Stryzhachenko Olha Viktorivna

Born on June 19, 1988 in the village of Lisna Poliana, Markivka District, Luhansk Oblast. From 1994 to 2005, she studied in the Lisna Poliana General Educational Institution of I-III grades. She was awarded with a gold medal for her academic achievements. At the same time, she received additional education at the Junior Academy of Sciences at the Taras Shevchenko Luhansk National University (2004, 2005; Literary Creativity Section).

She graduated from the Taras Shevchenko Luhansk National University: from 2005 to 2009, she studied at the specialty “Literary Creativity” (Bachelor’s degree); in 2009–2010, studied Master’s degree programmes. Master’s degree in Philology. Married. A mother of many children.

In 2009–2011, she worked as a teacher of Ukrainian language and literature in the Caravan-Solodkyi Gymnasium of the Markivka District.

In 2011, she served as editor-in-chief of the Radio Information Organization “Markivka District Editorial Office of Radio Broadcasting”; also worked as a teacher-philologist in the town gymnasium.

In 2018, she worked as a teacher of kindergarten No. 1 “Teremok” in the town of Markivka.

In 2019–2020, Deputy Principal for Work-Study in the Markivka Vocational Agrarian Lyceum.

Since February 2020, she was appointed a Head of the Department of Culture of the Markivka Amalgamated Territorial Community (Markivka Town Council).

Since January 2021, she has been a Head of the Department of Culture, Nationalities, Religions and Tourism of the Markivka Territorial Community (Markivka Town Council).

Her literary pseudonym is Olha Kudinova. The creative career began with school years. She took an active part in the regional and Ukrainian literary contests. In most of them, she received the title of laureate: “Remember the price of happiness”, “History of One Picture”, “Golden Dictaphone” (Luhansk, 2004–2005), Patriotic Song Festival (nomination “Best Poetry”, Bilokurakyne, 2012), “Paper Plane” (Sievierodonetsk, 2016), etc.

She is the author of the poetry collection “A v moho solovia nezradlyva Dusha” (An Unfaithful Soul of My Nightingale, Luhansk, 2004) and prose collection “Ostannii Dar” (The Last Gift, Luhansk, 2008).

Her works were published in almanacs “Dzhereltse” (Sievierodonetsk, 2003) “Molodoi Luh” (Luhansk, 2005), “Soniashnyk” (Luhansk, 2008), “Oles Honchar: Prahnit zadumiv hlybokykh” (Kyiv, 2007), in a book of documentary stories “Buty liudynoiu” (Kyiv, 2019), etc., as well as in the local and regional press.

Laureate of the Oles Honchar International Ukrainian-German Prize (2006), a winner of the International Documentary Story Contest “Being a Man” (2018), and the Eleventh Regional Vorontseva Sloboda Festival (2019).

She has been a member of the National Writers’ Union of Ukraine (since 2016) and a member of the Board of the Luhansk Regional Organization of the National Writers’ Union (since 2018). Became a winner of the Ukrainian Presidential Scholarship for Young Writers in 2020–2021.