Category: News stories
Gallery of past visits
Photos from a trip to Ukraine in 2008. Want to know more? Go here.
My husband flies a Piper Dakota. We flew across the continent in the summer of 2016. Want to know more? Go here.
Past visits
Parish Internees
St. Michael’s Parish during WWI
Marsha Skrypuch
Within weeks of Canada entering World War I against Germany and Austria-Hungary on August 6, 1914, our federal government brought into force the War Measures Act, tightening the grip on immigrants from enemy countries. Federal officials were given sweeping powers to decide whom to arrest, deport or incarcerate, and whose property they would expropriate and sell. Continue reading “Parish Internees”
Two Bilsons and a Kobzar
What an amazing week this has been. Underground Soldier has been shortlisted for the 2016 Kobzar Literary Award as well as the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People.
Dance of the Banished as also been shortlisted for the Geoffrey Bilson Award!
Armenian Prelacy of Canada honour
Last Friday, I was honoured by the Armenian Prelacy of Canada with the Armenian Genocide Centenary Recognition Award for my 6 novels set during and after the Armenian Genocide. — with Bishop Meghrig Parikian and Father Keghart Kosbakian.
Saskatoon
One Step At A Time: a youtube interview with the author
MYRCA and Marsha
From here
October 2, 2014
By Colette
By Colette
On September 26th 2014,the MANITOBA YOUNG READER’S CHOICE AWARD was presented to Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch for her novel Making Bombs for Hitler. The award was presented at a special ceremony held at the Manitoba Theatre for Young People, with hundreds of kids in attendnace. Marsha was selected by Manitoban tweens who had read at least 5 books from the nominated list.
Students and fans gathered to hear Marsha Continue reading “MYRCA and Marsha”
Friday in Winnipeg: Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Day!
What a thrill it was to see all the cars and buses pulling up to the theatre as I snuck inside unnoticed. Many kids were clutching copies of Making Bomb for Hitler, Stolen Child and Underground Soldier.
Here are Bairdmore students catching a few extra pages before heading up to the balcony!
The two young MCs were amazingly calm, cool and professional. I can’t imagine being so poised at their age!
When they announced me as this year’s winner, I got up from the audience and walked onto the stage. Here’s the awesome award:
I also got a cheque! I gave a short talk, reading, and kids asked questions…
… and then I was whisked away to the lobby to sign books. All of my books quickly sold out, and I found out later that one of the MCs did not get a copy because she was at the back of the line-up, so I gave one of the organizers my personal copy of Making Bombs for Hitler, signed to her.
Here are some of the students at the signing table:
On Thursday night, I had pre-signed 350 WWII trilogy bookmark as I had been told that there would be 315 kids in attendance. As it turned out, there were exactly 350 kids there. Eeek! The organizers made sure each student got exactly ONE signed bookmark. I also had some postcards for Dance of the Banished on hand and gave all of those out as well.
After all the buses left, the MYRCA committee treated me to a fabulous lunch at Chez Sophie on the bridge over top the river. Lovely view, great company and fantastic food!
After lunch, another kidcritter, Julie K, picked me up. We had coffee and a chat, and then Julie took me on a quick car tour of the city and dropped me off at the airport.
A whirlwind trip. I’m still on a high! Thank you Thin Air. Thank you, MYRCA!
Researching — every which way! Thank you Hamilton Berry Farm.
When I was writing Underground Soldier, there was a ton of research to do. I had to figure out what was going on in Kyiv before Luka was captured by the Nazis, and I needed to find out what the underground bunkers of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army looked like, and figure out what an escaped slave would eat on the run, and where he would hide.
But there were also small day to day scenes that needed to be accurate. For example, what was growing in the field that Luka walked through once he jumped out of the wagon of corpses? Another thing I had to figure out is what the interior of the barn that he hid in would look like. I’ve been in barns before, but not until you have to write a scene inside a barn do you realize all that you need to know.
For my barn research, I called upon Marna Hamilton, a berry grower who lives not far from me. For years I have been buying berries in season from her farm, but while I was writing Underground Soldier, I noticed her barn. It’s about the same age as the one Luka would have hidden in. It’s in Brant County, not the Third Reich, but all barns of an era have some things in common. Marna kindly took me on a tour of her barn and answered all my questions. That was two summers ago. This week the strawberries are lush and so I dropped back by to get berries, but also to thank Marna for her help and to give her a copy of Underground Soldier. Here she is:
