Olena Demir – a Ukrainian writer and journalist, author of the debut socio-psychological novel Enfilade (2024), longlisted for the BBC Book of the Year and awarded at Koronatsiya Slova. Her prose blends the personal with the historical, centering on Marika, a woman whose story mirrors Ukraine’s journey.
🌿 The idea of Enfilade came as a metaphor for life – a chain of rooms one leaves forever. 🏠 She began writing during strict lockdown in Turkey. 📰 Previously worked as a journalist and editor-in-chief of a women’s magazine. 👩👧👦 A mother of three, living abroad while continuing her literary career. 📚 The novel intertwines personal life with Ukraine’s independence, revolutions, and war. ✍️ Enfilade marks her debut in large-scale prose. ⚖️ Explores human rights issues, especially women’s rights in prisons. 🏆 Winner of Ukrainian and international literary awards. 🔎 Her style is valued for honesty and realism. 😮 Curio: the title was inspired by the architectural term “enfilade” – symbol of passage and change. 😄 She jokes that lockdown became her “literary set design.”