Her first novel Reconnaissance, explores the dislocated world of a young migrant caught in the ebb and flow between two worlds - the childhood world of her native Bulgaria and her contemporary life in New Zealand. Her second novel, Love in the Land of Midas, examines the tragic origins and consequences of the Greek Civil War. Both novels have met with success at home and abroad.
The Bulgarian-born poet and novelist already has a string of prestigious awards to her credit - including Best First Book Award in the South East Asia and South Pacific section of the Commonwealth Writers Prize. In 2002, she took up a Creative New Zealand Writer's Residency in Berlin, but New Zealand is not about to lose its best known literary import.
"The Berlin Writer's Residency is an opportunity to get in touch with what is happening in Europe... but there is a lot I am leaving behind and will be happy to return to."
