha Dugdale! www.ronslate.com/on-the-disap...
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgWhile staring out the window at falling snow, thinking of #ToveWinter26, I happened to see a fox running through neighbors' yards. What a perfect day to start Tove Jansson's "A Winter Book"! ❄️📖 Feel free to join me & @petipaw.bsky.social if you have a copy. Or even read TJ's "Summer Book" instead!🌞
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgJust finished the forthcoming @newvesselpress.bsky.social title My Dreadful Body by Egana Djabbarova, translated by @lizoksbooks.bsky.social Mark your calendars, you will want to add this book to your TBR list. A story of the body as the intersection of cultural expectations, family, and disease.
- Thanks for publishing my review of Maria Stepanova's new novel, The Disappearing Act, translated by Sasha Dugdale! www.ronslate.com/on-the-disap...
- NEW: The January edition of ON THE SEAWALL, our first expanded quarterly. We invite you to stop by the "gallery" & have a look / ronslate.com
- Reposted by Olga Zilberbourg“Now that something had been arranged, I realized just how much I wanted to leave. Now that I could gather my thoughts, I felt frightened. I could see what life would be like for me if I stayed.” #BookSky 💙📚 #NYRBWomen25 jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025/12/28/m...
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgAfter decades in the US, my mom found these made-in-Canada decorations, seemingly aimed at the very niche audience in both nations of ex-Soviet Jews. There are a handful of other countries they could export them to.
- Reposted by Olga Zilberbourg“The crush at the station was unimaginable. Troop trains were occupying nearly all the lines. We didn’t know whether they were just arriving or just departing. They probably didn’t even know themselves." #BookSky 💙📚 #NYRBWomen25 jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025/12/28/m...
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgOne of the many things Brigitte Bardot did was support a Bulgarian sanctuary for retired dancing bears which I was able to report on earlier this century. www.sfgate.com/news/article...
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgBetween bouts of rain and hard days, an impromptu day trip to one of the loveliest places on earth, Santa Barbara, CA.
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgSo pleased to see Muñeca included in this episode of horror books for the first half of 2026! Along with The Curse of Hester Gardens, a new Cynthia Pelayo (and, @lindsaykingmiller.bsky.social, there's a new Catriona Ward!) Thank you to Becky and Emily and Robb :) www.thearcparty.com/p/2026-horro...
- Reposted by Olga Zilberbourg"But we were not easily deterred. All night long, the theaters, clubs, & restaurants remained crowded with people. Fabulous sums were lost at cards. In the morning, stupefied by wine, gambling, & cigar smoke, bankers & sugar manufacturers would emerge..." 💙📚 jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025/12/28/m...
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgWhen I wrote the horrible THINGS, I was tapping into my own most paranoid fears.
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgPicked up my new @sashavasilyuk.bsky.social novel from Monarch Books and Echo has already claimed it.
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgThe audio book is half off, should you or yours be into that sort of thing! www.audiobooks.com/promotions/p...
- Reposted by Olga Zilberbourg#Booksky #MixedRace #AfricanAmericanHistory Cíara Emmanuel interviews Alison Hart. “It's a way for me to almost build a cosmology.” Starry-eyed and visionary, Alison Hart still keeps both feet on the ground. Read the interview here tinyurl.com/4873zy9v Buy book here www.amazon.com/dp/B0F3QXP6XT
- Reposted by Olga Zilberbourg
- Tomorrow in Washington DC!
- I'm heading to DC to meet @bergstrombookstore.bsky.social in person!! If you're in the area, you will not want to miss this Central/Eastern/South Europe focused event next week! With @katherineeyoung.bsky.social Turkoslavia's Ena Selimović, Roman Kostovski of Plamen Press and Greg Bernstein?!
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgAnnouncing the winner of the Restless Books 2025 Kellman Prize for New Immigrant Writing. lithub.com/announcing-t...
- Reposted by Olga ZilberbourgAbsolutely delighted to be reading with @olgaz.bsky.social and everyone else on this terrific list next Tuesday night, 12/16! Travel with us to Central/Eastern/South Europe right here in DC! Thanks to @bergstrombookstore.bsky.social and Kensington Row Bookshop for hosting!
- I'm heading to DC to meet @bergstrombookstore.bsky.social in person!! If you're in the area, you will not want to miss this Central/Eastern/South Europe focused event next week! With @katherineeyoung.bsky.social Turkoslavia's Ena Selimović, Roman Kostovski of Plamen Press and Greg Bernstein?!
