Born in Leningrad in 1968, Anna Lidia Vega Serova grew up between Cuba and the former Soviet Union, settling in Havana in 1989. Her first book, Bad Painting, won Cuba’s prestigious Premio David in 1997 for best short story collection. She is the author of eight collections of short stories, two novels, and two volumes of poetry. “Paper Family” was originally published as “Estirpe de papel” in the collection Imperio doméstico (Letras Cubanas, 2005) and was reprinted as the title story of a 2013 collection from Ediciones Callejón. Also recognized as a painter, Vega Serova’s visual art has been featured in solo exhibitions in Cuba, Russia, and Colombia. A new edition of her novel Ánima fatua (Letras Cubanas, 2007) was published in 2017 by Editorial Felou.