Mindaugas Nastaravičius (Lithuania) Poet, playwright, and journalist Mindaugas Nastaravičius was born in Vilnius District Municipality in 1984. He graduated from Vilnius University with a degree in journalism in 2006 and studied philosophy during 2008–2010. In 2010, Nastaravičius won the First Book Competition organized by the Lithuanian Writers’ Union and subsequently published a collection of poems under the title Dėmėtųakių (“Stained Eyes”). This book received the Zigmas Gėlė prize for the best literary debut of the year. In 2014, he published his second poetry book Mo. The book was deemed by literature experts to be in the “top 5 poetry books of the year.” It was also listed as one of the “12 most creative books of the year” by the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore. In 2014, this work was also awarded the Young Yotvingian Prize of 2015. Mindaugas also works with four Lithuanian theaters that have staged four of his plays, Paukštyno bendrabutis (“The Dormitory of Poultry-Farm,” 2012, directed by V. Masalskis, Klaipėda Youth Theater), Kita mokykla (“The Other School,” 2013, directed by V. Masalskis, Klaipeda Youth Theater), Demokratija (“Democracy,” 2014, directed by P. Ignatavičius, the Lithuanian National Drama Theater), and Man netinka tavo kostiumas (“Your Suit Does Not Fit Me,” 2014, directed by V. Masalskis, Klaipeda Youth Theater). For the two latter plays, Mindaugas Nastaravičius received the Golden Stage Cross – the most prestigious Lithuanian theater prize – in 2015.
