Marina Stepnova (Марина Степнова) now lives in Moscow but was raised in Kishinev. She graduated from The Gorky Literary Institute and did postgraduate studies at the Institute of World Literature. Stepnova’s translation from Romanian of the play “Nameless Star” by Mikhail Sebastien has been staged by numerous theaters throughout Russia. Her novel "The Surgeon" won the nomination for the National Bestseller Prize.