Nino Haratischwili, in conversation with Maya Jaggi, at Heffers Bookshop

Heffers is delighted to welcome famed author Nino Haratischwili to Heffers on the 19th May, where she will she be joined by the award-winning writer, critic and journalist Maya Jaggi to discuss two of her novels. 'The Eighth Life (For Brilka)' was originally published in 2020 and longlisted for the International Booker Prize. It is being reissued in a new edition in April 2026. 'The Lack of Light' is Nino's most recently translated book into English and was released in October 2025.

Nino Haratischwili will be in England as a UCL writer in residence for 2026.

Born in Tbilisi in 1983, Nino Haratischwili is a multi-award-winning novelist and dramatist and one of the most important authors of contemporary German Literature. She is the author of the worldwide bestseller 'The Eighth Life (for Brilka)', which was translated into numerous languages and nominated for the International Booker prize. Her latest novel translated into English was 'The Lack of Light' in late 2025. She lives in Berlin

MAYA JAGGI is an award-winning writer, critic and cultural journalist. A contributing art critic forFinancial Times,she also chairs the independent jury of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Literature Prize, and is a former arts writer and fiction critic forThe Guardian. She was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2023 for her independent critical writing, which has appeared widely, fromThe New York TimesandNew York Review of Books to Le Monde Diplomatique. Writer in Residence at Writers’ House of Georgia in Tbilisi in 2022, she was earlier artistic director of the UK’s first festival of Georgian writers and of its online sequel at the British Library,Georgia's Fantastic Tavern. She holds degrees from Oxford University and LSE, and an honorary doctorate from the Open University.

Charlotte Collins, who alongside Ruth Martin translated both 'The Eighth Life' and 'The Lack of Light' will also be in attendance at the event.

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