Dorina Papaliou – is a Greek writer. She has published two novels, Gutter (Kedros) and A Certain Quality of Light (Ikaros). Her work also includes short stories, children’s books and essays.

A CERTAIN QUALITY OF LIGHT

(TO APARAITITO FOS, IKAROS)

Shortlist European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL) 2014

Longlist Athens Prize for Literature 2014

“Papaliou’s great achievement is that she makes you read her book with two conflicting feelings: on the one hand you want to finish, in order to find out how the story ends, on the other, you wish to go on and on, so as to prolong the pleasure of its reading…One of the best realistic novels of recent years”.

“A Certain Quality of Light has an impeccable structure and a plot that makes it truly impossible to put down.”

“The novel’s major virtue is that it intertwines its different themes into a coherent whole, with a perfectly organized plot which keeps its secrets to the very end, working towards the final resolution step by step, with great craft.”

“…an exceptional linguistic achievement, flowing with intense theatricality, revealing dialogues, a greek writing that embelishes modern fiction…a real masterpiece”.

“The well-crafted plot, the gradual buildup of action until the final resolution, the intense suspense and careful depiction of the characters’ mental and emotional state, especially of its two heroines, make A Certain Quality of Light a delightful novel”.

“Excellent tight plot, its various strands masterfully crafted.”

“One can admire the economy of the novel, which in over six hundred pages manages to connect the events, the characters and the progression of the plot in a superb summation, reimbursing the reader”.

“A multi-layered, ambitious structure, an indefatigable search of truth, but also of its meaning, and the various ways it is constructed.”

(GUTTER, KEDROS)

IBBY AWARD, 2008

Option Agreement for film adaptation, with Argonauts Productions S.A.

“…when I held the book in my hands and started to read it, I had this feeling, from the very first moment, that here is a story that has riveted my attention. I had the irresistible urge to go on and on.”

“Papaliou masterly interweaves the parallel, mutually-crossing narrative “steps” of comics-writing with novel-writing, which, to my mind, is what makes her novel so interesting…. Undoubtedly, an exceptionally remarkable and original debut novel.”

“Gutter merges crime literature with comics in a genuinely innovative manner…Whether you are a comics fan or not, Dorina Papaliou’s Gutter is a fascinating, remarkably well-structured crime novel, which bridges the gap between the two art forms and serves as an imaginative introduction to comics.”

“The portrayal of characters and the unfolding of the plot reveal a masterly hand…multiply stimulating. It features the latest thematic trends (the central character is a young comic artist), impeccable execution (the plot merges seamlessly with the young-adult literature and crime novel genre), ultra-heightened suspense (it holds your interest completely to the last page).”

Dorina Papaliou grew up in Athens. She read History at Brown University and received an MPhil in Social Anthropology from Cambridge University. She is the author of two novels, short stories, non-fiction and children’s books. Her novel A Certain Quality of Light (Ikaros), was shortlisted for the European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), 2014 and longlisted for the Athens Prize for Literature, 2014. Gutter (Kedros) received the IBBY AWARD, 2008 and is under option for a film adaptation by Argonauts Productions S.A.