Reflections on Creative Nonfiction, Memoir, (Auto)Biography, Life-Writing, and the Essay
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.
13 Aug 2012 at 16:15
Julija Šukys
Biography, E-books, Eastern Europe, Epistolophilia, Friendship, Life-writing, Lithuania, Memory, Ona Šimaitė, Research, Uncategorized, Vilna Ghetto, Vilnius, Writing
A friend wrote me that she’d bought the Kindle version of Epistolophilia. She commented: “Really easy to read writing and I love the conversational style you use, although such a heavy topic. I find I have to read in doses. How did you keep from getting swallowed by sorrow while doing all the work and [...]
30 Jun 2012 at 11:23
Julija Šukys
Archives, CNF Conversations, Creative Nonfiction, Eastern Europe, Ellen Cassedy, Interviews, Journeys, Judaism, Language and Multilingualism, Lithuania, Translation, Uncategorized, Villages, Vilna Ghetto, Vilnius, Yiddish
We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust. University of Nebraska Press, 2012. We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust tells the story of Ellen Cassedy’s personal journey into the Jewish heartland of Lithuania – the land of her Jewish forebears – and then expands into an exploration of how Lithuania today is engaging with [...]
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 [...]
04 May 2012 at 21:41
Julija Šukys
Canada, Eastern Europe, Epistolophilia, Interviews, Uncategorized, Vilnius
I’m home. It’s been almost 9 months, and we’re home! I’ll tell you all about our epic journey back from Gozo and about our impressions after such a long absence once I’ve processed the change and had a moment to reflect. But for now, here’s an interview with me that appeared recently in VilNews. It’s [...]
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 [...]
29 Mar 2012 at 07:00
Julija Šukys
Antanas Sileika, Creative Nonfiction, Eastern Europe, Epistolophilia, Letters, Life-writing, Ona Šimaitė, Reviews, Uncategorized, Vilnius, Writing
The insightful and generous writer Antanas Sileika offers his read of two new books about Jewish Lithuania published by the University of Nebraska Press. One is mine, Epistolophilia: Writing the Life of Ona Šimaitė. The other is Ellen Cassedy’s We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust. Sileika is an accomplished writer, with four books [...]
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 [...]
11 Oct 2011 at 04:10
Julija Šukys
Academia, Archives, Autobiography, Beth Kaplan, Biography, Children, CNF Conversations, Creative Nonfiction, Domesticity, Eastern Europe, Exile, Friendship, Journalism, Journeys, Language and Multilingualism, Lituanus, Marketing, Memoir, Publishing, Rejection, Research, Russia, Theatre, Translation, Uncategorized, Vilnius
Beth Kaplan, Finding the Jewish Shakespeare: The Life and Legacy of Jacob Gordin. Syracuse University Press, 2007 (Paperback 2012). * This is Part II of a two-part interview with Beth Kaplan about her book, Finding the Jewish Shakespeare. Click here to read Part I. Julija Šukys: My second question about language is about your relationship [...]
