Author Alexis Stamatis dies

Author Alexis Stamatis has died at the age of 66 following a battle with a rare blood disorder that he had been facing in recent years.

Alexis Stamatis was born in Athens and was the son of architect Kostas Stamatis and renowned actress Betty Arvaniti. He studied Architecture at the National Technical University of Athens and continued his studies in London, focusing on architecture and cinema. He worked as an architect in Greece and the United Arab Emirates.

He published 20 novels and 34 books in total. His first, The Seventh Elephant (1998), was published in the United Kingdom. His second, Bar Flaubert (2000), was published in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria and Serbia.

Alexis Stamatis – A rich body of work

He published six poetry collections. His novel American Fugue was released in the United States in 2008, after winning the International Literature Award from the National Endowment for the Arts. His novel Villa Cobre was shortlisted for the National Book Centre of Greece Readers’ Award in 2007. In 1994, he received the City of Athens Poetry Prize in memory of Nikiforos Vrettakos for his second collection, Interior Architecture. His children’s novel Alkis and the Labyrinth won First Prize from the Greek Children’s Book Circle.

His monologue Last Martha was presented in 2004 as part of the Cultural Olympiad and was staged in 2008 at the Kefallinias Street Theatre, directed by Vicky Georgiadou and performed by Christos Stergioglou. His plays Tear Gas and Kill What You Love, directed by Aris TrouLpakis, were staged at the same theatre in 2010 and 2012 respectively. His monologue Midnight in a Perfect World was staged at the Karolos Koun Art Theatre in 2013, directed by Aris TrouLpakis.

His play Melissia was presented as part of the “Readings” programme at the National Theatre and was staged there in May 2019, starring his mother, Betty Arvaniti.

His play Innerview was staged in the winter of 2014 at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation, directed by Lilly Meleme. He also wrote the screenplay for the film Storm, directed by Haris Patramanis, which was approved under the Greek Film Centre’s “Horizons” programme.

His poems have been translated and published in the United Kingdom.

He represented Greece on numerous occasions at international literary conferences. In April 2013, he spoke at the European Parliament as part of the event “Four Writers from the South Speak About the Crisis”. That same year, his one-act play Innerview was performed at London’s Southbank Centre.

In recent years, he contributed to magazines and newspapers on art and culture. He represented Greece many times at international literary conferences and taught Creative Writing at Athens College-Psychico College and the Herakleidon Museum.

His final novel, The Child and the Angel, was published in March 2025 by Metaichmio.

Culture Minister Lina Mendoni on the death of Alexis Stamatis

Upon learning of Alexis Stamatis’s death, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni issued the following statement:

“I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Alexis Stamatis, an important voice in Greek letters. Over the course of his long career, Alexis Stamatis worked across every literary form, from prose and poetry to children’s literature, theatre and screenwriting, while also maintaining, through his regular public interventions, a substantive voice on public affairs.

“By frequently transforming his personal experiences into literature, Alexis Stamatis developed a distinctive style, often elliptical but never verbose, which was present in every one of his works. Through his many years of dedication to writing, he leaves us a rich and multifaceted body of work, combining his innate talent with a constant engagement with the craft of writing and an unwavering interest in experimentation and new creative endeavours across every form of expression.

“His untimely death deprives us of a creator at the height of his maturity and inspiration, who still had much more to offer. He was one of those rare figures who deservedly combined the affection of the reading public with institutional recognition.

“To his mother, Betty Arvaniti, his wife, Eva Simatou, and his many dear friends, I extend my sincerest condolences.”