Sergey Dyachenko

1 universe Last reviewed 2026-08-25

Serhiy (Sergey) Dyachenko (April 14, 1945 – May 5, 2022) was a Ukrainian author, screenwriter, and trained psychiatrist, born in Kyiv, then part of the Ukrainian SSR. He studied at the Kyiv Medical Institute, specializing in psychiatry, before pursuing scriptwriting at the All-Russian State University of Cinematography, graduating in 1989. Early in his career he worked as a psychiatrist and won the Taras Shevchenko National Prize in 1987 for the screenplay of the film The Star of Vavilov. From the late 1980s he began co-writing fiction with his wife, actress Maryna Dyachenko, forming one of the most acclaimed writing partnerships in post-Soviet fantasy and science fiction. Together, writing primarily in Russian, the couple described their style as 'M-realism,' blending psychological realism with speculative premises. Their collaborative works include The Scar (1997), Vita Nostra (2007), and Daughter from the Dark (published in English in 2020), novels noted for their philosophical depth and exploration of choice, identity, and metaphysical transformation. The pair were honored as among the best science fiction writers in Europe at Eurocon 2005 and received numerous other literary awards throughout their joint career. The couple relocated to the United States in 2013; Serhiy Dyachenko died there in 2022.

Universe(s)

Books

• Vita Nostra (2007) · Vita Nostra Core Canon
• Assassin of Reality (2021) · Vita Nostra Core Canon
• School of Shards (2024) · Vita Nostra Core Canon

Aggregate across all universes

• Total Core Canon books across all universes: 3 books
• Award recognitions across all universes: 0 (None recorded)

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