Author Biography | Interview | Books by this Author | Read-Alikes
Ruta Sepetys (Rūta Šepetys) is an internationally acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction published in over sixty countries and forty languages. Sepetys is considered a "crossover" novelist as her books are read by both students and adults worldwide. Winner of the Carnegie Medal, Ruta is renowned for giving voice to underrepresented history and those who experienced it. Her books have won or been shortlisted for over forty book prizes, are included on over thirty state reading lists, and are currently in development for film and television.
Ruta is the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee. Born in Michigan, she was raised in a family of artists, readers, and music lovers. Ruta is passionate about the power of history and story to foster global dialogue and connectivity. She has been invited to present at NATO, European Parliament, the U.S. Capitol, the Library of Congress, and Embassies worldwide. She was awarded The Rockefeller Foundation's prestigious Bellagio Fellowship for her studies on human resilience. The New York Times Book Review declared, "Ruta Sepetys acts as champion of the interstitial people so often ignored—whole populations lost in the cracks of history."
Ruta was bestowed the Cross of the Knight of the Order by the President of Lithuania for her contributions to education and memory preservation and was recently honored with a postage stamp containing her image. She is extremely proud to be of Baltic heritage, even if that means she has a name no one can pronounce.
Ruta lives with her family in the hills of Tennessee.
Ruta Sepetys's website
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Ruta Sepetys discusses Out of The Easy
How did you create Josie Moraine?
Years ago I was part of a mentoring program for young women. I met girls who were
swept into the dysfunctional current that surrounded their home life. But I also met
young women who made difficult decisions and divorced themselves from a negative
environment. That's incredibly hard. Those girls inspired me. They taught me that we
can learn to fly, even if we're born with broken wings. The idea of that broken, yet
beautiful bird became Josie Moraine.
Why New Orleans?
My introduction to New Orleans came through a vintage pair of opera glasses I received
for my birthday. The glasses, still in their original case from the jeweler in New Orleans,
were engraved and dated as a gift from someone named Willie. I'm nuts about history,
so I hired a researcher to trace the origin of the glasses. I learned that Willie was a
woman in the French Quarter. And the jeweler who sold Willie the glasses? Poisoned.
He ate a dozen oysters in the Quarter and kicked the bucket. My fascination with New
Orleans was born.
And what about brothels?
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