Today we’d like to introduce you to Marianna Suleymanova.
Hi Marianna, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Originally from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, I am a writer and literary translator. I am a contributing translator to ROAR (Russian Oppositional Arts Review) Magazine, an anti-war publication founded by Linor Goralik I immigrated to the Midwest as a high schooler with zero knowledge of English. My work focuses on rendering the voices of contemporary, anti-war Russian-language writers in English and is committed to amplifying dissident narratives. My translations can be found in Washington Square Review, Words Without Borders, The Offing, The Kenyon Review and Khōréō magazine. My work has received support from Words Without Borders, Bread Loaf Translators’ Conference, and the American Literary Translators Association. In 2026, I was selected by Tommy Orange as one of the winners of The O. Henry Prize for my translation of She-Bear, a short story by Evgenia Nekrasova.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I immigrated to Ohio as a high schooler with zero knowledge of English. The road to feeling at home in the U.S., learning the language and culture, and making at least one true friend was long and arduous.
After graduating from college, I moved to Houston for a job at the Johnson Space Center. Houston was the first place in my new country where I found community, acceptance and belonging. From intergenerational and intercultural family functions, to offbeat conversations in dive bars, to my first taste of barbeque, to strangers helping me navigate home after my car drowned on a flooded freeway, Houston is a place that is deeply in touch with the power or story and community, My time in Houston has allowed me to shift from a survival mindset to one of abundance, and continues to shape my ethos as a person and as a writer.
Though I live in Philadelphia now, I am eager to return home someday to share my work with the city that gave me so much.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
My first book-length translation of Aleksei Polyarinov’s novel Cadavers is slated to be published in 2028. Cadavers is a haunting, post-apocalyptic story set in an alternate Russia, where fossilized statues of dead children mysteriously appear across the country and disrupt the lives of the living. The narrative takes place in the Russian South, and I’ve been drawing from my time spent with Texas landscapes and in Houston’s unrelenting heat to set the vibe and scene for the story.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mstranslates.com/
- Instagram: @punishing_puns
