Occupation Writer Education Hillsdale College Role Writer | Name Ruta Sepetys Nationality American | |
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Born Ruta Sepetys
November 19, 1967 (age 56)
Detroit, Michigan, United States ( 1967-11-19 ) Notable works Between Shades of Gray
Out of the Easy Books Between Shades of Gray, Out of the Easy Awards Golden Kite Award for Fiction Nominations Carnegie Medal, Goodreads Choice Awards Best Young Adult Fiction | ||
Interview with Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Grey).
Ruta Sepetys or Rūta Šepetys (born November 19, 1967) is a Lithuanian-American writer of historical fiction. As an author, she is a #1 New York Times bestseller, international bestseller, and winner of the Carnegie Medal.Sepetys is a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Fellow and the first American writer of young adult literature to speak at European Parliament. Her work is published in over fifty countries and thirty languages and is currently in development for two films.
Contents
- Interview with Ruta Sepetys Between Shades of Grey
- Biography
- Between Shades of Gray
- Out of the Easy
- Salt to the Sea
- The Carnegie Medal
- Cross of the Knight
- The Rockefeller Foundation
- Works
- References
Biography
Born in Detroit Michigan, Sepetys is the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee. She holds a B.S. in International Finance from Hillsdale College. While overseas, Sepetys also studied at the Centre d’études Européennes in Toulon, France and at the ICN Graduate Business School in Nancy, France.
Following graduation Sepetys moved to Los Angeles. In 1994 she launched Sepetys Entertainment Group, Inc., an entertainment management firm representing Grammy-award-winning guitarist Steve Vai, multi-platinum songwriter Desmond Child, Orange County modern rockers Lit (band), and Emmy-nominated film composer Niels Bye Nielsen. In 2002 Sepetys was featured in Rolling Stone magazine’s 'Women in Rock' special issue as a woman driven to make a difference. Sepetys is on the Board of Advisors for the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business at Belmont University and is also a director of the Make a Noise Foundation, a national non-profit that raises money for music education. Sepetys published her first novel in 2011 and currently resides in Nashville, TN. She is described as a "seeker of lost stories" who hopes to give voice to those who weren't able to tell their story.
Between Shades of Gray
Her first novel, Between Shades of Gray, about the Genocide of Baltic people after the Soviet occupation in 1941, was critically acclaimed and translated into over 30 different languages.
The book is considered a roman à clef, with fictional characters wrapped around actual events and experiences. Ruta states that the novel represents the "extreme suffering and tremendous hope" displayed by the people of the Baltics.
In March 2013, Ruta became the first American author of young adult literature to give a presentation at European Parliament. Her discussion with MEPs in Brussels centered on the novel, the history of totalitarianism in the Baltics, and the importance of historical fiction. The novel is currently in development as a film, Ashes in the Snow.
Sepetys is a writer of historical fiction. Although Between Shades of Gray was initially written for children and young adults, the book has been widely read by many worldwide and is considered a book for all ages.
Out of the Easy
Out of the Easy is Sepetys' second published novel. It was released on February 12, 2013 and features Josie Moraine, a young woman in the 1950s French Quarter of New Orleans who struggles to escape her family and become the author of her own destiny. The story explores themes of feminism in historical context and post-war America. The novel became a New York Times bestseller and was chosen as an Editor’s Choice in the New York Times on February 15, 2013.
Salt to the Sea
Sepetys's latest novel, Salt to the Sea, was published on February 2, 2016 and chronicles the 1945 refugee evacuation from East Prussia and the MV Wilhelm Gustloff disaster. The sinking of the MV Wilhelm Gustloff is the single largest maritime disaster in history yet, to many, the story remains unknown. In their starred review, Publishers Weekly said, "Sepetys delivers another knockout historical novel...she excels in shining light on lost chapters of history and this visceral novel proves a memorable testament to strength and resilience in the face of war and cruelty." The New York Times added this in their review of Salt to the Sea—"Ruta Sepetys acts as champion of the interstitial people so often ignored—whole populations lost in the cracks of history." In June, 2017, "Salt to the Sea" was awarded The Carnegie Medal for stimulating empathy and solidarity.
The Carnegie Medal
On June 19, 2017, Ruta Sepetys was awarded The Carnegie Medal (literary award) in a ceremony at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London. Sepetys, who was previously shortlisted for The Carnegie Medal in 2012 for her novel Between Shades of Gray, commented: "As a writer, I am drawn to underrepresented stories and history in hiding. History divided us, but through reading we are united in story, study and remembrance. That is the power of books."
Cross of the Knight
On June 6, 2013, Sepetys was awarded Lithuania's Cross of the Knight of the Order. The honor of Knight was bestowed by the President of Lithuania in a formal ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Vilnius. Sepetys was decorated for her contributions to education and culture in conjunction with her global efforts to share the history of totalitarianism in the Baltics.
The Rockefeller Foundation
In 2015, Sepetys was awarded the Rockefeller Foundation's prestigious Bellagio Center residency in Lake Como, Italy. As a Rockefeller Bellagio fellow, Sepetys was invited to spend a month at the Foundation's Bellagio Center interacting with other international resident thought leaders, policy makers, artists, and practitioners who share in the Foundation’s pioneering mission to "promote the well-being of humanity."