Igor Sakhnovsky studied Philology at Ural State University, and went on to serve as scientific and chief editor at the Academy of Sciences, as well as directing the journal, Book Club. He has been published in a number of leading literary journals, both Russian and foreign. His novel, The Vital Needs of the Dead, was published in 1999 in the journal New World and subsequently translated into English. In 2002, Igor Sakhnovsky was awarded a Fellowship by the Hawthornden International Retreat for Writers (UK). Since then, he has been a finalist for both the National Bestseller Prize (2006) and the Russian Booker Prize (2007), among numerous other awards. In 2008, his novel The Man Who Knew Everything was turned into a screenplay.