Irina Kovalyova has a Master’s degree in Chemistry from Brown University, a doctoral degree in Microbiology from Queen’s and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. She is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at Simon Fraser University. She has previously interned for NASA and worked for two years as a Forensic DNA Analyst in New York City. She was born in Russia and currently lives in Vancouver with her partner and daughter. At Wordfest, she presents her first book, Specimen.

Specimen

The stories in Specimen are a unique exploration of science and the human heart. In “The Blood Keeper,” an academic travels to North Korea to work on her dissertation and embarks on a dangerous affair. In “Mamochka,” which was nominated for the 2012 Journey Prize, an archivist in Minsk must come to terms with her daughter’s marriage to a Chinese man. In “Peptide P,” scientists study a disease that affects children after they eat hotdogs. In “Side Effects,” a woman’s personality is altered, not necessarily for the better, by botox injections. In “The Big One,” a woman and her daughter find themselves trapped in a parking garage after an earthquake.