Tim Skorenko

Timofey (Tim) Yuryevich Skorenko (Russian: Тимофей Юрьевич Скоренко, Belarusian: Цiмафей Юр'евiч Скарэнка; born 28 February 1983) is a Russian and Belarusian author of the Ukrainian origin, writing mostly in Russian, also poet, singer-songwriter, and journalist. As a writer, he works at the intersection of the genres of speculative fiction and literary realism, including several realistic and historical works. Tim Skorenko is engaged in the popularization of science and lectures on technical topics.

Tim Skorenko
Tim Skorenko in 2018
Born	Timofey Yuryevich Skorenko (1983-02-28) February 28, 1983 Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Pen name	Tim Skorenko, Eric Delahaye
Occupation	Writer, journalist, poet, singer-songwriter, security awareness specialist
Nationality	Belarusian
Alma mater	Belarusian National Technical University
Genre	Speculative fiction, literary realism
Notable works	The Garden of Hieronymus Bosch (2011), Everest (2018)
Website
www.timskorenko.ru, skorenko.com

Biography

Tim Skorenko graduated from the Belarusian National Technical University with a degree in Internal Combustion Engines. Until 2009, he worked at the Minsk Automobile Plant as a test engineer for car acoustics, and in 2009 he moved to Moscow, becoming an editor in the What's New in Science and Technology magazine (Russian edition of Popular Science). At the end of the same year, he moved to Russian edition of Popular Mechanics. Since 2018, he has been working at Kaspersky Lab as security awareness specialist. In 2022, he moved from Russia to Yerevan, Armenia.

Prose

Tim Skorenko began writing prose in 2004. In 2007, he was shortlisted for the independent literary award Debut. The first publication was the short story “Quiet Games” in the almanac Noon. XXI century (No. 9’2008). The first major published work was the novel Ode to Absolute Cruelty (2010). Tim Skorenko's second novel, The Garden of Hieronymus Bosch (2011), was longlisted for the Big Book and National Bestseller awards, and won a number of genre awards, including the Bronze Snail of Boris Strugatsky. At the moment, 45 stories (in periodicals and collections) and 7 novels have been published.

Journalism and popularization of science

From 2009 to 2018, Tim Skorenko worked in the field of science journalism in the What's New in Science and Technology, then in Popular Mechanics magazines. He collaborated as a columnist with some other magazines, including Mir Fantastiki and Vokrug sveta. He published more than 400 articles in Popular Mechanics, Mir Fantastiki, What's New in Science and Technology, Vokrug sveta, and Russian editions of GQ, Maxim, Tatler, Cosmopolitan, etc. From 2015 to 2018, he worked as the editor-in-chief of the Popular Mechanics Internet portal.

He published a number of popular science books. The book Invented in Russia: A History of Russian Inventive Thought from Peter I to Nicholas II was shortlisted for the 2017 Enlightener Prize, while the book Invented in the USSR. The History of Inventive Thought from 1917 to 1991 was on the long list of the 2019 Enlightener Prize.

In addition, Tim Skorenko has authored several non-fiction books aimed at children. The book Think and invent was published both in Russia in Russian and in Ukraine in Ukrainian.

The book Invented in the USSR. The History of Inventive Thought from 1917 to 1991 has been translated into Chinese and published in China in 2023.

Critical reviews

Tim Skorenko's books have repeatedly received reviews from leading Russian literary critics. In particular, Galina Yuzefovich writes about the novel Everest: "Skorenko constructs the plot framework excellently. Mixing factual details with imagination, shuffling chronological layers, deftly shifting the focus from one character to another (we see the events through the eyes of Wilson, John Kelly, Mallory's companion, and young Andrew Irvine), he manages to maintain intrigue – who was the first to reach Everest? – until the very last page. This ability to keep the reader in suspense, constantly fueling their curiosity with various historical and mountaineering insights, without ever revealing the main point, constitutes the primary – and very important – merit of the novel."

Literary critic Vasily Vladimirsky writes in the newspaper Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti about the novel Glass: "Skorenko stays away from the busiest highways of the 'current literary process,' preferring to move along a parallel route. The questions he raises in Glass – the interplay between violence and power, the nature of unquestioning faith, psychological dependency, victim syndrome, and so on – make the novel more akin to contemporary relevant prose."

The book Think and Invent is included by book reviewer Evgeniya Shaffert in the list of the top 50 best Russian children's books written in the 21st century.

Critical reviews of Tim Skorenko's books have repeatedly appeared in various Russian print and online publications.

Awards and prizes

Laureate of numerous literary awards including Eurocon (Stockholm, 2011), Bronze Snail (St. Petersburg, 2011), Bronze Caduceus (Kharkiv, 2011), Days of Science Fiction (Kyiv, 2011) and others. Winner of the Alexander Belyaev Literary Prize in 2015 for a series of essays Entertaining scientific experiments and master classes, published in the Popular Mechanics magazine. Winner of numerous poetry awards Ilya Prize (2009), Literary Vienna (2010), O. Beshenkovskaya Prize (2010/11), and others.

Laureate of the XLI Grushinsky festival as a singer-songwriter (2014).

Laureate of the XVIII National award in the field of media business Media Manager of Russia 2018 in the nomination Electronic Media / Online Media (For expanding the territory of the brand beyond the press, the successful development of the project and the formation of a new audience in the digital space).

Bibliography

Fiction

• The Ode to Absolute Cruelty / Ода абсолютной жестокости (2010). Novel
• The Garden of Hieronymus Bosch / Сад Иеронима Босха (2011). Novel
• The Laws of Applied Euthanasia / Законы прикладной эвтаназии (2011). Novel
• Along the Blade of Words / Вдоль по лезвию слов (2012). Short story collection
• Legends of Unknown America / Легенды неизвестной Америки (2013). Novel. 2 editions
• The Bookbinder / Переплётчик (2014). Novel (under the pseudonym Eric Delahaye)
• Everest / Эверест (2018). Novel
• Glass / Стекло (2021). Novel

Non-fiction

• Evolution of Thought in Significant Dates of Science and Exhibits of the Polytechnic Museum (2017)
• Invented in Russia. History of Russian Inventive Thought from Peter I to Nicholas II (2017). 6 editions (Russian and Chinese)
• Popular Mechanics. Entertaining Tests and Experiments (2018). 2 editions
• Polytech Calendar 2068 (2018)
• Invented in the USSR. History of Inventive Thought from 1917 to 1991 (2019). 3 editions (Russian and Chinese)
• PR Me If You Can. Instructions for a PR Specialist Written by a Journalist (2019)
• Think and Invent (2020). For children. 2 editions (Russian and Ukrainian)
• How the Inedible Becomes Edible (2023). For children. Co-author: Tatiana Alekseeva
• Mars Rover, Accordion, MRI: The History of Armenian Inventive Thought (2024)

Poems

• Dogs of the Lord / Псы Господни (2011). Collection of poems.

Audiobooks

• PR Me If You Can. Instructions for a PR Specialist Written by a Journalist (read by Tim Skorenko) (2019)
• Glass / Стекло (read by Tim Skorenko) (2021)

Discography

• Ironheart / Железное сердце (2008)
• After Gardel / После Гарделя (2021)
• Who Will Be Selected / Кого отберут (2021)
• For a Time Traveler / Путешественнику во времени (2021)
• Alyarin / Алярин (2021)
• Diary / Дневник (2022)

External links

• (in Russian) Tim Skorenko's site on books, journalistics and music