Andrea Bennett

Andrea Bennett is a novelist who also writes short stories, short plays, flash fiction and nonfiction. Her first novel, Galina Petrovna’s Three-Legged Dog Story, was published by the Borough Press in 2015. Acclaimed as ‘a terrific and original debut’ by the Times, it is the tragicomic story of an elderly Russian who discovers unexpected truths about herself, her friends and her country while searching for her beloved lost dog. Andrea’s second novel, Two Cousins of Azov, was published in 2017. She drew inspiration for both novels from the time she spent working in Russia in the 1990s.

Andrea’s writing reflects on the funny-peculiar and funny-ha-ha of domestic life, the accidents and unplanned situations that make our existence both interesting and strange. She has had pieces about her own family life published by the Guardian and the Sunday Telegraph, and her future plans include an expansion of these short pieces into a full memoir.

Andrea came to writing fairly late, and over a varied pre-publication career she was a barmaid, a waitress, a translator and editor (from Russian to English), a Whitehall civil servant, a team manager in local government and the manager of a charity supporting disabled children and their families in East Kent. Andrea holds a BA Hons in Russian and History from the University of Sheffield, and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Kent — gained after the publication of her two novels.

She lives in Ramsgate with her family and a Border Terrier named Ruby.