Iva Pezuashvili is a contemporary Georgian writer and screenwriter. Born in 1990, Iva’s writing career kicked off in 2014, when his debut book of short stories I Tried was published by Intelekti. His short story Tsa was one of 10 short stories by Georgian writers published in 2018 by British publishers Comma Press in the collection The Book of Tbilisi, and one of seven short stories in the collection Georgien - Eine literarische Einladung (Literature Invitation to Georgia) by German publishers Klaus Wagenbach. In 2018 he won a scholarship for the international writing program at the University of Iowa, United States, followed by a residency at Residencia Literaria 1863 in La Coruña, Spain. In 2018 his first novel, Gospel of the Underground, was published by Intelekti, and it was shortlisted for every one of the country’s major literature awards. With his last novel, A garbage chute, Iva won the EUPL 2022, as well as other literary awards, including the Tsinandali Award for best prose, and in 2021 he won the Special Jury Prize of the SABA award.

A graduate of the Feature Film Department of Shota Rustaveli Cinema and Theatre University, Iva is also the author of several TV series and films in Georgia. In 2011, Iva won the Autumn Legend, the student literature competition, with his short story Alchu (Lucky Toss). Based on this short story, he shot his first movie, Babazi. Among others, he also worked as a screenwriter and director for one of Georgia’s most popular film series Tiflis between 2014 and 2016.