Author: Marsha

I write historical fiction, mostly from the perspective of young people who are thrust in the midst of war.

Redress for WWI Internment of Ukrainians in Canada

My grandfather, George Forchuk (Yurij Feschuk) was imprisoned at Jasper Internment Camp during World War I. He wasn’t interned for doing something wrong. He was interned for being Ukrainian. The conditions at the camp were so brutal that he escaped as bullets whizzed past his ears. He went into hiding, changing his name from Yurij Feschuk to George Forchuk. When the war ended, he went back to his homestead, but it was his no more. It had been given to another family. So penniless and broken, he had to start anew. It took him three decades to recoup his loss.

My grandfather’s heartbreak was just one of many. 80,000 immigrants were branded “enemy aliens” during WWI and had to carry papers and report regularly to the police. 8,000 immigrants were unjustly interned, including women, children and even babies born in Canada.

Today, the Honourable Jason Kenney, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity) signed an agreement with the Ukrainian Canadian community for a 10 million dollar endowment to the Shevchenko Foundation. This endowment will be made available in perpetuity to support educational and research projects about WWI internment.

Kudos to UCCLA, UCC and the Shevchenko Foundation for their dogged negotiations.

Huge thanks to Inky Mark, whose independent member’s bill C-331, got the whole thing rolling.

Congratulations to Prime Minister Harper, Jason Kenney, and the Conservative government for doing the right thing.

pysanky and Prisoners

I got my first advance copy of my Dear Canada novel, Prisoners in the Promised Land, on Tuesday.

I drove in to Toronto and my editor took me out for lunch and gave it to me. It is beautiful!!! It won’t be officially released until October 1, but the rest of the advance copies should be coming in shortly.

My pencil sketches turned out surprisingly well, and I LOVE the red cover and ribbon and the girl on the cover is so perfect.This novel was the most intensive one I have ever worked on in terms of editing, historical nit-picking, fact-checking, etc, but I am thrilled with the outcome.

On the spur of the moment on holiday Monday, I decided to make a Ukrainian Easter egg for my editor, seeing as they feature in the story. I only had omega 3 eggs, with a stamping in blue saying “omega 3” but I didn’t want to get dressed and go to the store so I risked removing the stamping with Windex. And then I couldn’t find my trusty electric kistka so had to use the old fashioned kistkas with a candle. Halfway through I thought I’d better make one for the publisher too. They both turned out beautifully! I think I’ll stick to the old kistkas and maybe always use omega 3 eggs. Ha!

Here they are:

And here’s one that I did a few months ago:

p6

Aram’s Choice teacher’s guide

arams-choiceAram’s Choice

written by Marsha Skrypuch 
illustrated Muriel Wood

Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2006
New Beginnings Series

isbn: 1550419013 (hardcover) 
isbn: 155041903X (paperback).

Pre-Reading Activities

Look at the cover. What do you think the story will be about? Think of the title and then read the blurb on the back of the book. What do you think “choice” refers to? Have you ever had to make a choice? What were the circumstances? Is choice always about good and bad? What other things can it be about? 
Continue reading “Aram’s Choice teacher’s guide”

question about picture books

The other day I had an interesting question via email:

“In your writing tips, you warned against submitting photos or pictures with the text — commissioning your sister-in-law to paint some pictures for the book, for example, is a bad idea.
However, what if the pictures are your own drawings, and you want to be an illustrator as much as you want to be a writer?”

Here is my answer:

There is one exception to never sending in illustrations, and that’s if you’re a professional artist. Even so, the best way to handle it is to submit the story without illustrations, but to mention in your cover letter that you are an artist. If you have a sample that can be viewed online, give them the url.

Another way around it is to submit your art portfolio without your story.

If you’re an illustrator, consider making up postcards and sending them out to editors.

The reason you don’t want to submit both at the same time is because it gives them two reasons to reject you. What if they hate the story but love the illos or visa versa? That said, there are some publishers who specifically request submissions from people who are both author and illustrators. Those ones should be on the top of your “to submit” list.

Good luck with your submissions!