Reflections on Creative Nonfiction, Memoir, (Auto)Biography, Life-Writing, and the Essay
15 Feb 2013 at 10:26
Julija Šukys
Blurbs, Canada, CanLit, Editing, Libraries, Marketing, Media, Publicity, Publishing, Research, Social Media, Uncategorized, Writing
OK, so as authors we are told constantly that we have to market our own books. The publishing industry, for better or worse, has largely washed its hands of promotion, except for the lucky and most commercial few. The rest of us are largely on our own. Authors must have a website (check), keep [...]
07 Dec 2012 at 19:56
Julija Šukys
Canada, CanLit, Contests and Prizes, Creative Nonfiction, Eastern Europe, Epistolophilia, Letters, Libraries, Ona Šimaitė, Vilna Ghetto, Vilnius, Writing
As I posted on Facebook, I will admit that my hands shook for a while after learning the news that my book, Epistolophilia: Writing the Life of Ona Šimaitė has been long-listed for the Charles Taylor Prize in Literary Non-Fiction. It’s an enormous honour. THE CHARLES TAYLOR PRIZE commemorates Charles Taylor’s pursuit of excellence in [...]
20 Sep 2012 at 20:18
Julija Šukys
Archives, Biography, Canada, Catholicism, Creative Nonfiction, Eastern Europe, Epistolophilia, Feminism, France, Friendship, Jerusalem, Journeys, Language and Multilingualism, Letters, Libraries, Life-writing, Lithuania, Memoir, Mothering, Ona Šimaitė, Paris, Translation, Uncategorized, Vilna Ghetto, Vilnius, Writing
Thanks to Ramunė Jonaitienė for this review in Tėviškės Žiburiai, the Lithuanian-Canadian weekly newspaper. Among the phrases I’m really grateful for is her description of my tone as “calm.” Ačiū, TŽ.
18 Jun 2012 at 09:43
Julija Šukys
Canada, Children, Domesticity, Epistolophilia, Events, Gardening, Libraries, Mothering, Ona Šimaitė, Publicity, Publishing, Uncategorized
It’s been an amazing few weeks: there have been fantastic reviews of my book Epistolophilia appearing from coast to coast. I’ve been out to British Columbia, where I gave my first real public reading at the beautiful Vancouver Public Library, and we launched the book with a splash on June 7, 2012 in Montreal. It [...]
03 Jun 2012 at 13:05
Julija Šukys
Academia, Archives, Biography, Canada, Children, Creative Nonfiction, Domesticity, Eastern Europe, Editing, Epistolophilia, Essays, Exile, Feminism, France, Interviews, Journeys, Language and Multilingualism, Letters, Libraries, Life-writing, Lithuania, Marketing, Media, Mothering, Ona Šimaitė, Publicity, Publishing, Research, Reviews, Uncategorized, Vilna Ghetto, Vilnius, Virginia Woolf, Writing
Here’s an interview I did with ForeWord Reviews, a great publication that focuses on books published by independent presses. You can access the original here (scroll down to the bottom of the page): Conversational interviews with great writers who have earned a review in ForeWord Reviews. Our editorial mission is to continuously increase attention to [...]
15 May 2012 at 09:55
Julija Šukys
Archives, Canada, Epistolophilia, Events, Letters, Libraries, Uncategorized
Julija Sukys: Writing the Life of Ona Simaite, Vilna Ghetto Rescuer Vancouver Public Library Free Event Tuesday, May 29, 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Peter Kaye Room, Lower Level Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. Please join Montreal writer Julija Šukys for a reading and discussion of her new book Epistolophilia: Writing the Life of [...]
22 Apr 2012 at 16:22
Julija Šukys
Archives, Biography, Canada, Eastern Europe, Epistolophilia, France, Interviews, Journeys, Letters, Libraries, Media, Ona Šimaitė, Publicity, Radio, Uncategorized, Vilna Ghetto, Vilnius
Last week I had the pleasure and privilege of making a whirlwind trip to CBC’s studios in London, England, where I had an appointment record an interview with Michael Enright, the host of CBC Radio One’s Sunday Edition. I’ve heard other writers talk about what a pleasure radio interviews can be. This certainly was the [...]
16 Feb 2012 at 06:31
Julija Šukys
Archives, Biography, Children, Countdown to Publication, Creative Nonfiction, Domesticity, Eastern Europe, Epistolophilia, Friendship, Funding, Journeys, Letters, Libraries, Life-writing, Lithuania, Marketing, Memoir, Mothering, Ona Šimaitė, Publicity, Publishing, Research, SheWrites, Silence is Death, Uncategorized, Vilna Ghetto, Vilnius, Writing
The day before yesterday I received a note from my publisher saying that copies of my book had arrived in the warehouse, and that I could begin announcing its publication. Though my official date of publication is March 1, 2012, the baby’s come early. It’s a strange and great feeling to know that my book [...]
19 Jan 2012 at 04:22
Julija Šukys
Academia, Algeria, Archives, Biography, Catholicism, Children, Christianity, Countdown to Publication, Creative Nonfiction, Domesticity, Eastern Europe, Editing, Epistolophilia, Grad School, Journeys, Libraries, Lithuania, Mothering, Ona Šimaitė, Paris, Research, Residencies and Fellowships, Russia, Saints, SheWrites, Siberia, Silence is Death, Tahar Djaout, Uncategorized, Writing
This is Who-Man. My son and I invented him over breakfast this morning. Who-Man is a superhero whose arch-enemy is a many-eyed monster called “Crime.” Who-Man wears a bumpy suit (as you can see in Sebastian’s rendition of him above). The suit can shoot fire, but our hero rarely has to use this weapon. He [...]
29 Dec 2011 at 09:31
Julija Šukys
Biography, Contests and Prizes, Countdown to Publication, Editing, Epistolophilia, Funding, Journeys, Libraries, Poetry, Rejection, Research, Residencies and Fellowships, SheWrites, Uncategorized, Writing, Yiddish
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I couldn’t have written Epistolophilia without writers’ grants and research fellowships. A number of different arts agencies and institutions — these are listed in the Acknowledgements to my book — helped me pay for plane tickets, get paper for printing, buy time for writing, and (perhaps [...]
