Category: News stories

Author completes Second World War trilogy

by Michelle Ruby, Brantford Expositor.

The release of the third book in a Second World War trilogy by city author Marsha Skrypuch couldn’t be more timely.

The young readers’ novel, Underground Soldier, tells the story of the terrorization, enslavement and killing of Ukrainians by both the Soviets and the Nazis.

The underground army formed by Ukrainians included people of many nationalities and ages with one thing in common — the desire to live in a democratic country.

“This parallels the Euromaidan conflict where regular people of all ages and nationalities took to the streets and proclaimed they would rather die than take the corruption anymore,” said Skrypuch. “It just goes to show how timely history can be.”

Underground Soldier is the story of 14-year-old Luka, who works as an Ostarbeiter in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe, alongside Lida from Making Bombs for Hitler, the second book in the trilogy, which began with Stolen Child.

Desperate to escape the brutal conditions of a Nazi slave camp, Luka manages to break free by hiding in a truck under a pile of dead bodies and joins a group of Ukrainian resistance fighters.

Caught between advancing Nazis in the west and Soviet troops in the east, they mount guerrilla raids, help POW escapees and do all they can to make life hard for the Nazis and Soviets. After the war, Luka must decide whether to follow Lida to Canada or stay in Europe and search for his long-lost mother.

“They were 10 years in the making,” said Skrypuch of the trilogy. “Finishing it feels like a relief but there is also a sadness. The characters were in my head for so long.”

Underground Soldier is the prolific, award-winning city author’s 18th published book.

Skrypuch will be in Toronto on Wednesday as one of five nominees for the $25,000 Kobzar Literary Award for Making Bombs for Hitler. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to Canadian literary arts by an author who develops a Ukrainian Canadian theme with literary merit in one of several genres, including literary non-fiction, fiction, poetry, young readers’ literature, plays, screenplays and musicals.

Although Skrypuch said she has written more on Ukraine than anyone else in Canada, this is her first nomination for the biennial Kobzar.

Most of Skrypuch’s works are fiction but she bases all of her stories on detailed research. Of great help on Underground Soldier, she said, was Peter J. Potichnyj, professor emeritus at McMaster University who was a teen soldier in the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and has written extensively about it.

Skrypuch said she is closely following the ongoing demonstrations and revolution in Ukraine.

“I’m so proud of the people. It’s a very civil revolution. All they want is freedom. It’s a wave of democracy. In the long run, it’s the most beautiful thing that could possibly have happened to Ukraine.”

In the meantime, acclaim for Skrypuch’s books continues. The non-fiction One Step at a Time, which is based on Brantford resident Tuyet Yurczyszyn, is shortlisted for the Silver Birch award with winners to be announced in May.

She also has a new young adult novel scheduled for release in August to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War. Dance of the Banished is partly set in Brantford.

michelle.ruby@sunmedia.ca

 

Best moment of the OLA superconference

The very best moment of the OLA Superconference? It came after the Thursday morning Forest of Reading winners’ panel discussion.

I had spoken of my Ukrainian mother-in-law, who lived through WWII, surviving both the Nazis and the Soviets. Just before she died, asked me to write about her experiences in WWII, because she had never seen them in a book. We usually only see the Nazis as the enemy, not realizing that for Eastern Europeans, there were two genocidal dictators targeting them — not just Hitler, but Stalin as well. She was my inspiration for Stolen Child, which led to Making Bombs and Underground Soldier.

After the talk, many people came up and hugged me, openly weeping. Three sisters, whose late Latvian mother was also subjected to Nazi and Soviet oppression. Thursday was her birthday. They’ve been able to amass much documentation about her life and her community. I want them to write her story. A Bulgarian librarian friend, whose history is similar. Ekaterina, please write your family’s story! My books are their stories as well. We get such a sanitized version of WWII history in the western world, largely because we allied ourselves with Stalin.

And of course, what’s happening in Ukraine now — deja vu all over again. Putin is holding off until after the Olympics. I dread what will happen then.

Marsha Skrypuch presentation, Toronto January 29, 7pm

St. Vladimir Institute is pleased to present

A Series of Readings with the 2014 Kobzar Literary Award Nominees

Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch will be presenting her nominated book

Making Bombs for Hitler

Wed. 7 pm, January 29, 2014• 620 Spadina Ave. tel. 416-923-3318

The author will also be presenting her newest book, Underground Soldier,
a companion to Stolen Child and Making Bombs for Hitler.

Books will be available for autograph and sale, cash or cheque only.

Other readings:
February 16, Sun., 2 pm • Erin Mouré • The Unmemntioable
February 23, Sun. 2 pm• Diane Flacks and Luba Goy• Luba, Simply Luba
March 2, Sun 2 pm• Michael Muncz• Baba’s Kitchen Medicines
March 4, Tues. 7 pm• Barbara Sapergia• Blood and Salt

Mama/Best Gifts book launch

 

 

 

Thanks, everyone, who came to last night’s book launch at the Brant County Library in Paris! Zeta Phillipo and Sharon Brooks — thank you for organizing it! The young lady holding tightly onto her copy of The Best Gifts sat in the front row and listened intently. Zeta and Sharon, thanks for the lovely calla lilies — my favourite!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author Marsha Skrypuch is ‘crazy busy’ and loving it

By Michelle Ruby, Brantford Expositor

Author Marsha Skrypuch has two picture books out this week, When Mama Goes to Work, and a revised version of The Best Gifts, which was originally published in 1998. (BRIAN THOMPSON Brantford Expositor)

Author Marsha Skrypuch has two picture books out this week, When Mama Goes to Work, and a revised version of The Best Gifts, which was originally published in 1998. (BRIAN THOMPSON Brantford Expositor)

Brantford author Marsha Skrypuch’s recently released picture books are a marked departure from the historical fiction that continues to garner acclaim.

Out just this week are her 16th and 17th works: a picture book called When Mama Goes to Work, and a revised version of The Best Gifts, one of her earliest books, originally published in 1998.

“Having these two picture books out in the midst of the serious war fiction is a nice breath of fresh air,” she said.

It won’t be long before Book 18 hits the shelves. Underground Soldier is the third volume in a Second World War trilogy that includes Stolen Child and Making Bombs for Hitler. Publication is set for Jan. 1.

Skrypuch has also written a young adult novel scheduled to be published next summer — a First World War love story that originates in Brantford.

What with book launches, speaking engagements and school and library visits that take her across the country, life is sometimes a whirlwind for the successful writer.

“It’s crazy busy, but it’s good busy,” she said.

When Mama Goes to Work follows several children and their working mothers as they move through the day. The story idea, said Skrypuch, was inspired in part by her friend Sharon Brooks of Kids Can Fly. Brooks, and several librarians consulted by Skrypuch, agreed there is a dearth of books about working moms and the children they leave in the care of others.

“The story parallels what’s happening with mom and child as they do the same things throughout their days,” said Skrypuch. “They’re thinking of each other and wishing they could be together but they are in each other’s hearts.”

Skrypuch has dedicated the book to her mother and two grandmothers, all working women.

Fans of Skrypuch will remember The Best Gifts, the story of Sara and the important moments in her life. The author’s second published book, released 15 years ago, has sold worldwide.

This rewritten version makes Best Gifts a more multicultural tale with all new illustrations by Elly MacKay.

“The original pictures were all blue-eyed and blond,” said Skrypuch. “We wanted to make it more inclusive. It’s a similar story but the cultural details are different.”

On the heels of her 2013 Silver Birch Award (Grades 3 to 6 reader category) for Making Bombs for Hitler, Skrypuch has been shortlisted for more honours.

Making Bombs was a finalist for the $5,000 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People. The book is also a finalist for the $25,000 Kobzar Literary Award. The winner will be announced in March.

One Step at a Time: A Vietnamese Child Finds Her Way — based on the childhood of a Brantford woman — is shortlisted for the 2014 Silver Birch non-fiction award. This is one of the Forest of Reading programs in which 250,000 Ontario kids choose the winners.

A launch for Skrypuch’s newest books will be held at the Brant County Library in Paris on Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. Proceeds from the launch will go to Kids Can Fly, a registered charity that supports early learning and parenting.

 

Meet the Professional: Jeff Burnham, book wholesaler

Meet the Professional: book wholesaler, Jeff Burnham

My hometown of Brantford Ontario is rich in Six Nations culture and history. I goodmindsstafflove to go on long bike rides and one of my favourite routes takes me behind the Mohawk Chapel and past the Woodland Cultural Centre. Right beside the Woodland Cultural Centre on Mohawk Street and tucked into an industrial mall is Goodminds.com. I had passed it many times and took note of it, meaning to drop in.

Last June, I did.

Jeff Burnham is the president and he operates Goodminds.com with his wife Linda and their staff. He took me on a tour.

The warehouse is huge. Jeff showed me through the section where Aboriginal materials are organized – shelves upon shelves of curriculum texts, language instruction books, fiction and non-fiction for the school market, but also for academic and general reading. This is the largest and broadest selection of Aboriginal books in North America.

Goodminds.com second specialty is the school library market. Marlene Turkington, a former teacher-librarian from London Ontario, is their curriculum consultant and that part of the warehouse is massive as well.

Jeff took the time to sit down with me and answer a few questions.

Can you tell me about GoodMinds.com?

GoodMinds.com is an Aboriginal, family owned book wholesaler, based on the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve, at Brantford, Ontario, Canada.  The business now stocks more than 6,000 titles including school library books and a strong Aboriginal collection. 

Although GoodMinds.com technically opened its “doors” in April 2000 to distribute Aboriginal educational resources, the roots of the business extend to a combination of events in 1987 and 1995.  Today, GoodMinds.com is operated by Linda and Jeff Burnham and 10 staff to date, including Sheila Staats, Marlene Turkington, Rosemary Lunau, Josiahs Cook, Sandy Nagy and others.

What is your role in GoodMinds.com?

As President, I focus on long term planning. Up until recently, we focused on Aboriginal books, but we identified a need for non-Native high quality children and youth books for the school library market, so we’ve expanded to include that as well. With that change, we’ve been making it easier for schools to purchase from us. We implemented automated shopping carts at book fairs, in our office and our website.

We have also been working with publishers directly with some projects – assisting in the production of books where we have the expertise and we see a need.

Implementation of the new SALT program is something I am passionate about.

What is SALT?

SALT stands for Supporting Aboriginal Libraries Today. It is a fund started in 2013 by GoodMinds.com, initially to raise money for the Six Nations Public Library, for their $15 million dollar new building and archives. We almost immediately realized that a huge need for a library existed in hundreds of Aboriginal communities across Canada. More than 90% of Aboriginal communities do not have any public library at all.

GoodMinds.com is donating 10%, of Canadian public library sales to the SALT fund and will do the same for all other sales upon request. For complete details please see the SALT information on the web site at www.goodminds.com.

Wow. I had no idea that most First Nations communities do not have public libraries.

SALT is a literacy issue and an education need.

Currently no funding exists in First Nations communities to start a public library. What scarce dollars there are has to compete with obvious needs such as housing, water and sanitation, roads, and education. Given that competition, it is easy to understand why most First Nations communities do not have a public library.

SALT is ultimately a campaign to get the Federal Government to recognize the need for public libraries in Aboriginal communities, and to provide funding for public libraries, so that literacy can improve in Aboriginal communities. At GoodMinds.com we see this as an important social justice concern. With everyone’s help we can make a difference!

Can you tell me about your book selection process at Goodminds.com?

Books are selected by our two professional selectors. Sheila Staats selects all Aboriginal Books from Grades K-12, and also for our College, University and Adult collections.

Marlene Turkington selects all other books for the library collection, which also includes Early Education, Graphic Novels from Grades K-8 and YA books. Marlene is a former head librarian for a large school board in Ontario.

Both have had years of experience and are knowledgeable about choosing books that support curriculum needs.

Can you describe your typical day?

My day ranges from administrative accounting functions and consultations with staff in the office, to very interesting meetings with authors and customers at book fairs, conferences and other events. There really is not a “typical” day. It can range from packing 100 bins of books for a major display, to setting up at a show, to selling, then packing up again and returning to the office to put the books back on the shelf, only to repeat the process the next day.

What kind of writing are you passionate about?

I recently enjoyed reading The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King.

Is there something you wish people would ask you, but they never do?

I would love to be invited to speak about the need for public libraries in Aboriginal communities.

Peer into your crystal ball and tell me what you see in the future for children’s publishing.

GoodMinds.com sells books that for the most part are written and published by others. We are dependent on writers who put their heart and soul into the books they write.

As for the future, I hope there will continue to be growth in children’s multicultural books and in particular Aboriginal books. I hope that the general public will read more multicultural titles. That would be the best way that I know for everyone to become more informed about our global village.

Let me close by using Aboriginal books as an example. A book about residential schools is written more for the non-Aboriginal reader than for the Aboriginal reader. Most Native people already know about Residential Schools, but non-Native readers can learn about the issue by reading such a book. They may not already know that the real intention of Residential Schools was to get rid of the “Indian Problem”. We know now that the Residential School policies didn’t quite accomplish their goal. In some cases they did more damage by creating a whole new set of problems that we are still living with today. By reading a book on that topic, a non-Native reader can gain empathy.

Marsha Skrypuch won the Silver Birch Fiction Award last year for Making Bombs for Hitler. Her narrative non-fiction, Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue From War won the BC Red Cedar Award for non-fiction and was a Red Maple Honour book. This year, One Step At A Time: A Vietnamese Orphan Makes Her Way is a Silver Birch non-fiction nominee, and Making Bombs for Hitler has been shortlisted for the Kobzar Literary Award and the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People.