The Zekameron

Born in Minsk in 1981, Maxim Znak is an international lawyer from Belarus. After the presidential election of August 2020, he gathered hard evidence of the many violations of the electoral process and sought to take legal action by ensuring that the election results were reviewed by an independent body. Maxim Znak was arrested on 9 September 2020 and held in Remand Prison no. 1 in Minsk until 26 December 2021. This prison has the shocking reputation of being the only one in Europe where the death penalty is still being carried out. It was here that Znak wrote his stories, which later found themselves outside the prison walls. Once outside, the stories were sent directly to Jim Dingley who previously translated two books from Belarus for Scotland Street Press. Dingley immediately sent the manuscript to Scotland Street Press. Its arrival was a huge consideration: would its publication endanger Znak's life, or agitate successfully for his release? By September 2021 this brilliant lawyer was already re-sentenced to ten years in a penal colony in the North of Belarus. His wife and sister urged to go ahead with publication. Valzhyna Mort was born in the same city and same year as Znak. She is a poet who writes in English and Belarusian. Her most recent volume of poetry, Music for the Dead and Resurrected, was published to great critical acclaim in 2020. She is the recipient of many international literary awards. She is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Literatures in English, Cornell University, Ithaca NY.