Alexis Stamatis (born in Athens, 1960) is a Greek novelist, playwright, and poet. Amongst other work, he has published sixteen novels, six books of poetry, and a number of plays. As of , he teaches creative writing at the Hellenic American Academic Foundation.
Biography
Son of Kostas Stamatis, an architect, and Betty Arvaniti, a film actress, Stamatis studied architecture at the National Technical University of Athens and took postgraduate degrees in architecture and cinematography in London.
He has published sixteen novels. His second novel, Βar Flaubert (Kedros, 2000), a critically acclaimed bestseller in Greece, has been published in the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Serbia, and Bulgaria. Bar Flaubert has been adapted as a screenplay by the author and the director Vassilis Douvlis. Stamatis has also published six books of poetry. His second book, The Architecture of Interior Spaces, was awarded the Nikiforos Vrettakos Prize in 1994. Τwo collections of his poems have been translated in Great Britain. He wrote the libretti for two musical pieces performed in Megaron Mousikis and the Chora theatre. In 2004, he participated in the International Writing Program of the University of Iowa through a Greek Fulbright Artists & Art-Scholars Award.
In 2007, the US publishing house Etruscan Press won the 1st International Literary Award from the US National Endowment for the Arts to publish his novel American Fugue. Stamatis presented his book in the US in 2008. His tour included around 15 universities all over the country, including Harvard, Yale, New York University, San Francisco State University, and Brown. .
He has written the following plays, among others: Last Martha, Monologue for the Cultural Olympiad; directed and performed by Dimitris Ikonomou (2003), Dakrygona (Tear Gas), 2010, and Kill Your Darlings, 2012, a three-act play, staged at the Theatre of Kefallinias Street and directed by Aris Troupakis, Melissia, National Theater of Greece 2012 (play reading), Midnight in a perfect world, Monologue (2013) directed by Aris Troupakis and staged at Theatro Technis Karolos Koun, Innerview, one-act play, staged at Southbank Centre, London (2013). for the event "Greece is the word!", Innerview, a three-act play, which was later staged at the Michael Cacoyiannis Foundation, 2014–15.
In 2009 he was a writer in residence in Shanghai, invited by the Shanghai Writers Association. He has represented Greece in various Book Festivals and seminars all over the world. He has been working for many major Greek newspapers and magazines. Ηe currently teaches creative writing at the Hellenic American Academic Foundation (Athens College – Psychico College)
On 19 October 2013, he took part in the event "Greece is the Word" at the Southbank Centre London.
He was interviewed by Victoria Hislop and a short play of his, "Innerview", was staged with the actors Eva Simatou and Nikos Poursanidis. He is married to the actress Eva Simatou, and they have a son, Ermis.
Novels
1998 – The Seventh Elephant. Kedros, 2nd edition, Kastaniotis, 2016
2000 – Bar Flaubert. Kedros, 16th edition, 2011, 32th edition, Kastaniotis, 2023
2002 – Like a Thief in the night. Kastaniotis, 4th edition, 2009
2003 – Theseus Street. Kastaniotis, 4th edition, 2004
2005 – Mother Ash . Kastaniotis, 5th edition, 2005
2006 – American Fugue. Kastaniotis, 4th edition, 2007
2008 – Villa Combray, Kastaniotis, 9th edition, 2014
2009 – Kill your darlings, Kastaniotis 4th edition, 2010
2011 – Sunday, Kastaniotis 2nd edition, 2011
2012 – Can you cry underwater?, Kastaniotis, 3rd edition, 2013
2013 – Chameleons. Kastaniotis, 2013, 2nd edition, 2014
2014 – Melissia. Kastaniotis, 2014, 2nd edition, 2015
2015 – The book of rain, Kastaniotis, 2015
2017 – Motel Morena, Kastaniotis, 2017
2018 – The man of the fifth act, Kastaniotis, 2018
2020 – Innocent Creatures, Kastaniotis, 2020
2021 – The White Room, Kastaniotis, 2021
2023 – I’ve been so many others, Kastaniotis, 2023
Novellas and short stories
2002 – Scorpio in the drawer (novella). Ellinika Grammata, editions
2005 – Zoi (novella). Minoas Editions
2007 – Stories for Lonely People (short stories), Topos editions
2010 – The errand boy – Kurtz Revisited (short story), Magic Box editions ("The Book of Evil") 2010 – Legendary Tales (short stories), Kastaniotis editions 2014 – Zoi (novella), Minoas Editions [re-issue, 2nd edition 2014]