Download the Skolay app
Skolay / 1:1 Audio Conversations / 
Katya Apekina
📆  Select a time
Select a time
💸  Checkout
Checkout
📞  Get called
Get called
Katya Apekina
Award winning novelist, screenwriter and translator. Wrote Mother Doll and The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish.
Literary
Translation
Historical Fiction
Book a 1:1 with KatyaBook a 1:1 with KatyaBook a 1:1 with Katya
Where else you can find me
Personal website
Substack
Book a 1:1 with Katya
Hi!

one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve thirteen fourteen fifteen sixteen seventeen eighteen nineteen twenty, twenty-one twenty-two twenty-three twenty-four twenty-five twenty-six twenty-seven twenty-eight twenty-nine thirty, thirty-one thirty-two thirty-three thirty-four thirty-five thirty-six thirty-seven thirty-eight thirty-nine forty,

forty-one forty-two forty-three forty-four forty-five forty-six forty-seven forty-eight forty-nine fifty, fifty-one fifty-two fifty-three fifty-four fifty-five fifty-six fifty-seven fifty-eight fifty-nine sixty, sixty-one sixty-two sixty-three sixty-four sixty-five sixty-six sixty-seven sixty-eight sixty-nine seventy, seventy-one seventy-two seventy-three seventy-four seventy-five seventy-six seventy-seven seventy-eight seventy-nine eighty,

eighty-one eighty-two eighty-three eighty-four eighty-five eighty-six eighty-seven eighty-eight eighty-nine ninety, ninety-one ninety-two ninety-three ninety-four ninety-five ninety-six ninety-seven ninety-eight ninety-nine one hundred

Talk soon,
Sam

Hi!

On my mind

My starting point for most big projects is research—even if the research itself never makes it into the book, it puts me into a frame of mind. The research process can be very rich, but it can also tip over into a form of procrastination, so figuring out that balance is important. I love talking about process in general. I'm also a freelance editor, and am happy to talk through your ideas and projects.

Why I'm excited to talk with readers

Writing can be an isolating process, so it's very cool to actually get to hear from readers and connect with them.

Best,

Katya

Let's talk! Open to...👇
Writing in general
Questions about your writing
Questions about my writing
🔔 Don't see a time that works?
Propose a time and we'll let you know when it's available to book!
Propose Time
Date
Time
Thank you for proposing a time!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
📚 Bring me to your Book Club!
I love talking with book clubs and would be delighted to meet with yours! Once you submit your request, Skolay will reach back out to you to confirm the details.
Cancel RequestStart Request
Book Club Request 
Specify a date & time
Propose up to 3 options
:
Add option
Option 2
:
Remove
Remove
Add option
Option 3
Option 2
:
Remove
Remove
Add option
Enter contact info
Send a note
Please share any details about your group that would be helpful: e.g., what you're reading, how many members, etc.
Thank you! Your submission has been received. We'll get back to you as soon as possible.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
My latest
My Substack
 by 
Katya Apekina
Where I've written

Mother Doll

A Novel

Prize-winning author Katya Apekina’s Mother Doll is a sharp and visceral nesting doll of a novel, about four generations of mothers and daughters and the inherited trauma cast by Russian history.

Zhenia is adrift in Los Angeles, pregnant with a baby her husband doesn’t want, while her Russian grandmother and favorite person in the world is dying on the opposite coast. She’s deeply disconnected from herself and her desires when she gets a strange call from Paul, a psychic medium who usually specializes in channeling dead pets, with a message from the other side. Zhenia’s great-grandmother Irina, a Russian Revolutionary, has approached him from a cloud of ancestral grief, desperate to tell her story and receive absolution from Zhenia.

“Spellbinding, hallucinatory, and very funny . . . A rare achievement.”

— Elif Batuman, Author of The Idiot, a Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize

See more
See less

The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish

Moving through a selection of first-person accounts and written with a sinister sense of humor, The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish powerfully captures the quiet torment of two sisters craving the attention of a parent they can’t, and shouldn’t, have to themselves. In this captivating debut, Katya Apekina disquietingly crooks the lines between fact and fantasy, between escape and freedom, and between love and obsession.

"The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish is brilliantly structured, with multiple characters narrating the events of the novel. It's an unusual technique that Apekina uses to stunning effect, creating a kind of narrative tension that propels the novel forward... The structure, characters and storyline are all refreshingly original, and the writing is nothing short of gorgeous. It's a stunningly accomplished book, and Apekina isn't afraid to grab her readers by the hand and take them to some very dark and very beautiful places."

— Michael Schaub, NPR

See more
See less
See more
See less
What to know in advance of your conversation
Audio-only
All calls on Skolay are audio-only.
Where and how calls happen
You'll receive a phone call from Skolay at the time of your call that will automatically connect you with the writer.
Cancellations
Skolay offers free cancellations when done more than 24 hours in advance of a call. However, calls cancelled within 24 hours of the scheduled start time will incur a fee of 25% of the total price out of respect for the writer’s time.
Late to a call
You have five minutes to join the call after the scheduled start time. After that point the call window will close and you will be charged the full price of the conversation.