# Maryna and Serhiy Dyachenko

Spouses Maryna Yuryivna Dyachenko (née Shyrshova, born January 23, 1968) and Serhiy Serhiyovych Dyachenko (April 14, 1945 – May 5, 2022) are co-authors of fantasy literature from Ukraine writing in Russian. Three of their novels have been translated into English. At the World and All-European Science Fiction Convention Eurocon 2005 in Glasgow, Marina and Serhiy Dyachenko were recognized as the best science fiction writers in Europe.

## Personal life

The Dyachenkos are from Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Kyiv, Ukraine). For four years, they lived in Russia, then moved to California, United States in 2013. Serhiy Dyachenko died on 5 May 2022 in the United States.

## Work
### Background

Serhiy Dyachenko graduated from Kyiv Medical Institute and worked as a psychiatrist. Later, Serhiy Dyachenko working as a writer and screenwriter, together with director Anatoliy Borsyuk and cinematographer Oleksandr Frolov, was awarded the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine in 1987 for "The Star of Vavilov" (Russian: "Звезда Вавилова") about the life of imprisoned Russian agronomist Nikolai Vavilov. The film was produced by the Kyiv Studio of Popular Science Films. Serhiy graduated from the Faculty of Scriptwriting of the All-Russian State University of Cinematography in 1989. Maryna Dyachenko graduated from the Theatre Institute of Kyiv in 1989 and worked as a professional theatre and cinema actress.

### Self-description and Collaboration

The Dyachenkos describe their work as "M-realism" with the 'M' "open to interpretation." Without defining the meaning of the "M", in 2014 Sergey Dyachenko explained it as "Marina's realism", expanding "that's where the romanticism comes from, and the stubborn humanism, and the hope for white magic and a better tomorrow."
Their works have been subject to scholarly analysis.
In a 2019 profile, Julia Meitov Hersey summarized their collaboration as follows: "It is thanks to Sergey’s skills of writing solid plots that Marina’s beautiful aethereal worlds have such a strong structure, a foundation built on the characters’ flesh and bone, their blood and tears. Their ideal fantasy is a story of a real person in a chimerical world."

### Novels

The Gate-Keeper (Russian: Привратник), their first novel, was published in 1994. It received the Crystal Table prize (Russian: Хрустальный стол) at the book festival Zoryany Schlyach, and the novel was awarded the title "Best Debut Work" at the EuroCon competition in 1995. The Gate-keeper became the first novel in the Dyachenkos' fantasy tetralogy Wanderers ("Скитальцы"). With publishing of The Scar (Russian: Шрам) (1997), the sequel of The Gate-Keeper, the Dyachenkos established themselves as masters of psychological fantastic fiction. The Scar has received the "Sword in the Stone" award for best fantasy novel in 1997.
The Ritual (Russian: Ритуал) (1996) is about a princess and a dragon, the latter half-human. The novel received little attention and was not awarded any prizes.
Age of the Witch (1997) (Russian: Ведьмин век) involves characters from a number of mythologies, most prominently Slavonic. It received a literature award from the magazine Rainbow (Russian: Радуга) in 1997 and the "Zilantkon" -"Great Zilant" prize (Russian: Зиланткон — Большой Зилант) in Kazan in 1998.
The Cave (1998) (Russian: Пещера) was awarded the "Moon Sword" prize in 1999 for the best work of "mystical literature" published between 1997 and 1999.
Burned Tower (1998) (Russian: Горелая Башня) received a prize at Interpresscon competition in 1999.
The Frontier (1999) (Russian: Рубеж), written with A. Valentinov (Russian: А.Валентиновым) and H. L. Oldie (Russian: Г. Л. Олди), was awarded the Golden Caduceus prize at the festival "Star Bridge - 2000".
The Execution (1999) (Russian: Казнь) received a "The Wаnderer" award in 2000 and the Reader Appreciation award "Sigma-F" in 2000 as the Novel of the Year.
Armaged-Home (Russian: Армагед-дом) (1999), a work of social science fiction, takes place over a number of periods encompassing the life of its heroine and the society in which she lives. In the opinion of many critics and readers, it is one of the best of their novels.
The Green Card (2000) (Russian: Зелёная карта), later adapted into a screenplay, is a work of realist fiction about residents of Kyiv who have received an opportunity to immigrate to the United States.
Magicians Can Do Anything (2001) (Russian: Магам можно всё) was awarded the "Golden Caduceus" award at the 2001 Golden Bridge festival.
Valley of the Conscience (Russian: Долина Совести) was awarded the Bronze Snail, Russian science fiction - 2002, Sigma-F, and the "Golden Caduceus" award at the Golden Bridge 2002 festival.
Pandem (Russian: Пандем) took the "Silver Caduceus" prize at the 2003 Star Bridge 2003 festival.
Varan (Russian: Варан) was awarded the "Bronze Caduceus" prize at the 2004 Star Bridge festival. The Copper King, a fantasy novel loosely connected to it, was published in 2008.
The Pentacle (Russian: Пентакль), co-written A. Valentinov (Russian: А.Валентиновым) and G. L. Oldi (Russian: Г. Л. Олди), was awarded the "Golden Caduceus" prize at the 2005 Star Bridge festival.
Wild Energy. Lana (March 2006) (Ukrainian: Дика Енергія. Лана) is a fairy tale influenced by the music of the Ukrainian singer Ruslana (Ukrainian: Руслана), to whom the authors dedicated the work. It was awarded the "Bronze Caduceus" prize at the 2006 Star Bridge festival.
The Key of the Kingdom (Russian: Ключ от королевства) and its sequel Oberon's Word (Russian: Слово Оберона) appeared in 2006. The trilogy was concluded with Evil Has No Power (Russian: У зла нет власти) (2008).
Alena and Aspirin (Russian: Алёна и Аспирин), an unrelated psychological fantastic novel, was published in 2006. It was published in 2020 by HarperCollins as "Daughter from the Dark".
Vita Nostra was published in 2007. It was the first novel in the thematically related "Metamorphosis" cycle. The book collected dozens of awards from readers and professionals. Julia Meitov Hersey's translation of Vita Nostra was published by HarperCollins Publishers in November 2018. Digital, or Brevis Est, (2009) and Migrant, or Brevi Finietur, a work of science fiction, continue the cycle.
Possessed, an urban fantasy, was published in 2011.
Assassin of Reality: A Novel (Russian: Работа над ошибками, lit. 'Correcting Errors') was published in 2021. It is the sequel to 2007 novel Vita Nostra. The English translation was published in 2023.

## Novellas

Last Don Quixote (2000) (Russian: Последний Дон Кихот), a variation on Miguel de Cervantes' novel, became a base for a theatrical play. The novel was awarded the "Bronze Snail" (Russian: Бронзовая Улитка) (2001).

### Awards

In 2001, Marina and Sergey Dyachenko were awarded the "Aelita" (Russian: Аэлита) prize.

## Literary awards

Maryna and Serhiy Dyachenko are recipients of the most prestigious literary awards in the science fiction in the Commonwealth of Independent States. Practically every novel they have written, in addition to several short stories, have received various awards.
They were honored as the ESFS's Best Writers of Europe in Eurocon 2005.