Ksenya Kumm was born and raised in Odessa, Ukraine, in the notorious borough of Moldavanka (featured in the famous “Odessa Tales” by Isaak Babel). In the mid 90’s she moved to New York City with her parents, where she completed her studies. In 2010, Ksenya quit her corporate job and moved to Berlin in order to pursue writing full-time. She has since won a couple of prizes for her short-stories (in Russia and Ukraine) and is currently working on her novel set in NYC and Berlin. She writes prose and poetry in Russian and English.

During the time in Schöppingen, Ksenya Kumm worked on the English version of the short story collection. The stories are set in Odessa, from the end of the Soviet Union until present. In addition, Ksenya also wrote a new story for the collection, which was subsequently short-listed by the International Isaak Babel Prize in July 2021. On a personal note, the author quite enjoyed time in Schöppingen and formed many new friendships and creative partnerships during her fellowship.