Yelena Moskovich

Yelena Moskovich is an award-winning Soviet-Ukrainian American and French novelist and artist. She debuted in 2018 with the novel The Natashas. The book tells the interconnected stories of four women named Natasha, each from a different part of the world, who become involved in the sex trade industry in Paris.

Yelena Moskovich was born in Ukraine and emigrated to the US with her family in 1991. She grew up in Wisconsin. After graduating with a degree in playwriting from Emerson College, Boston, she moved to Paris.

In France, Moskovich studied at the Lecoq School of Physical Theatre and later for a Master's degree in Art, Philosophy, and Aesthetics from Université Paris 8.

Her plays have been produced in the US, Vancouver, Paris, and Stockholm.

"I never thought of myself as a crime writer because the world of my writing is lawless by nature, and those who inhabit it, are trespassers of form. In my stories, no one dies, because they are already dead. No one breaks the law, because the laws are already broken," Moskovich says.

Moskovich is known for her works that often explore themes of identity, displacement, and queer experiences. She authored three novels, The Natashas, Virtuoso (2019), and A Door Behind A Door (2021). All of which have been critically acclaimed.

Virtuoso explores the life of a young pianist who is struggling to come to terms with her sexuality. A Door Behind A Door deals with the themes of immigration (from the former USSR), queer desire, death, and unresolved feelings.

Her work has been compared to that of such writers as Virginia Woolf, Anaïs Nin, and Jeanette Winterson due to her innovative approach to storytelling. Her writing blends elements of fiction, autobiography, and poetry, and she frequently employs non-linear narratives and fragmented structures.

Yelena Moskovich lives in Paris.

Photo credit: IG @yelenamoskovich