Evgenia Citkowitz
Evgenia Citkowitz | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1964 New York, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Playwright, author, journalist |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Known for | Ether (2010), The Shades (2018) |
| Notable work | Ether, The Shades |
Evgenia Citkowitz (originally named Eugenia Citkowitz; born 1964) is a playwright, author, and journalist with British-American nationality.
Early life and family
Born in New York in 1964, Eugenia Citkowitz is the youngest child of Israel Citkowitz, an American composer and pianist, and Lady Caroline Blackwood, an English writer. Her upbringing took place in London, where she described her early years as "chaotic" but enriched by interactions with many distinguished figures. Although her parents separated in 1972, her father continued to play a role in her life until his passing. She has four half-siblings, and her stepfather was the American poet Robert Lowell.
Citkowitz attended a boarding school located in Devon before enrolling at St Paul's Girls' School in Hammersmith. She completed a degree in English literature at Oxford University and pursued further studies briefly in the United States.
Family
On her mother's side, Citkowitz belongs to the Guinness family, a renowned Irish and British lineage involved in brewing, banking, and politics. She is an heir to the wealth generated by the Guinness beer enterprise.
Her maternal grandparents were Anglo-Irish socialite Maureen Constance Guinness and English politician Basil Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 4th Marquess of Dufferin and Ava. Among her relatives were her uncle Sheridan Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 5th Marquess of Dufferin and Ava and aunt Lindy Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava, noted for her conservation efforts.
Career
Citkowitz debuted with Ether (2010), a volume comprising seven short stories alongside a novella. The collection earned recognition as a New York Times Editors' Choice and was featured in The New Yorker Book Club.
Her first novel, The Shades (2018), is a psychological thriller that delves into a family's grief following the loss of a daughter. In crafting this work, Citkowitz sought to portray the "fragility of human existence" by developing genuine characters and conducting detailed research into their occupations and interests such as pottery to add authenticity.
She has contributed articles to prominent publications across the UK and US including The Sunday Times, The London Magazine, The Guardian, The New York Times, and Harper's Bazaar.
Published works
- Citkowitz, Evgenia (2010). Ether. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. .
- Citkowitz, Evgenia (2018). The Shades. W. W. Norton & Company. .
Accolades
Citkowitz was included on the longlist for The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award and received first place in The Word Factory's Neil Gaiman Fables for a Modern World story competition.
Personal life
Citkowitz prefers to keep details of her private life confidential. She wed English actor Julian Sands on 22 September 1990 after being introduced by John Malkovich. Sands went missing during a hiking excursion in January 2023; his remains were recovered in June 2023. The couple shared two daughters together, while Citkowitz also became stepmother to Sands' son from a previous marriage. Since their marriage in 1990, they lived permanently in Los Angeles, California.