Hardworking, multifaceted, creative - such definitions come to mind when you get acquainted with the activities of the Russian writer Dmitry Bykov. It is always interesting to know how such individuals have achieved success and how they make their living.
Dmitry Bykov: biography and personal life
Dmitry Lvovich Bykov was born on December 20, 1967 in the capital of the USSR in the family of the doctor Lev Iosifovich Zilbertrud and the teacher of literature and Russian language Natalia Iosifovna Bykova. The parents divorced shortly after the birth of Dmitry, and Natalia took over the upbringing of the boy entirely. From his mother, Bykov received not only his surname, but also love for the Russian language, oratory and writing. We can safely say that Dmitry's success in adulthood is the fruit of the example and good upbringing of his mother.
Even in childhood, the future writer showed himself as an intelligent and disciplined person. He studied at school with excellent marks, received a gold medal and easily entered the Faculty of Journalism, the Department of Literary Criticism at Moscow State University. From the third year he was drafted into the army for two years, after which he completed his studies at the university and received a red diploma.
In his student years, he demonstrated a love of literature, became a member of a poetry circle. At the age of 18 (from the first year) he wrote actively for the newspaper "Interlocutor", and after graduation in 1991 he became a member of the Writers' Union of the USSR. Already in 1992, he began active work on radio and television, at the same time conducting educational activities in schools and universities. According to Dmitry himself, he always considered teaching the most useful and meaningful of his studies, and he does it with great pleasure.
Dmitry Bykov is married three times. From his second marriage with Irina Vladimirovna Lukyanova, he left two children - a daughter and a son. In 2019, the 52-year-old writer married a young 22-year-old graduate of Moscow State University, Ekaterina Teimurazovna Kevkhishvili. Dmitry describes the development of relations with her in the story "The Aliens."
Areas of activity and earnings
Many readers who are interested in the life of a writer are interested in how and how much Dmitry Bykov earns, what activities bring him the greatest income. He showed his best side in many areas: journalism, poetry, literary criticism, journalism, radio and television appearances. One cannot fail to note his work in the political direction: he is an opposition activist who openly opposes the existing political system in Russia in general and the presidency of Vladimir Putin in particular.
Despite the variety of areas of activity in which Dmitry Leonidovich works and takes part, he himself considers himself to be a poets, since he considers poetry the most prestigious profession in Russia. At the same time, writing does not bring him a lot of money, but this fact does not upset Dmitry at all: on the contrary, he believes that taking money for literature is not entirely correct, this is the same as taking payment “for love”. Novels and poems are written when a muse, inspiration comes, and accordingly it is impossible to provide a stable income with this occupation. In addition, it may take more than one year to write a high-quality work, but somehow you also need to earn money at this time. Nevertheless, in addition to royalties from the sale of books, Dmitry also earns on his poems: 1.5 hours of listening to the famous poet from the stage can cost the audience up to 3.5 thousand rubles.
Dmitry has been asked more than once how much damage is caused by Internet piracy, because his books are illegally distributed in free sources. He himself does not consider losses, does not want to fight this and does not advise others to do it, because the distribution of a book on the Internet (albeit illegal) is one of the main indicators of the author's recognition as a wonderful writer, interesting to a wide audience. In his opinion, copyright strongly hinders the intellectual development of the population and does not bring any positive consequences.
Dmitry himself says that his main income comes from journalism and teaching. Paying for a few magazine articles equates to five years of writing a big novel. According to unconfirmed reports, Bykov can receive up to 500 thousand rubles for one article. Literature courses also bring him significant sums. At the beginning of 2020, for example, a course on teaching the technique of writing a short story begins, which will consist of two sessions of 2.5 hours each. The course of the famous writer (5 hours of lectures) will cost each participant 9 thousand rubles. One month of classes in the direction of "Literary workshop" in the Moscow "New School" cost students 5 thousand rubles. Few lecturers and teachers can boast of such income.
Awards and awards
Dmitry Bykov is a laureate of many prestigious literary awards, which cannot be ignored when analyzing his income. He won the A. and B. Strugatsky International Literary Prize four times (in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2013), the fund of which amounts to several hundred thousand rubles, twice the owner of the Big Snail with a prize of 50 thousand rubles. But the most ambitious literary prize can be called "Big Book" - in 2006 Dmitry received 3,000,000 rubles for the biography of the writer Boris Pasternak, in 2011 - 1,000,000 rubles for the work "Ostromov, or the Sorcerer's Apprentice", in 2018 - 1 000 000 rubles for the novel "June". Thus, the popular Russian publicist clearly does not live a poor life, receiving significant income from the sale of his books, speeches, articles, courses, lectures and awards.
