Maria Doneva was born in 1974 in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. She has a degree in Bulgarian Philology from Sofia University. She has won several prestigious literary awards for poetry and short stories. Maria is author of the poetry collections Eyes for Beauty (1988), Farewell to the reader (1996), Празнината меѓу нас (in Macedonian) (2005), Worry (2005, 2007, 2008), Wheedling the Meaning (2009), Soft Sun (2010), A Shop for Pebbles (2011), A Feather of Smoke (2012), The Rabbit and Its Dream (2013), A Handful of Glossy Cherries (2013), Pure Poems (2014), She Enjoys the Rain (2015). She has also published in Literaturen Vestnik, Literaturen forum, Letopisi, Kapital, Liternet, and many more. She works with the Permanent Theatre with the State Psychiatric Hospital “Dr. Georgi Kisyov” and as a playwright for the Drama Theatre in Stara Zagora. In her spare time, Maria also makes rag dolls.

Personal blog: http://mdoneva.com/