Chiladze was born in
Sighnaghi, a town in
Kakheti, the easternmost province of then-
Soviet Georgia. He graduated from the
Tbilisi State University with a degree in journalism in 1956. His works, primary poetry, first appeared in the 1950s. At the same time, Chiladze engaged in literary journalism, working for leading magazines in
Tbilisi. He gained popularity with his series of lengthy, atmospheric novels, such as
A Man Was Going Down the Road (1972–3),
Everyone That Findeth Me (1976),
Avelum (1995), and others. He was a chief editor of the literary magazine
Mnatobi since 1997. Chiladze also published several collections of poems and plays. He was awarded the
Shota Rustaveli Prize in 1983 and the State Prize of Georgia in 1993. His elder brother
Tamaz Chiladze was also a writer. ==Reception and legacy==