Leo Vardiashvili - born in 1983, was raised in Sololaki, Tbilisi. When he was twelve, he and his family left Georgia’s post-Soviet regime for asylum in England. He studied English literature at Queen Mary University of London.  “Hard by a Great Forest” is his debut novel, published by Bloomsbury in the UK, Riverhead Books in the US, Ullstein in Germany and “Sulakauri Publishing” in Georgia in 2024 (translated by Davit Akhaladze). It has been acquired by 19 territories worldwide, including Georgia. Leo is currently working on his second novel.