With Constantia Soteriou, for whom reading and writing are a way of life, Politis to the Point continues its festive series of mini-interviews, shining a spotlight on the book as the most meaningful holiday gift. In this period of reflection and introspection, Soteriou shares the books that accompany her life, the ones she gives as gifts, and those she lets “walk on their own.”
"The joy of the holidays," she says, "is for all of us to have a book in our hands".
Constantia Soteriou breathes, reads and writes. She writes, reads and breathes. She cannot do otherwise. At this time, as she goes through a period of reflection and introspection, she translates, reads extensively and allows her books to walk on their own. And as the festive season approaches, she speaks about what, as she says, remains the most meaningful gift.
“I do not think there is a more important gift than a book,” she says. “It takes you on a journey, entertains you and keeps you company.” Perhaps this is why she continues to give books as gifts, still remembering the warmth they offered her as a child. And perhaps this is why she loves receiving them so much. “For me, a book is a precious gift.”
These days she is reading Betty Boo by Claudia Piñeiro. Latin American writers always win her over. “I learn so much from them,” she says. “Each time I return different.” During the holidays, books are shared around the house. She gives young adult novels to her children, while for her husband she chooses books of broader political and social reflection. “There is no greater joy than for all of us to be together during the holidays with a book in our hands.”
After an intense publishing year, she is in no hurry to return with a new work. The children’s book John’s Blanket and the novel The Head of Chatsworth were published over the past twelve months, and she feels grateful for their journey so far. “Now it is time for the books to walk,” she says. She continues to work on translations of her work and to read widely. “It is a period of reflection and introspection.”
The most recent book she received as a gift was The Years Run Loose by Dionysis Savvopoulos, given to her by her publishers at Patakis, during a recent trip to Athens. Another book added to the tower of those waiting to be read.
For Constantia Soteriou, the book is memory, refuge and conversation. And perhaps this is why every winter and every celebration has room for one more book.
Bio
Constantia Soteriou was born in Nicosia. She is a graduate of the Department of Turkish and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cyprus and holds a Master’s degree in Middle Eastern History from the University of Manchester. She works at the Press and Information Office of the Republic of Cyprus.
She has published the books Ayşe Goes on Holiday (2015), Voices from Earth (2017), Bitter Country (2019), Brandy Sour (2022) (translated in English, Arabic and Danish and will be published in French) and «Η κεφαλή του Τσάτσγουερθ» (The Head of Chatsworth) (2025) (will be translated in French in 20226), all with Patakis Publishers. She has received literary awards in Cyprus and abroad. .
She has also written the children’s book John’s Blanket (2024), as well as plays and short stories that have been translated into many languages.