Sashko (Oleksandr) Dermansky [ Ukraine ]

© Andrii Kuzmin

Sashko (Oleksandr) Dermansky, born in 1976 near Kiev, writes fairy tales, novellas, and fantasy. He studied at the Drahomanov Pedagogical University and was editor of the children’s magazine »Stezhka« from 2001 to 2011. Dermansky’s first publication »Wolodar makuzi, abo Prigodi wuzha Oniska« (tr: The Lord of Makutsa or The Adventures of Onysko the Snake) was published in 2004 and has been reprinted five times. With nine print runs to date, the first part of his trilogy »Cudowe cudowisko« (2006; tr: A Wonderful Monster) was also a great success. It tells the story of the acquaintance of the small girl Sonia with a monster named Chu. However, the monster has never been friends with children before, and now, within a few months, it must earn the gratitude of a total of seven people or be exiled from the country. Chu and Sonia encounter many adventures and dangers, but their sincere friendship appears to work wonders.

The ministry for education in Ukraine has recommended several of Dermansky’s books for elementary and middle-school classrooms. He has published 22 books, three audio books, and two interactive books for children to date. About himself, Dermansky writes: »I worship children. I love children’s laughter. It’s the most beautiful music in the world. I love seeing children’s eyes light up all too much. This clever light means a new adventure and new undertakings.«

»Kramnicka titonki Malwi« (2014; tr: Aunt Malwa’s Store) is set at Christmastime. Litte Tyshko faces the difficult task of using a magic book to save the celebration and the gifts from the treacherous Mr. Kruk and his lover Nryaka. In the children’s book for ages 5 to 10 called »Shmenka tepla dlja mami« (2017; tr: A Handful of Warmth for Mama) little Wlada must resist evil powers after her city is locked down by an icy cold spell and no one remembers what summer is like. She embarks on the search for the source of the coldness in order to save her mother and, at the same time, the whole city from the tyranny.

Dermansky also co-wrote the screenplay for the film »Storoshowa zastawa« (Ü: Watchdogs) based on the novel by Vladimir Rutkivsky. The film was released in fall 2017. He been a writer for a television program on the channel 1+1 since 2008. He has received a series of awards for his literary work, including »Koronatzia Slova« (2003, 2004), »Dytiaschiy portal« (2006, 2008), and »Zolotyy Leleka« (2008), among others.

The author lives in Kiev.