Sven Kuzmins (1985) is a Latvian writer and artist. Read More He studied painting and graphic design at the Art Academy of Latvia and Manchester Metropolitan University, partly out of love for arts, but mostly out of belief that writing prose has more in common with artistic practices than with language studies.

He primarily focuses on writing fiction and nonfiction, often blending genres and combining classic storytelling with visual means of expression. His collection of short stories, Pilsētas šamaņi (Urban Shamans), accompanied by original artwork, was released to critical acclaim in 2016 and was nominated for several awards, including the Annual Latvian Literature Award. He is writing his first novel. He regularly writes for Rīgas Laiks (Riga Times) magazine and other publications, works on a long-running sketch theater project, Nerten, as a writer and performer, and hosts a weekly literary talk show on Latvian Radio 1.  His stories and novellas have been translated to English, Russian, Lithuanian and, most recently, Spanish. 

Photo © Gints Ivuškāns