Demosthenes Kourtovik was born in 1948 in Athens and after natural science studies in his native city and in Stuttgart, he received his doctorate in anthropology from the University of Wroclaw. He is known as a writer, critic, translator of sixty-two books from eight languages, as well as a literary reviewer for the leading papers Eleutherotypia and Ta Nea. His collection of short stories Three Thousand Kilometres was followed by the novels The Last Earthquake, The Greek Autumn of Eva-Anita Bengston, Stardust, and a book of essays It's Over. His most recent novel is The Longing of the Dragons. Demosthenes Kourtovik lives in Athens.