Author: Marsha

Tomorrow I am going to Toronto to do a bit of volunteer work. Last summer, I donated readings to all three writing camps run by Frontier College. It was quite an interesting experience. One of the camps was held in a library, another in a safe home and another at a community centre.

This year, they asked me if I could come in before the camps and teach the counsellors how to conduct writing workshops. Kewl. Of course I can!

It should be a fun day!

As for other things —

Small acts of kindness make my day. The Home Hardware lady gave me a garbage can lid free, to replace mine that had blown away.

And I got bookmarks for Kobzar’s Children. A whole WHACK of bookmarks.

And five kids signed up for Book Camp today. Adult book camp is full, but we’re still taking apps for the kids’ camp.

I drove to Toronto bright and early yesterday morning to get to BookExpo for a nice solid day. I took Brantford novelist Joan Itoh Burk with me. Her first novel is just out with Brindle & Glass, called One Chrysanthemum. She has published a number of cookbooks in the past and she’s the food writer for the Brantford Expositor. We have known each other for quite a long time. In fact, we swapped manuscripts before either of us had novels published. She did a signing at BookExpo and she had a long and satisfying lineup. Her novel looks fabulous. I grabbed me a copy.

I love going to BookExpo! What a book-aholic’s dream come true: being given a shopping bag or three, and being let loose amidst brand new free books. Autographed, no less!

I did a signing of Kobzar’s Children at 3:30pm. I was expecting a non-existent line-up seeing as the whole tradeshow closes down on Monday afternoon, but there was a huge lineup. I heard so many nice comments about Kobzar’s Children too. Many of the people who waited in line for an autograph said that it was wonderful that there was finally a book out like this — stories about Ukrainian immigrants —  spanning a century. Reps from Chapters in Oshawa and Ancaster both asked if there could be a Kobzar signing. Very nice.

Muriel Wood, illustrator extraordinaire for Aram’s Choice was also there. We had hoped to be signing Aram’s Choice also, but full-colour illustrated books are always printed in either China or Hong Kong and Aram is still on the open sea. He’s due to land sometime next week. So instead, Muriel and I signed postcards. I have only one copy of Aram’s Choice right now. I can hardly wait til the rest arrive!!

Last October, I lost my dear friend, Marianne Bluger, to breast cancer. One of our mutual friends, Jocelyn Shipley, just pointed me in the direction to a lovely tribute for Marianne. It includes some of Marianne’s evocative haiku:

http://www.haikucanada.org/id23.html

I miss Marianne so much.

I am now involved in yet another new blog. This one is called YAPs, or Young adult print scribes, OR the Realm of the ex-reject Queens.

Check it out here:

http://youngadultprintscribes.blogspot.com/

Kate Coombs, Linda Gerber, kc dyer and myself have been exchanging crits for many many years. Between the four of us, we amassed an impressive variety of rejections, but we are all now either published, or about to be published. Kate’s first book, Secret Keeper, just came out. Linda’s novel, Now And Zen, is coming out soon, and kc has three books published.

Before we were published, we had been vying for the title of Rejection Queen, seeing who could amass the most rejection letters before getting a contract. I think I won, with 100!

I just got back from Ottawa a couple of hours ago. This has been an incredibly busy week, with Vancouver over the weekend and Ottawa yesterday. I had to get up at 3:30am on Wednesday to catch a 6:30am flight out of Hamilton. Did three school readings plus presented at a teachers’ meeting, then was driven to my hotel to freshen up, then was picked up again and taken to the Armenian Embassy, where the book launch of Aram’s Choice was being held.

Aram’s Choice isn’t even out in Canada until June 20th, but when I was going to be in Ottawa for these school readings, I contacted Aris Babikian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of Canada and he arranged this launch! My publisher got 30 or so copies of Aram’s Choice couriered from Hong Kong for the event. Leishman’s Bookstore of Ottawa was there to sell those and my other books too. They (as well as the others) sold out in a flash. Seeing as I didn’t have a copy myself yet, I grabbed one as my reading copy and told Leishman’s I was keeping it. The F&W rep was there too, so that was okay.

First, the Aram’s Choice is BEAUTIFUL! This is my second book out this month. They are both so BEAUTIFUL!!!

It was really neat to do this at the Armenian Embassy. The place was packed and I was the guest of honour. It didn’t finish until 11pm. I didn’t realize how exhausted I was until I got back into my hotel room.

Muriel Wood, the illustrator for Aram’s Choice, had a limited edition print made of one of the double-spread paintings in the book. She had that couriered to Stephen, the Ottawa Fitzhenry & Whiteside rep. I presented it as a thank-you to Aris.

The Committee gave me the diary of a survivor as a gift (one that I don’t have, which is great) plus an Armenian DVD that I don’t have, plus a dozen long-stemmed roses. The roses were packed really well so I took them on the airplane with me. The security people were intrigued by the flowers and also by my chattervox:

http://www.chattervox.com

which lit up their security lights. When they found out I had just launched a book at the Armenian Embassy, they all crowded round (it was not rush hour for them!) and wanted to see my books. It was pretty funny. They were oohing and aahing.

We’re doing another launch of this book on June 29th in Georgetown Ontario — Aram’s Choice is about one of the 110 Armenian orphans who are known as The Georgetown Boys. That launch will be held at Freckled Lion Bookstore:

http://www.downtowngeorgetown.com/freckled

Muriel Wood, illustrator extraordinare, will be signing too!

Armenian National Committee of Canada

press release

World Premiere of “Aram’s Choice” in Ottawa

Ottawa – A novel about a group of young Armenian orphans, who were rescued from the Armenian Genocide and brought to Canada in 1923 and settled in Georgetown, Ont., was launched at the embassy of the Republic of Armenia on June 7. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, the author of “Aram’s Choice” attended the book’s premiere.

The main character of the novel is based on Kevork Kevorkian, one of the original “Georgetown Boys”—a group of 50 orphans who were settled in a southern Ontario farm in the early ‘20s. The novel is richly illustrated in colour by Muriel Wood.

Victoria Cop, master of ceremony and president of the Armenian Students Association of Ottawa, introduced Armand Hagopian, the charge d’ affaires of the embassy. The Armenian diplomat said Skrypuch’s writings are an important tool to educate school children—the future leaders of Canada—about the Armenian Genocide.

Aris Babikian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC), introduce the author of “Aram’s Choice.” Babikian recalled that he had first met Skrypuch 16 years ago, and had collaborated with Marsha on many projects. He also acknowledged the author’s assistance to Aram Ayvezian when the latter was writing his memoirs as a survivor of the Armenian Genocide and his pioneering work on Hai Tad.

Skrypuch talked about the circumstances which introduced her to the Armenian Genocide and compelled her to write about the ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Ottoman Turkey from 1915 to 1923. She recalled that at the beginning the Georgetown Boys and other survivors had been cautious about talking to her. But once she had gained their trust she was welcomed and treated as one of the family. She also talked about her arduous early efforts to gather data on the Georgetown Boys and the Armenian Genocide and about the difficulties she faced in her efforts to publish her book before the breakthrough in 1999 of “The Hunger”—her first book on the Armenian Genocide. Since then she has published two more books “Nobody’s Child” (2003), and “Aram’s Choice” (2006).

The author was overcome with emotion when she read short passages from her three books. The passages encapsulated the suffering, the heroism and survival instincts of her characters.

During Q & A, Skrypuch said she limited her research to the testimonies of the survivors, missionaries, diplomats and other eye witnesses accounts and reports. She also stressed that although her books are fictions, they are based on real people and events.

At the end of reading, she presented Babikian a specially-printed poster of “Aram’s Choice”s cover jacket as a token of appreciation for the latter’s long-time support and friendship.

In appreciation of Skrypuch’s efforts, Armand Hagopian, charge d’ affaires of the embassy, presented the writer with a DVD of Canadian-Armenian opera singer Isabel Bayrakdaryan’s “Long Journey Home” and Dr. Garabed Khacherian survivor diary.

In addition to her published works, Skrypuch has two more books due for publication in 2007. “Call me Aram” will be a sequel to “Aram’s Choice” while “Daughter of War” a sequel to “Nobody’s Child.”

In sales, “Nobody’s Child” has been her most successful book. It was nominated for the 2005 Red Maple Award, the 2005 Alberta Rocky Mountain Book Award, the 2006 BC Stellar Award, and was listed by Resource Links as one of the best books of 2004.

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The ANCC is the largest and the most influential Canadian-Armenian grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout Canada and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCC actively advances the concerns of the Canadian-Armenian community on a broad range of issues.

Regional Chapters

Montréal – Laval – Ottawa – Toronto – Hamilton – Cambridge – St. Catharines – Windsor – Vancouver

I just got home from Vancouver at 1am this morning and as I write this, I am still in my nightgown. Is that bad, or what? I have, however, brushed my teeth and had a shower.

I did not have a chance to actually HOLD and see a copy of Kobzar’s Children until Paulette MacQuarrie, one of the contributors, picked me up from the airport. She had the cartons of books in her car but none were opened, so I borrowed her nail file and opened up one of the boxes as we were driving.

What a BEAUTIFUL book. I am biased, but still. The font is open and inviting and the pages are a lush ivory. The cloth cover is chocolate brown with gold leaf and the dust jacket is beautiful. The stories and poems and photos all fit together like pieces of a puzzle.

The Friday event was packed. Every chair was filled. The one on Saturday afternoon was more intimate, but still we sold a whack of books!

It was awesome to have a visit with fellow contributors Paulette MacQuarrie, Danny Evanishen and Stefan Petelycky. I had met Paulette and Danny before, but this was the first time I had met Steve. He is a lovely man. A true gentleman.

We all read excerpts from our stories, but Steve couldn’t read his aloud. I understand: his is about his time as a prisoner at Auschwitz. I read his excerpt for him, and I was nearly in tears.

It was also emotional for me because I had just received an email on a writing listserv from a person who questioned whether the Ukrainian Famine ever happened, and also said that he doubted a Ukrainian would have been a prisoner at Auschwitz. Sigh. I guess that shows why this anthology is so necessary. If you don’t tell your own stories, someone else will tell their version for you.

Beautifully illustrated children’s novel touches on the Armenian Genocide of 1915

Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch first heard about the Armenian Genocide seventeen years ago while doing research for a magazine article about the first “Georgetown Boys” — a group of 47 Armenian orphans who were rescued by Canada in 1923 and were housed and schooled at a farm in Georgetown Ontario.

After interviewing the son of a “Georgetown Boy,” Marsha was left with more questions than answers. For example, why were all of the rescued orphans male? Why were they all between the ages of eight and twelve? What happened to their parents? What happened to their sisters?

The search for answers launched Marsha on a decade-long path of discovery. She read everything she could find about the Armenian Genocide, including missionary diaries, personal accounts, history texts and newspaper accounts. She also found a treasure-trove of information at the Multicultural Historical Archives of Ontario which houses a collection of taped oral interviews with the “boys” themselves. She initally listened to these interviews in the early 1990s but was not allowed to listen to them all because some of the interviews were kept confidential until all of the “boys” had died. The last Georgetown Boy died several years ago, and so Marsha went back and listened to the rest of the tapes.

What she discovered gave her the material to write Aram’s Choice, the story of one orphan’s journey from Turkey in 1923 all the way to Georgetown Ontario. The book is based on true events.

Here’s the cover:

http://www.fitzhenry.ca/detail.aspx?ID=9541

Anthology introduces new voices and a century of hidden stories:

Kobzar’s Children: A Century of Untold Ukrainian Stories

Publication date: June 1, 2006

From the cover:
The kobzars were the blind minstrels of Ukraine, who memorized the epic poems and stories of 100 generations. Traveling around the country, they stopped in towns and villages along the way, where they told their tales and were welcomed by all. Under StalinÆs regime, the kobzars were murdered. As the storytellers of Ukraine died, so too did their stories.

Kobzar’s Children is an anthology of short historical fiction, memoirs, and poems written about the Ukrainian immigrant experience. The stories span a century of history; and they contain stories of internment, homesteading, famine, displacement, concentration camps, and this new century’s Orange Revolution. Edited by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, Kobzar’s Children is more than a collection; it is a moving social document that honors the tradition of the kobzars and revives memories once deliberately forgotten.

MARSHA FORCHUK SKRYPUCH is the author of many books for children, including Silver Threads, Enough, The Hunger, and Hope’s War. Her novel about the Armenian Genocide, Nobody’s Child, was nominated for the Red Maple Award, the Alberta Rocky Mountain Book Award, and the B. C. Stellar Award; and it was listed by Resource Links as a Best Book. Marsha has been honored by the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations as a Canadian Ukrainian Woman of Influence. The stories and poems in Kobzar’s Children were written by a diverse group of people who first responded to Skrypuch’s publications and eventually came to share their own stories via email.
The stories are arranged in chronological order and include:

A Home of Her Own: A true story set in the early 1900s by the late Olga Prychodko, about her mother’s misconceptions about immigrating to the wilds of Canada’s west.

Andriy’s Break: An internment story set during WWI and inspired by true events written by well-known story collector, Danny Evanishen.

It’s Me, Tatia: An old woman reflects on lost love and fateful decisons as she remembers a summer long past, during the Winnipeg Strike. Written by award-winning short fiction writer, Brenda Hasiuk.

The Rings: Inspired by true events, a story of one child’s escape from the 1930s Ukrainian Famine, written by Marsha Skrypuch.

The Red Boots: A slice of prairie homestead life in the late 1930s and based on an incident in her own father’s childhood, this is the first children’s story that Marsha Skrypuch ever wrote.

A Song for Kataryna: How could someone just disappear? Well known storyteller Linda Mikolayenko peels back the horrific details of her immigrant aunt’s disappearance layer by layer in this beautifully written story.

Auschwitz: Many Circles of Hell: Is Stefan Petelycky’s memoir of his inprisonment in the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp during WWII because of his involvement in OUN.

A Bar of Chocolate: This humorous tale by first-time writer, Natalia Buchok is about how her own father’s quest for a bar of chocolate in a post WWII DP camp leads him to dress as a girl and go on a date with an American soldier.

Bargain: Is a humorous story with wry character sketches, set in the mid-1950s in the Warwaruk’s meat market and general store in Glenavon SK. Written by award winning author, Larry Warwaruk.

Candy’s Revenge: Set on a prairie farm in the 1950s, this story is about a city girl visiting her country cousin and how an innocent prank had unexpected consequences. Written by first-time writer, Cornelia Bilinsky.

Changing Graves: Is a story based on a real incident in the 1970s about how a bizarre old-world request that a loved one’s grave be moved closer to other relatives, ends in black comedy. Written by well-known children’s entertainer, writer and poet, Sonja Dunn.

Christmas Missed: Is Nash Holos producer, Paulette MacQuarrie’s first publication credit and is about how a Canadian teen travels to Ukraine during the Orange Revolution and how missing Christmas with his own family ends up teaching them all about the real meaning of family.

In addition to the above twelve stories, the anthology contains a number of poems, including one written by Kim Pawliw, when she was 15. It is a tribute to her grandmother, who was interned as a child in Spirit Lake Internment Camp during WWI. Kim wrote the poem in French and translated it herself into English. Both versions are included.
There are also poems by Sonja Dunn and Linda Mikolayenko. The anthology also includes photographs supplied by the contributors and also supplied by people from across the country.

Here’s the cover:

http://tinyurl.com/kyf3f

I am on the very last chapter of Daughter of War!! Should be finished tonight or tomorrow. Yippee!!!!

And just in time, seeing as Aram’s Choice and Kobzar’s Children are both due out in June. I have already been getting oodles of phone calls and emails re articles and events for these two books. More on that later …