Aka Morchiladze: Emancipating the Reader

Born in 1966 in Tbilisi, Morchiladze is arguably the most outstanding, recognized and talented contemporary Georgian author of literary fiction. He studied and later taught Georgian history at Tbilisi State University, worked as a sports journalist for a sports daily and participated in the European Literature Express in 2000. Morchiladze’s twenty novels and three short story collections have been regularly published by the Sulakauri publishing house since 1998. In his work, the author narrates about contemporary Georgian life, recent history and the happenings of the Middle Ages with equal mastery and precision. His plots are thorough and cathartic.

From 2005–2006, he wrote and hosted one of the most interesting literary TV programs to date. Several films and plays have been based on his work. Like Milorad Pavić, his favourite author, Morchiladze believes that a novel does not necessarily need to start at the beginning and proceed in a straight line to the end; instead, he takes Umberto Eco’s theory of the emancipated reader seriously. Currently, he lives and works in London, UK.

Morchiladze has won numerous literary prizes in Georgia. His work has been published in several countries.