Salome Benidze

Born in 1986 in Kutaisi, Georgia, Salome Benidze is a contemporary young author, already well-established in the Georgian literary scene, and who studied journalism, public relations and political science at Tbilisi State University, Vilnius Univesity and Alexander Technological Institution of Thessaloniki. Georgian readers are well acquainted with her poetry, prose and translations. In 2012, Salome Benidze received literary award SABA for the best debut of the year, which brought her nationwide recognition. Throughout her career, she has been nominated for various important awards. Her works are published in printed and online media regularly. In 2013, 2014 and 2015 her stories “The Lovers of my Lover”, “The Survivor” and “Lydia” were included in the popular anthology ‘15 Best Short Stories’ published annually by Bakur Sulakauri Publishing. She is the winner of many contests as a blogger and translator, she has translated David Beckham’s My Side and Shirin Ebadi’s widely acclaimed The Golden Cage. In 2015 Salome Benidze translated Unique Item by one of her favorite writers Milorad Pavić, the novel was published in the framework of the highly anticipated project Pavić in Georgian, launched by Intelekti Publishing. In 2016 Salome Benidze translated a novel by Salman Rushdie “Two years, eight months and twenty eight nights.” Her novel “The City on Water” (published by Books in Batumi Publishing in 2015) became a national bestseller and was awarded with Tsinandali Award.

Salome Benidze has worked in various governmental and non-governmental agencies, currently she works as a public relations specialist and is actively engaged in civil activities to defend women’s rights.