Maryna and Serhiy Dyachenko

Spouses Maryna Yuryivna Dyachenko (born 23 January 1968) and Serhiy Serhiyovych Dyachenko (14 April 1945 – 5 May 2022) (Marina Yuryevna Dyachenko (Shirshova) and Sergey Sergeyevich Dyachenko) (rus. Марина и Сергей Дяченко, ukr. Марина та Сергій Дяченки) are co-authors of fantasy literature from Ukraine writing in Russian.

Three of their novels have been translated into English.

Later, Serhiy Dyachenko working as a writer and screenwriter, together with director Anatoliy Borsyuk and cinematographer Oleksandr Frolov, was awarded the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine in 1987 for "The Star of Vavilov" (Russian: "Звезда Вавилова") about the life of imprisoned Russian agronomist Nikolai Vavilov.

The film was produced by the Kyiv Studio of Popular Science Films.

Serhiy graduated from the Faculty of Scriptwriting of the All-Russian State University of Cinematography in 1989.

Maryna Dyachenko graduated from the Theatre Institute of Kyiv in 1989 and worked as a professional theatre and cinema actress.

The Dyachenkos describe their work as "M-realism" with the 'M' "open to interpretation."

The Gate-Keeper (Привратник), their first novel, was published in 1994.

It received the Crystal Table prize (Хрустальный стол) at the book festival Zoryany Schlyach, and the novel was awarded the title "Best Debut Work" at the EuroCon competition in 1995.

The Gate-keeper became the first novel in the Dyachenkos' fantasy tetralogy Wanderers ("Скитальцы").

The Ritual (Ритуал) (1996) is about a princess and a dragon, the latter half-human.

The novel received little attention and was not awarded any prizes.

With publishing of The Scar (Шрам) (1997), the sequel of The Gate-Keeper, the Dyachenkos established themselves as masters of psychological fantastic fiction.

The Scar has received the "Sword in the Stone" award for best fantasy novel in 1997.

Age of the Witch (1997) (Ведьмин век) involves characters from a number of mythologies, most prominently Slavonic.

It received a literature award from the magazine Rainbow (Радуга) in 1997 and the "Zilantkon" -"Great Zilant" prize (Зиланткон — Большой Зилант) in Kazan in 1998.

The Cave (1998) (Пещера) was awarded the "Moon Sword" prize in 1999 for the best work of "mystical literature" published between 1997 and 1999.

Burned Tower (1998) (Горелая Башня) received a prize at Interpresscon competition in 1999.

The Frontier (1999) (Рубеж), written with A. Valentinov (А.Валентиновым) and H. L. Oldie (Г. Л. Олди), was awarded the Golden Caduceus prize at the festival "Star Bridge - 2000".

The Execution (1999) (Казнь) received a "The Wаnderer" award in 2000 and the Reader Appreciation award "Sigma-F" in 2000 as the Novel of the Year.

Armaged-Home (Армагед-дом) (1999), a work of social science fiction, takes place over a number of periods encompassing the life of its heroine and the society in which she lives.

In the opinion of many critics and readers, it is one of the best of their novels.

The Green Card (2000) (Зелёная карта), later adapted into a screenplay, is a work of realist fiction about residents of Kyiv who have received an opportunity to immigrate to the United States.

Magicians Can Do Anything (2001) (Магам можно всё) was awarded the "Golden Caduceus" award at the 2001 Golden Bridge festival.

Valley of the Conscience (Долина Совести) was awarded the Bronze Snail, Russian science fiction - 2002, Sigma-F, and the "Golden Caduceus" award at the Golden Bridge 2002 festival.

Pandem (Пандем) took the "Silver Caduceus" prize at the 2003 Star Bridge 2003 festival.

Varan (Варан) was awarded the "Bronze Caduceus" prize at the 2004 Star Bridge festival.

At the World and All-European Science Fiction Convention Eurocon 2005 in Glasgow, Marina and Serhiy Dyachenko were recognized as the best science fiction writers in Europe.

The Dyachenkos are from Kyiv, Ukraine.

The Pentacle (Пентакль), co-written A. Valentinov (А.Валентиновым) and G. L. Oldi (Г. Л. Олди), was awarded the "Golden Caduceus" prize at the 2005 Star Bridge festival.

Wild Energy. Lana (March 2006) (Дика Енергія. Лана) is a fairy tale influenced by the music of the Ukrainian singer Ruslana (Руслана), to whom the authors dedicated the work.

It was awarded the "Bronze Caduceus" prize at the 2006 Star Bridge festival.

The Key of the Kingdom (Ключ от королевства) and its sequel Oberon's Word (Слово Оберона) appeared in 2006.

The Copper King, a fantasy novel loosely connected to it, was published in 2008.

For four years, they lived in Russia, then moved to California, United States in 2013.

Serhiy Dyachenko died on 5 May 2022 in the United States.

Serhiy Dyachenko graduated from Kyiv Medical Institute and worked as a psychiatrist.

Without defining the meaning of the "M", in 2014 Sergey Dyachenko explained it as "Marina's realism", expanding "that's where the romanticism comes from, and the stubborn humanism, and the hope for white magic and a better tomorrow."

Their work have been subject to scholarly analysis.

In a 2019 profile, Julia Meitov Hersey summarized their collaboration as follows: "It is thanks to Sergey’s skills of writing solid plots that Marina’s beautiful aethereal worlds have such a strong structure, a foundation built on the characters’ flesh and bone, their blood and tears. Their ideal fantasy is a story of a real person in a chimerical world."