Dark Shadows

As Kazakhstan gears up to go to the polls for a  presidential election  following the  resignation  of long-serving strongman Nursultan Nazarbayev, the country is heading into its most interesting and turbulent election in well over a decade. A polling station in Almaty, complete with balloons to create a festive atmosphere. For anyone interested in taking a deep dive into Kazakh political life ahead of the vote on June 9 th ,  Dark Shadows  is a great place to start.  Published  in October by Bloomsbury-owned I.B. Tauris, the book has proven so popular that the first edition has sold out and it’s just gone into a  second print run . Author Joanna Lillis has been covering presidential elections in Kazakhstan since  2005 , through first-hand, on-the-ground reporting that allows the opinions of Kazakhstan’s people about their political leaders shine through.  She traces the trajectory of Nazarbayev first breaking the 90%...

Since its publication in October, Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan has been snapped up by readers so eagerly that it is nearly sold out – so hurry up if you have yet to get your hands on a copy of the first edition! A second print run from Bloomsbury owned publishing house I.B. Tauris is in the works and will be out very soon. Here you can see a  sneak preview  of the cover of the second edition with an endorsement from a  Spectator review  by  Peter Frankopan , historian and best-selling author of  The Silk Roads  and  The New Silk Roads , who describes Dark Shadows as “astute, refreshing and revelatory”. Dark Shadows has also been given a rave review in the  Times Literary Supplement  recently (subscribers only), and a write-up in  Literary Review , which found that author Joanna Lillis “refreshes our knowledge of important events in Kazakhstan’s history, such as the evaporation of the Aral Sea and th...

Check out the latest reviews of  Dark Shadows  in the international media! The book has recently been reviewed by two renowned historians, Peter Frankopan and Alexander Morrison, both of Oxford University.  Dark Shadows meets The Silk Roads - Joanna Lillis meets Peter Frankopan in Oxford in November 2018 Writing in  The Spectator , Peter Frankopan described  Dark Shadows as “ astute, refreshing and revelatory”, and also “surprisingly tender, showing not only [Lillis’s] affection but her care in trying to make sense of a country that needs to be understood warts and all”.  “She introduces a cast of characters one could not make up, from an Old Believer living in the north of the country to a militant atheist, whose grim convictions are not entirely appealing,” he continues. “We meet those suffering from the effects of Soviet-era nuclear experiments and children infected with HIV in a blood scandal, whose dignity in the face of injustice and trag...

Joanna Lillis, the author of the best-selling  Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan , has completed her successful tour of the USA following the book's North American publication on 30 January.  Dark Shadows arrives in the Big Apple! Here we publish links to videos of two events, so you can watch on catch-up if you missed them on the day. Joanna Lillis in conversation with Alex Cooley at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University, New York Here’s a  link   to video of a  Q and A   with Alex Cooley about  Dark Shadows  at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University in New York, where you can hear how the book came about and learn more about the diverse, from-the-ground reportage that it contains, if you missed the event on the day.  Kazakhstan’s Quest for Identity at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University And here’s a   link   to the author’s   presentation...

Joanna Lillis has been interviewed on  talkRADIO   about  Dark Shadows,  which the presenter of the station’s Late Late Early Early Show, Paul Ross described as a “jaw-droppingly good” book that is both “informative” and “heart-breaking”– so if you haven’t got your copy, buy it now!  Tell us all about Dark Shadows... You can tune in to the interview at this   link – make sure you access the 26 th February episode, click on the 0300-0330 slot and the interview with the author is 14 minutes in.

Joanna Lillis, the author of the best-selling Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan , will be embarking of a tour of the USA following the book's North American publication on 30 January. Dark Shadows spotted at Niagara Falls, Canadian side. The tour begins in Tucson, Arizona on February 4, when Joanna Lillis will address students from the University of Arizona on Building a Career in Journalism Abroad at 12.00pm in the UA book store. The tour arrives in Washington DC on February 6. On that day, the author will be addressing the RAND Corporation  (this is a private event) . On February 7, Joanna Lillis will be  speaking at an event hosted by George Washington University's Central Asia Program, where she will present  Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan . It will be held in the  Voesar Conference Room, Suite 412 and it starts at 4.00pm (this event is open to all).  On February 8, she will be speaking at a round table on...

Kazakhstan's troubled 20th century history was in the spotlight when Joanna Lillis, author of Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan, was interviewed for Nick Shepley's excellent Explaining History  podcast. Click here to tune into the podcast.