Lela Kurtanidze is an author, social worker, and civil activist in Georgia. Her debut poetry collection, “Melatonin” (Intelekti Publishing, 2021), was shortlisted for the Saba, Georgia’s most prestigious literary award, in 2022. Her poems have been featured in the German-language Anthology “Säe den Weizen, Ukraine” ( eds. Bela Chekurishvili and Sabine Schiffner, Klak Verlag, 2022) which includes lyrics by Georgian and Ukrainian authors, and in “The Anthology of Georgian Queer Poetry” (eds. Andro Dadiani, the Indigo Press, 2024). Lela Kurtanidze’s poems appear in various Georgian magazines. Her central themes are womanhood as an experience, the body, poverty, existence, gender-based constraints, protest, and the exploration of the world. She also writes blogs and reviews on gender issues and significant books.

Since 2020, she has been actively involved in protests against pro-Russian governance, which are periodically suppressed through violence. She also organizes regular support meetings for women and members of the queer community.

At present, she is at work on a second poetry collection and her first novel.

Lela’s residency is implemented within the framework of the ‘International Study Visit Programme’, one of the components of the Creative Compass Georgia project. This initiative offers creatives a unique opportunity to gain new knowledge and skills in the cultural and creative industries (CCI) through international exchange and collaboration.

Creative Compass Georgia project is funded by EU and co-funded and implemented by the Goethe-Institut Georgia.